Face. Ripped. Off.

When I first saw the 765LT break the press embargo, I was blown away by how much difference so many tiny changes made to the 720S. It looked like it redefined the current paradigm of the modern super car. Performance, visual appeal and the delivery of all the above. I was smitten and it was an odd feeling, being somewhat proud of a 720s owner knowing that its big brother was a titanic destroyer.

And then McLaren invited me to Portimao, Portugal, for an opportunity to drive the 765LT, for three 20 minute sessions for a mere £2500. Any other manufacturer and I would have scoffed at this, nay laughed out loud. Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini – they frequently host these special ‘events’ where they set up driver days for owners to experience other models in the marque. But the 765LT – well, this has a very special place in my heart. Add to that, ticking off Portimao has always been an ambition of mine, having read so much about it in the motoring press as it’s often described as one of the best road car circuits in the world. Take my money please.

With dinner organised at a Michelin star restaurant both the night before and after, I’m priviledged to have been gifted the best seats of the house on both evenings. I sit and have dinner on separate encouters with both Mike Flewitt, ex-CEO at McLaren Automotive, and also investor and Vice Chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, with both nights providing incredible insight to the runnings and plans of McLaren automotive – this itself alone would have been worth the trip as I found myself in the company of two of the most important people in the company,

Arriving the next day to Autodromo Internacional do Algarve to spectacular weather, McLaren had taken over the entire track. With the new Artura on show on a stand at the paddocks, surrounded by a selection of McLaren specials, including Sennas, an Elva and a gaggle of 700 series cars, it’s hard not to feel the excitement of the day. There’s even a half a million pound completely naked carbon bodied MSO 765LT up on stage which, as stunning as it is to look at close up, loses some of the luxury appeal and makes it look a little JDM. Give me a normal paint job please.

After a fantastic welcoming and driver briefing session, we’re ushered to our cars. Frustratingly on the first of my session I’m told there’s an electrical fault on my 765LT and I’ll be driving a 720s first. Not the end of the world as it gives me a real world chance to compare and contrast both cars on the same day, but also to sneakily demand an extra session at the end of the day.

The 720 is exactly as expected, except with the added benefit of Trofeo Rs on the car and on a warm, smooth circuit like Portimao, that change is absolutely significant. That added grip on a short circuit can shave seconds off a laptime. Having an instructor sat with you is always that little bit demeaning but I don’t blame them as I assume it’s for the purpose of insurance. And having a sports car doesn’t immediately qualify you as a competent driver, evidence of which quickly becomes apparent later.

Pulling back into the pits after a few laps in the 720s, what is evident is how great a circuit Portimao is. An exceptionally designed and super modern layout that provides everything you’d want and it’s no suprise it’s used for so many professional race series events. It’s well set up, spacious and provides all the conveniences of a modern event venue. The circuit itself is genuinely exciting, with undulations and infrequent places to overtake creating a strategic approach. Lots of sighting lines allow you to quickly learn the circuit though and by the time I step into the 765LT I’m already famiiar.

My time has come to step into the Long Tail and I’m genuinely buzzing. This car is in white and looks the absolute part. It’s gleaming in the sun and it’s been a long time I’ve loved a super car in white since my GT3. It’s also sporting the Trofeo Rs but with the added benefit of race seats and a full race harness. Although it doesn’t have the Senna carbon buckets, these seats do more than enough of a good job in keeping you fixed firmly in the seat. I have fairly wide shoulders but despite that, the seats were very comfortable and obviously provided excellent support.

Pulling out of the pits, I’m immediately taken aback by just how much louder the 765LT is than the standard 720s. Removal of signficant sound deadening materials, a shorter exhaust that explodes behind your head and a plastic rear window combine to create a proper race car feel. With a few bends out the way, I slowly start to put the throttle down and dear god this thing is in another league.

We all know the 720 has an incredible gear box but the 765 is in another league with shorter gear ratios adding a phenomenal, motorbike like feel to acceleration with gear shifts coming way quicker than I’m used to. The power building up between each bend is mind bending and I’m so taken by surprise by the savagery I start screaming into my helmet, only to be reminded by my instructor that there’s a microphone amplifying my voice directly to his earpiece. I apologise profusely for making his ears bleed only to downshift, bury my throttle and start to scream again only to see the proud smirk of my instructor leak from his helmet.

You’re approaching turns way, way faster now – but it’s ok. The added aero on fast bends provides significantly more stability on turns, with the immense Senna discs giving absolutely obscene stopping power, stabilised even more by the enlarged spoiler acting as an air brake that wouldn’t be out of place on a fighter landing on the deck of the USS Gerald Aircraft Carrier. And it’s this that you notice the most. This car is so much more stable at high speed and on the limit, with a clear amount of time obviously spent on high sped stability, I was able to trust this car so much more. And you need to, because the speeds with which you approach turns is so much higher that you simply can’t think fast enough and have to frequently trust that the car will just do the right thing – and it does.

It’s an earth shattering experience. I’ve never driven anything so fast and the speeds with which it utterly demolishes the straights between bends start to feel almost trivial. I come in and wait an hour for my next 20 minute session, taking time out to make assumptions that I’ve been conned – my expectations have been rewarded fraudulently simply because I’d hyped the shit out of the car. So I step in again, only to have my memories scrambled and reafirmed. Downshifting 3 times into the tight left hander, with both downshifts and upshifts retorted angrily with a disgusted bang from the exhaust, I pin the throttle to have the rear come dramatically out – except it’s benign and communicated and as I straight line it back again, shoving gear into gear, I tractor beam into a Senna up ahead, only to reel it in, smash past it and then watch it fade into my rear view mirror.

It’s not fair. I’ve got to go back to my 720 after this back in the UK. The 765LT is without doubt the most dramaticly obscene car I’ve ever driven. I’m struggling to catalogue what just happened in those 20 minute sessions and just accept that I’ve been a passenger in fair ground ride that should absolutely, positively not be legal.