A daily driver supercar from Mclaren

While most people would jump at the chance to review a car like the McLaren 750s Spider, I immediately knew it would come with some caveats. Any person lucky enough to have driven vehicles similar to this car will know that getting in and out of it can induce a pulled hamstring. Pot holes, speed bumps, any form of incline/decline that 99 per cent of cars have no issues with, will be the source of cold sweats and living nightmares. Meticulous route planning needs to be employed for any trip to the shops, or simply meeting friends. In some instances it might even be worth jumping in a friends ‘normal’ car to scout the desired destination. Then there’s the fear that while in low gears, stuck in traffic, you’re going to be subject to an uncomfortable experience as the engines in these cars are more suited to doing 100km/h not 0-10km/h. After all every McLaren vehicle gets its DNA from founder Bruce McLaren.

At 15 years old the young New Zealander decided to rebuild an old Austin 7 from scraps to go racing. Not satisfied with building cars from scraps he established his own racing team in 1963. None of his cars were built to cruise around town at low speeds.

However, it’s now 2024 and McLaren isn’t just building race cars. This road legal supercar has 740bhp, will get you from 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds like a race car and believe it or not, I think it can actually be your daily driver. After spending a few days with this exquisite car. I found myself seriously asking the question. Could I drive this everyday? The more I went around town, popping to the shops, seeing friends and of course sat in traffic. The more I found myself saying, yes, I could use this as a daily driver.

Ok, before you head to your local McLaren dealer and order your new car, let’s be clear on a few things. It only has two seats, if you’ need space for a family this car isn’t for you.

If you want to take it for a weekend away, pack light, there isn’t a lot of storage space. Be prepared to refill regularly. This is a thirsty spider and yes it’s still very low to the ground. You do need to be wary of speed bumps etc. However, thanks to a new front splitter, that has been lengthened and designed to have no impact on approach angles, coupled with the lift system, I found myself gliding over bumps at a reasonable speed compared to other supercars I’ve driven in the past.

When I did have to use the lift feature. The car elevates the front end in just four seconds. A big improvement over other models such as the 720s which takes 10 seconds. Couple this with the ‘comfort’ mode the vehicle offers and even harsh speed bumps don’t feel like they’re going to shatter your spine. Another fantastic feature is that if you do need to raise the car, you can go up to 60km/h. I never thought being able to do 60km/h would make me happy. Yet it did. In residential areas where speed bumps are prolific, the ability to glide over them (slowly but not at a crawl) while having the McLaren lifted and drive up to 60km/h was great.

Once you’ve sufficiently annoyed your friends neighbours (the engine and exhaust system omits a lovely yet very loud rumble at lower speeds) and left the residential areas behind, the highway brings a whole new level of joy to your face. The 750s Spider’s V8 twin-turbo engine sounds incredible. You’ll quickly reach the legal speed limit of any road, but getting there is a lot of fun. Any bend you find is never tight enough to worry this car. I don’t think the McLaren could get round bends any better if it was on rails.

Due to modern living, we all know these moments on the roads, especially in and around a large city, will be fleeting. Also, if this is your new daily driver, you’ll likely be stuck in rush hour traffic. Fear not. Sat stationary in this car is no hardship. I literally spent upwards of three hours sat in the vehicle without getting out. I never felt tired or uncomfortable. The Bowers and Wilkins speakers are incredible. I enjoyed hours of my music playing via the Apple CarPlay system. Oddly, it’s only available through the USB C connection though. I would have liked Bluetooth CarPlay to be available. The electrochromic glass roof was a welcome optional extra: a touch of a button gives you a clear glass roof allowing in all the light you could ever want. Press the button again and the glass dims to near black, making the interior feel like a normal car cabin. Obviously being the spider edition of the 750s, if you wanted the full open air experience and to draw some unnecessary attention to yourself, you can open the roof, which takes less than 11 seconds. I say unnecessary attention because the 750s Spider turns heads instantly. It’s a stunning car. Dropping the top while you’ve already got a lot of eyes on you seems like overkill. However, if you’ve got it, flaunt it.

After my time with the McLaren 750s Spider, I genuinely think this car can be a daily driver. If you have a family, you’ll need another set of wheels as this only has two seats and if you’re an avid golfer, squeezing the clubs into the passenger seat could result in a bent club or two. Other than those ‘small’ issues I don’t think you’d find it too difficult to live with this car day-to-day. If you do find it starting to ware on you, book a track day. I’m sure you’ll fall even deeper in love with this great car.