Youtuber Schmee150 is a lucky duck. He’s always where the coolest supercars are, either filming them or taping his drives of them. However, he’s also a generous man and shares his footage with all of us who just can’t make it to places such as Monaco or the Geneva Motor Show.
In the following video, he allows us in on his tour of the McLaren 675LT, which is guided by Paul McSweeney, the product manager for the McLaren Super Series.
McSweeney points out a variety of things on the heritage-honoring model, such as the fact that it’s 220 pounds lighter than a 650S and generates 40 percent more downforce.
More than a quarter of that weight reduction comes from the 675LT’s bodywork. Much of it, including the front bumper, its larger splitter, and end plates and the rear panels, are made out of carbon fiber. Even the wheels and the exhaust system have shed some L-Bs.
Of course, McLaren didn’t stop there. It increased power to – you guessed it – 675 PS (666 bhp) and 515 lb.-ft. of torque. Fresh hardware, such as new turbos and lightweight connecting rods, is to thank for that. Larger side intakes draw in more cooling air that offsets the heat generated by the more powerful 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8.
On the road (or the track), that heightened output translates to a 0-62 mph time of just 2.9 seconds. It only takes another five seconds for 124 mph to arrive.
Get an earful of all of the McLaren 675LT’s impressive facts and figures – and find out the novel way in which McLaren has made the car shift twice as quickly as the 650S – by clicking the play button below.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
