PHOENIX — McLaren Automotive plans to launch the 720S Spider and 600LT Spider convertibles in the coming months, and the exotic brand has high expectations for the open-top variants.
McLaren anticipates those two models plus the 570S Spider to account for roughly half of its global volume in 2019. The company sold 4,806 vehicles globally last year, up 44 per-cent from 2017.
Digman: “Zero compromise”
Availability of the convertibles is "obviously something that customers appreciate," Ian Digman, McLaren's head of product management, told Automotive News during the vehicles' media introduction here. "It suits a particular customer type. Not everyone needs that extra facility, but we want to give them the broadest range available."
The 720S Spider, which starts at $319,100 and arrives in March, slots into the British brand's Super Series. The 600LT Spider, starting at $259,000, is a track-focused member of the Sports Series, set to arrive in late April or early May. Both prices include shipping.
If the 600LT coupe is any indication, the 600LT Spider will bring new customers to McLaren. The company said that since the coupe went on sale last year, 43 percent of its buyers were new to the brand.
The 720S Spider will arrive nearly two years after the 720S coupe, which went on sale in May 2017. But development of both vehicles began at the same time, in 2013. The product team spent the first two years developing the coupe and the spider in conjunction with each other, Digman said during a presentation.
"What that meant was that any requirement of the spider was built into the base vehicle, requiring zero compromise as we went forward."
Spider development paused in 2015 when McLaren focused on getting the 720S coupe into production. As coupe output began, the brand resumed the spider's development, focusing heavily on the open top's visibility and usability.
That process led to the 720S Spider's retractable hard top, the star of the vehicle's design, aside from its twin-turbo V-8 engine.
Unlike with previous convertibles, McLaren adopted a hard top for the 720S Spider that is electric rather than hydraulic, Digman noted.
Powered by eight electric motors, the top on the 720S Spider can be raised or lowered in 11 seconds, down from 17 seconds for the outgoing model, the 650S Spider. It can be operated at vehicle speeds up to 31 mph.
The 720S Spider is the first McLaren convertible to have the electric system but Digman said it could be added to other models going forward.
Also debuting on the 720S Spider is a glazed electrochromic roof panel, a $9,100 option. The feature allows a tint increase from 30 percent to 95 percent at the touch of a button, McLaren said, cutting out all but 0.1 percent of ultraviolet light when at 95 percent tint.
Digman said the new technology was critical for meeting customer expectations.
"Part of the branding is that we're technologically advanced and that we keep on pushing boundaries further and further," he said.
"For us, actually sticking with an old technology for a second-generation vehicle just doesn't make sense, either in terms of pushing the technology or reinforcing the brand positioning."
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