Bespoke McLaren 720S Spider by MSO uses unique paint to showcase aerodynamics
Innovative tri-tone blue and black paint blend endows McLaren’s 720S Spider by MSO with a dramatic finish
The main headline to emerge from McLaren in Geneva was that its first Grand Tourer will soon be a reality but that didn’t stop the company from revealing a unique take on the recently launched 720S Spider. It’s a creation of McLaren Special Operations (MSO) and is designed to highlight the aerodynamic properties of the latest Super Series convertible.
MSO has used a fusion of three paint colours: Cerulean blue, Burton blue (as used on the McLaren 720S GT3) and Abyss black. The tri-tone paint finish, dubbed Coriolis, took MSO’s skilled craftspeople over 260 hours to apply to the individual panels of the 720S Spider and is designed to emulate the flow of air over the car’s aerodynamic elements while it’s moving.
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The parts of the 720S Spider thus adorned include the front splitter, hood air intakes, front air intakes and side panels, lower door and lower side air intake panels, door mirrors, rear bumper and the underside of the active rear spoiler – all key elements, says McLaren, in delivering the aerodynamic performance of the new Super Series convertible.
The theory behind the unique paint finish was explained by MSO’s chief designer, Darryl Scriven; “Aerodynamic innovation is such an integral part of the 720S Spider that using this new paint design to highlight areas that work hard to manage how air flows over the car – literally how the car ‘breathes’ – was the natural approach to take.”
The Coriolis paint finish has been teamed for this show car with Meteorite grey body paint, the newest addition to the MSO bespoke range of exterior colours, and developed specifically for this design theme. 10-spoke super lightweight forged wheels with an Abyss black gloss finish and Burton blue brake callipers complement the tri-tone paint blend. Further MSO exterior detailing includes a gloss carbonfibre tonneau cover along with carbon additions to the sills, rear diffuser and rear deck. A sports exhaust completes the package.
Inside the bespoke MSO theme has been continued with Burton blue Alcantara highlights and Jet black leather while carbon adorns virtually every other surface. Even the key has been tweaked, featuring the tri-tone paint effect.
Other than the MSO paintwork and interior this unique 720S Spider features the same 710bhp 4-litre twin-turbo V8 as the ‘normal’ 720S, endowing it with a 2.8sec 0-62mph time and a top speed of 212mph with the roof up and ‘just’ 202mph with it down.
