McLaren has taken the wraps off an open-aired version of its new 650S supercar. Officially unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show today, the 650S Spider may well have stolen a bit of the limelight from its hard topped sibling.
Last week McLaren revealed full details of its new mid-line supercar the 650S. Running a similar drivetrain to the McLaren 12C, the 650S uses a revised twin-turbo 3.8 liter V8 capable of developing 641 hp and handing over stopwatch times of 3 seconds for a run of 0-100 km/h (62 mph) towards a top speed of 329 km/h (204 mph).
The new Spider, running identical mechanicals to the hard-topped version, is as quick to the 100 km/h mark and only slightly slower than the coupe from 0-200 km/h (124 mph) with a time of 8.6 seconds. McLaren reports the Spider delivers identical mileage and emission figures.
Sporting a similar roof system as the 12C, the 650S Spider can convert from hard-topped supercar to open-aired roadster in a cool 17 seconds. Adding only 40 kg (88 lb) to the car’s total weight, the two-piece retractable roof can be raised or lowered at up to 19 mph (30 km/h) and because of McLaren’s carbon MonoCell, the Spider doesn’t require additional chassis reinforcement to retain torsional integrity.
And like the fantastically brilliant 12C Spider I drove back in September, the 650S Spider features a small heated rear window, that when operated independently from the roof can be used as windbreak with the top down or provide additional air and engine noise into the cabin with the top up. With the two-piece roof raised the space beneath the tonneau cover can be used to store small luggage pieces.
With the new 650S Coupe priced out at US$325,000, it is likely we'll see the Spider will come in at around the US$350,000 mark....give or take a ten thousand.
Source: McLaren
