McLaren honours racing win with 720S Spa 68
BY ROBBIE WALLIS | 28th Dec 2018
MCLAREN Special Operations (MSO) has created a trio of special-edition 720S coupes to commemorate the 50th anniversary of McLaren’s first Formula 1 Grand Prix victory at the Spa circuit in Belgium.
Called the 720S Spa 68, the three vehicles have been commissioned by McLaren Brussels, with two already spoken for.
A number of bespoke touches have been added to the Spa 68 edition to differentiate it from the regular 720S, starting with its special hue.
The 720S Spa 68 is decked out in MSO’s bespoke Anniversary Orange paint, designed to replicate the Papaya Orange livery of the Spa-winning McLaren M7A racecar driven by Bruce McLaren himself half a century ago. The key fobs also come in the same colour and feature silver “Spa 68” lettering.
Also visible from the outside is a livery with the outline of the 14km Spa circuit in silver in front of the rear wheels, with the outline also embroidered into the seat headrests.
Satin black twin-spoke lightweight alloy wheels give contrast to the orange paint, and match the colour of the front splitter, headlight bezels and roof.
The special editions score extended carbon-fibre sill covers inscribed with the message “1st McLaren F1 victory Belgian Grand Prix 9th June 1968 - Bruce McLaren”, while all cars have a dedicated plaque inscribed with its unique build number.
No changes have been made to the 720S’ powerplant, a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 punching out 527kW at 7250rpm and 770Nm at 5500rpm, driving the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The zero to 100km/h sprint can be completed in just 2.9 seconds, up to 7.8s from standstill to 200km/h. Top speed is rated at 341km/h.
While the Spa victory was not the first Formula 1 win for Bruce McLaren, it was the first driving his own McLaren car, making him the third driver to win a Grand Prix in a vehicle designed and constructed by the driver.
With one month left in 2018, McLaren sales have dipped slightly compared to the same period last year, with 82 combined sales representing a 13.7 per cent drop over the 95 it recorded to the end of November 2017.
The $200,000-plus sportscar segment is currently led by the Porsche 911 (488), Ferrari range (222), Mercedes-AMG GT (164) and the Aston Martin coupe/convertible range (136).
