Confession time: despite having written about the McLaren 720S GT3 X romping up the Goodwood FoS hill a couple of years back, your hopeless scribe had forgotten that a few were actually going to be made. I honestly thought it was a one-off - can’t get the staff these days. So imagine the excitement at discovering a 750hp McLaren race car for sale that you never thought existed.
In my defence, it’s hardly like the world is short of competition-spec machines that can’t race right now - both from McLaren and the wider supercar industry. It’s a fascinating recent phenomenon, where cars are created that can lap faster than both GT3 and GT2 cars - typically combining the aero of the former with the power of the latter, then a bit more of both for good measure - yet will only live a life of exclusive track days. Seems a bit odd given actual racing is the best thing you can do in a car, but the apparent demand is undeniable.
The trend has created some spectacular cars, too, from Ferrari 499P Modificata to Maserati MCXtrema, so it’s hard not to be excited by them. The 720S was just as jaw-dropping as might be expected from a GT3 car made without consideration for the rules. This was as fast as McLaren Motorsport could make a 720, and it most certainly looked it, pumped up and hunkered down like nothing we’d really ever seen from McLaren before. Alright, maybe the Senna GTR could rival the X for impact, but then the 720 was at least something you’d want to look at.
The spec of the 15 cars was suitably extreme. Power from the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 was rated at 750hp with the push-to-pass engaged, a six-speed Xtrac sequential was standard, as were Alcon carbon ceramic brakes, GT3 suspension, GT3 aero (with even bigger spoilers) and a choice of slick or wet Pirelli tyres. Interestingly, the advert for this one suggests that just 10 per cent of parts for the X were shared with the standard 720S, and half with the GT3. So this is rather more than the race car with another 200hp and a passenger seat, even if that offer on its own is pretty compelling.
Whatever the actual reality, it’s guaranteed to be a pretty wild ride. Having experienced their GT3X once at Silverstone in 2022, the first owner of this one is moving on (how mad is it?!), meaning this Gloss Black car effectively presents as new. It comes complete with an exhaust silencer for quieter days, another set of wheels that could have the alternative tyre on, plus VBox telemetry installation and camera. Everything is set, basically, to obliterate any circuit day of your choosing. Short of an LMP car, nothing is going to be faster.
Exactly what that experience might cost, however, isn’t clear. Given the rarity, the kudos of being a Motosport build and the apparent increase in demand for bonkers track cars, it seems unlikely that the GT3X will be any less than its £750k new price - especially as it’s basically box fresh. More than a Senna, less than a P1, basically, and likely to make both feel a bit tame once on circuit. All you’ll need to do is arrive at the McLaren Racing track day (an evening at Bedford doesn’t quite seem appropriate) ready to have your head turned upside down. Don’t forget about that passenger seat, too, if anyone’s brave enough.
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