There’s a certain no-nonsense air McLarens exude that purists absolutely love. Sure, it doesn’t have the heritage or charisma of Ferrari, but McLaren’s own strong history has powered a string of Formula 1 champions to victory. If Ferrari is the heart and soul of the supercar world, McLaren is the brain and brawn. The McLaren 750S, with its history and tech, is the quintessential sportscar for true blue enthusiasts with a ton of money, Rs. 5.9 crore, to be precise.

Like with its Formula 1 cars, McLaren has designed and developed the 750S to be as fast as possible. Speed and performance take priority over design flair and cabin niceties. This is not to say that the 750S isn’t stylish; it’s quite the opposite. The shocking shade of Lantana Purple will turn heads and drop jaws, especially when the butterfly doors theatrically swing open.

However, every design element has a functional purpose. There are no big spoilers or unnecessary appendages on the 750S. Its aerodynamic shape generates enough downforce to press the car onto the road for better grip without creating too much drag.

The interiors echo the same form-follows-function sensibility of McLaren’s Formula 1 cars. Some people may be disappointed by how minimalistic the cabin is. McLaren has resisted the trend of peppering the steering wheel with buttons. Instead, it’s button-less, to cut out distraction. What draws the eye in is the vertical touchscreen, which is loaded with features such as Apple Car Play and a high-quality 360-degree camera. The 750S is reasonably well-equipped and the fit and finish of the interiors are better than previous McLarens. The nose-lift feature, something you can’t live without on Indian roads, takes just four seconds to fully lift the nose. But this is still a very low car. Even with the nose fully lifted, you still have to pass speed breakers with caution.

Now to the serious business of driving. A 750hp (hence the name) twin-turbo V8, mated to a 7-speed quick shifting automatic gearbox, guarantees mind-bending performance. Its 0-100kph time of 2.8 seconds is ludicrously fast. But it’s the nonchalant and matter-of-fact way that the 750S serves up all its horsepower that leaves you gobsmacked. Harnessing all that power and performance and distilling it to the driver is what McLaren engineers have done to perfection.

After driving it for a couple of laps on the fast-flowing CoASTT circuit in Coimbatore, I can confidently say that this the best-handling car in its class. The best part is that it’s eminently useable on public roads, thanks to a suspension that isn’t bone-jarringly uncomfortable.

More importantly, the 750S is the last of a breed of supercars that come without hybrid electric assist. It is, in a sense, as pure as it gets. That’s reason enough to want this old-school supercar.

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