The new 788HS is the first ‘new’ McLaren for almost two years

Today, McLaren has a brand new model: the new 788HS. Yes, really!

The last time McLaren revealed a new car, it was the W1 (which we’ve just driven and scored a perfect 10). The W1 was first shown all the way back in October 2024. So why has Britain’s answer to Ferrari and Lamborghini been dormant for 21 months?

The answer is a merger, and a whole new look for McLaren coming soon. Expect more hybrids, a four-door SUV-ish thing of some description, and a major revamp off the back of £1.5bn in investment to save McLaren from financial meltdown.

The 788HS is the end of an era. It’s the final goodbye to the car that started life as the 720S in 2017, evolved into the extreme 765LT, then got upgrades across the board to become the even more superb 750S.

Guess how much power it’s got? Yep, 788hp, or 777bhp. But it’s no faster than the 765LT. Still a rocketship though: 0-62mph in 2.7sec and 205mph flat out.

The reason it’s no quicker is because it’s gained lots of aero, which adds some drag. Working our way from the front, there’s a bespoke front splitter and bigger front intakes. Some boot space has been sacrificed for an S-duct hole dug out of the bonnet, to channel airflow over the bubble cockpit.

The side skirts and flanks are as you found them on the 765LT. New are the forged centrelock wheels, bolted over the legendarily powerful McLaren Senna braking system.

Up top, a functional roof scoop offers ‘notably cooler engine bay temperatures’, but it’s at the back that the 788HS really goes berserk. The once flush airbrake is now a snowboard-sized rear wing. All the cooling vents have been made bigger, there’s a quad-exhaust set-up with perforated finishers and drag-reducing wheel spats. Meanwhile, the bigger diffuser McLaren’s ever fitted to a 720S-generation car even has F1-style slots cut into its vanes.

Despite adding pieces, McLaren’s shaved off 12kg of weight from a 750S, so the claimed dry weight is a refreshingly feathery 1,265kg.

So you’d imagine this would be a true drive-on-the-ceiling downforce monster, right? Actually, it’s not. McLaren says the 788HS only generates around 10 per cent more downforce than a 765LT, but notes it can actually measure and prove this in an F1 wind tunnel. McInsiders tell TopGear.com they’re sceptical of headier downforce claims blurted out by rivals. This is more modest, but trustworthy...

But will anyone notice? The HS, which stands for ‘High Sport’, is only the third run-out-special to wear those letters, after the MP4-12C High Sport and the 675LT-based MSO HS.

Both were built in tiny runs of just 10 and 25 cars respectively, whereas McLaren will build 100 788HS coupes and another 100 Spiders. And thanks to the boutique wish-granting wand of McLaren Special Operations, each will be totally bespoke. You can design your own livery, have a clear-coat tinted carbon body… and if you’re busy having your family crest inlaid under the lacquer, you might be less interested in how fast you can lap the Nürburgring.

Inside it’s actually pretty similar to a 750S. You get the Senna’s brutal lightweight seats, lashings of carbon fibre and suede, and you notice the roof scoop eats up rear visibility.

Prices are expected to be in the £450,000s but because each HS will be a unique commission it’s probably irrelevant. What’s more interesting will be if this becomes a collectible McLaren in the future, as it represents the end of one era for Woking’s finest carmaker, and potentially the beginning of something very different as McLaren aims for stability, profits, and world domination.