McLaren just pulled the veil off the 788HS.
It is a hard-core variant of the 750s, limited to exactly 200 units, and it means business. The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 isn’t just spinning faster it is pushing out 777 hp, thirty-seven more ponies than its softer sibling. That extra muscle sits atop a chassis generating 10% more downforce than the already ferocious 765lt.
The naming conventions confuse everyone, admittedly. The 720s started it all in 2017, then the 765lt showed up in 2021 to flex on it, and finally the 750s stepped in to succeed the original. Now, the 750s gets its own violent upgrade.
Chasing the PS Number
“High Sport” is what the HS stands for.
This is only the third car to earn the badge, and the output matches the prestige. The engine cranks out 788 ps metric horsepower, hence the first half of that awkward alphanumeric moniker. Torque stays flat at 590 lb-ft.
Weight loss, however, is real.
The dry weight dropped to 2,789 lbs. Compare that to the claimed 2,815 lbs for the standard 750s. It’s lighter. Faster. McLaren says it hits 60 mph in 28 seconds and reaches 124 mph flat out in just 7.0 seconds. The top speed sits at 205 mph.
To feel all that power, the engine mount calibration was tweaked. They promise heightened engagement, which is code for “you will feel every vibration.” A new quad-exit titanium tailpipe helps with the theater.
The dry weight reduction isn’t just a stat. It changes how the car leans.
Braking Hard
The suspension remains weirdly brilliant.
McLaren still uses diagonal hydraulic lines between dampers instead of traditional anti-roll bars. The system has been retuned here, naturally. The car rides 0.2 inches lower in the front. It squats lower into the pavement.
But the brakes are the headline feature.
They lifted the carbon-ceramic discs from the Senna, their hypercar flagship, and paired them with six-piston forged aluminum calipers. Then came the wheels.
For the first time in this lineage, you get center-lock wheels.
The aero follows suit. It’s aggressive carbon fiber everywhere. The S-duct on the hood channels air over the roof and out to the massive rear wing, which rides higher now. A sharper splitter meets a diffuser borrowed from F1 designs. Together they pin the car down.
Final Curtain?
Inside, it’s familiar.
There is a new carbon fiber center console. The seats have a unique perforated pattern. HS badges appear everywhere you look, stitched into the headrests. A plaque marks your spot in the limited club of 200.
The split is even. One hundred coupes. One hundred spiders.
McLaren Special Operations will customize every single one, which explains the silence on pricing. You can assume it costs significantly more than the 755,1000 entry point for the 750s probably way more.
McLaren calls this the definitive evolution.
The end of the road for the V8 era. A successor might appear in 2028, reshaped by the merger with British startup Forseven under new Abu Dhabi ownership. The V8 days are numbered, but this one? It’s loud, light, and doesn’t care.
Is it over-engineered? Probably.
That’s the point.
