McLaren 675LT

The McLaren 675LT (with "LT" standing for Long Tail) is a lightweight, track-focused, limited-production version of the McLaren 650S supercar made by McLaren Automotive.

Overview

 * Text originally from Ultimatecarpage.com.

The McLaren 675LT will make its world debut at the 85th Geneva Motor Show, with a clear focus on performance, light weight and ultimate levels of driver engagement - all key attributes of a McLaren 'Longtail'. Offered as a Coupé only, the 675LT will be the most track-focused, yet road legal, model in the McLaren Super Series, with a power to weight ratio that eclipses established rivals. The sprint from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) takes just 2.9 seconds, with controlled torque delivery ensuring optimised traction off the line. Acceleration continues at relentless pace with the 200 km/h barrier broken in 7.9 seconds, on to a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph).

The first images of the car demonstrate a more aggressive look for the McLaren brand than has been seen before. Styling cues run from the extended carbon fibre front splitter, through an extended door blade and additional cooling intake, to the circular twin titanium exhaust pipes, giving a hint to the performance available for the most powerful and lightest model in the McLaren Super Series. The active 'Longtail' Airbrake is 50 percent bigger than the one fitted to the 650S yet, due its carbon fibre structure, is actually lighter. This is just one of the enhancements that add up to a dry weight of just 1,230kg.

More than 50 percent of parts have been changed in the 3.8-litre V8 engine to deliver increased levels of power, torque and driveability. Upgrades include new, more efficient turbos, detail design changes to the cylinder heads and exhaust manifolds, new camshaft and lightweight connecting rods, and a faster-flowing fuel pump and delivery system. These changes are so significant, that the engine unit receives a new, unique code - M838TL. The low weight, low inertia power unit produces, as the name suggests, a power output of 675PS and a power-to-weight ratio of 549PS per tonne.

The 675LT is as fully track-focused as it is road legal with around a third of parts modified to suit this purpose compared with the 650S Coupé and Spider that continue in production alongside it. Yet, like its iconic predecessor, the McLaren F1 GTR 'Longtail', from which the LT name is derived, this is a car that is as exciting to look at as it is to drive. It also embodies the key attributes of the 'Longtail' ethos targeting light weight, optimised aerodynamics, increased power, track-focused dynamics and driver engagement.

Despite the revised, longer bodywork, the 1997 McLaren F1 GTR 'Longtail' was over 100kg lighter than its hugely successful predecessors. As it was nearly 20 years ago, weight reduction has been a key focus throughout the development programme for the 675LT and, in a subtle nod to its bigger brother, the result is a saving of over 100kgs over the other models in the Super Series. This savings have been achieved through the extensive use of carbon fibre for the body panels, along with lightweight engine, chassis and body structure parts. In the pursuit of minimal weight, and to suit its purposeful intent, even air conditioning has been removed, but can specified as a no cost option.

Below a newly designed front bumper sits a prominent carbon fibre front splitter, which works the air harder, complementing new front wing end plates to increase downforce levels over the front bodywork. The turbulent air from the front wheel arches is 'cleaned' as it flows towards the rear bodywork by sculpted carbon fibre side sills which run the full length of the lower bodywork. A subtle air intake is incorporated ahead of the leading edge of the rear wheel arch, below a more pronounced side intake behind the door, both of which feed clean cool air into the side-mounted radiators.

The aero balance is optimised by the active 'Longtail' Airbrake which, as with the McLaren F1 GTR 'Longtail', is larger - 50 percent larger than on other Super Series models. The reprofiled design flows into the lines of the new carbon fibre rear wings. Two circular exhaust pipes, forged from titanium, exit centrally through exposed bodywork below the rear wing. Despite a more complex design, the bespoke crossover system is designed to optimise performance and reduce weight, saving 1.1kg. The rear deck and sections flanking the exhaust pipes remain exposed; designed to evacuate hot air from the engine bay as efficiently as possible, while a lightweight polycarbonate rear screen features further louvres. A louvred carbon fibre rear bumper reduces air pressure over the rear wheels, while the rear design is completed with a dramatic integrated carbon fibre diffuser.

