McLaren's new 750S supercar arrives in Korea

McLaren Automotive introduces its latest 750S Spider supercar in Korea during a press event held in southern Seoul on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

McLaren’s latest 750S supercar, “the lightest in the segment,” arrived in Korea on Wednesday after the model made its global debut in April.

The 750S, which comes in a coupe and a spider, touts the strongest performance in McLaren’s production lineup, according to the British luxury carmaker.

“This is a supercar that truly sets a new benchmark,” said Charlotte Dickson, head of McLaren Automotive’s Asia-Pacific operation, during a press event held in southern Seoul on Wednesday.

The model newly introduced in Seoul that day was the 750S Spider. Its sticker price in the country is set in the 400 million won ($300,752) range.

One of the defining factors of the 750S, the successor of the 720S series, is its power-to-weight ratio, says McLaren.

“The 750S is even lighter than before and it’s more powerful, and more technologically advanced,” said Matthias Weiskopf, North Asia market manager for McLaren, stressing that it marks “the most powerful McLaren in series production car to date.”

The 750S is equipped with a four-liter, V8 twin-turbo engine. It generates up to 750 horsepower and 81.6 kilogram-meters of torque, or 800 newton meters.

The 750S models can hit 100 kilometers (62 miles) an hour in 2.8 seconds, and the Coupe takes 7.2 seconds to reach 200 kilometers an hour, the Spider 7.3 seconds. The maximum speed for both models is 332 kilometers an hour.

With about 30 percent of auto parts replaced from the previous 720S model, the 750S is “the lightest in the segment,” according to Weiskopf.

The 750S’s carbon fiber structure is 17.5 kilograms lighter compared to its predecessor, and the 10-spoke ultralightweight forged wheels are 13.8 kilograms lighter. That made the 750S Coupe weigh 1,389 kilograms, which is 30 kilograms less than the 720S Coupe, bringing its power-to-weight ratio to a segment-leading 587 horsepower per ton. The Spider weighs 1,438 kilograms, also 30 kilograms lighter than the previous model.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]