McLaren 650S Spider Driving Experiences

Taking design cues from their high watermark MP4 12-C model, but with 25% newer parts, McLaren’s standard 650S model was unleashed to the world at the Geneva Motor Show in 2014, entering production at their plant in Woking, Surrey that same year.

Its convertible variant, the McLaren 650S Spyder, was announced around the same time as the standard coupe model. Its roof is made up of three retractable hardtop carbon fibre pieces, which can come up or down in 17 seconds.

Apart from this major design difference, and weighing around 40 kg more than the standard 650S, the 650S Spyder retains much of the same engineering and performance, including a 7 speed dual clutch transmission, and powering on a fine tuned 3.8 litre twin turbo V8 engine.

This offers out an impressive 641 bhp, helping it achieve acceleration from 0 - 60 mph in a jaw dropping 2.7 seconds, with top speeds achievable of around 204 mph, making this one of the fastest current British performance cars around.

Much as the 650S coupe model, the McLaren 650S Spyder was highly praised by the motoring press. Autocar magazine awarded it 4.5/5, stating that it was ‘not just the MP4 12-C rehashed … exceptional ride and steering, terrific performance and on-track capability’.

Equally, Top Gear magazine gave it 9/10 in their review, stating that it ‘drives every bit as crisply as the Coupe, but with added volume and drama … It’s P1 looks and open-top sensations are perfect.’