The 675LT is offered in five 'By McLaren' hero specifications, which includes four bespoke colours never previously offered: Silica White, Delta Red, Napier Green and Chicane Grey are all newly formulated paint hues for the 675LT. The famous heritage McLaren Orange completes the themes unique to the model. Each of the five 'By McLaren' specifications is complemented within the stripped out interior with carefully selected materials and colours.

The purposeful driver-focused cabin of the 675LT gives even further indication of track potential. A pair of ultra lightweight carbon fibre-shelled bucket seats, upholstered in Alcantara as standard and modelled on those in the McLaren P1, provide comfort and support with no compromise on overall weight. A subtle 675LT logo features on the headrest of each seat, and is also present on the rev counter. In a change to the other models in the Super Series, the air conditioning controls are now incorporated within the intuitive touchscreen infotainment system.

In 2016, a spider version, named the McLaren 675LT Spider, was unveiled.

Asphalt 8: Airborne
The McLaren 675LT was added to the game in the Car Mastery Update. It is the only Class A car of that update and, alongside the McLaren P1™ GTR, is the first McLaren car added to the game since the McLaren P1 back in v1.3.0 over a year ago. It was also the first car released in the update (excluding the Car Mastery reward cars Camaro Z/28, Datsun 280Z, and Shelby Cobra 427). Since its inception, the McLaren 675LT has become one of the most popular Class A cars, joining the ranks of fellow older cars like the McLaren P1 and Lamborghini Sesto Elemento.

The McLaren 675LT is a top-end Class A car; it starts with 1388 rank points, maxes out to 1625 rank points, and can be upgraded even further to 1763 rank points at MAX+PRO. The Tuning Kit bonus for this car is +47 rank points, allowing a total of 1810 rank points, the same as the 9FF GT9 VMAX. The McLaren 675LT's main rivals are the Ferrari 330 P4, 9FF GT9 VMAX, Bentley EXP10 Speed 6, Aston Martin One-77, GT by CITROEN, and Mosler GT3.

Owing to having the same engine platform as the McLaren 12C Spider and P1, the McLaren 675LT shows traits in common: long-lasting nitro, with the efficiency rated as 5/10/15; same nitro power, starting as 17.7 mph (28.6 km/h); similar handling to the 12C Spider; and acceleration equivalent to the P1. It is worth noting that at Perfect Nitro/Level 3 nitro, the 675LT has slower acceleration than most top-end Class A cars and, interestingly enough, cars in lower classes like the Mazda RX-8, Honda S2000, and Lamborghini Miura; the 675LT reaches its top speed from a standstill with Level 3 nitro in 3.8 seconds (with MAX+PRO+Tuning Kit).

The 675LT's main advantage is that it has among one of the highest real top speeds of the Class A cars, only behind higher-ranked cars like the Aston Martin One-77, Chevrolet 2016 Camaro SS, and BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage. Overall, the 675LT is made into a car that, while competitive on any track, works best in tracks with long straights and/or non-complex corners (e.g. French Guiana, Alps, Tokyo).

It is of particular interest that its performance is very similar to the 9FF GT9 VMAX (when taking its speed multiplier of 88.60% into account), making the 675LT a much cheaper, Class A, available-for-Credits counterpart. Given said car's proficiency in tracks with long straights in both time-limited events and multiplayer, the 675LT is another competitive choice for it. Thanks to its low starting and MAX ranks, the 675LT can even challenge multiplayer favorites like the Range Rover Evoque Coupe HSE Dynamic, Shelby Cobra 427, Lamborghini Asterion, and TRION NEMESIS, but this ultimately falls on the hands of the driver.

Costing to buy,  to max out, and an additional   for max pro, the McLaren 675LT is currently the best budget alternative to faster and/or more expensive Class A cars like the Mosler GT3, Chevrolet 2016 Camaro SS (a tokens car that costs ), BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage (an R&D car), and even the Jaguar XJ220S (an Elite Car). Even with the introduction of the Weber Faster One, the McLaren 675LT is still also the best choice for farming Credits in Mastery,as it uses Dubai Reverse as its final track with the Unplugged race mode, as opposed to the Weber Faster One's The Mirage in Flawless race mode. However, the McLaren MP4-31 has replaced the 675LT as the best choice for farming Credits due to earning more Credits, despite having a Flawless race in Dubai; this race is only for players with enough Custom Racing Engine cards.