Just 100 coupes and 100 Spiders will close out the lineage begun with the 720S, each one hand-curated by McLaren Special Operations.
Every great story deserves a proper ending, and McLaren has just written one. The new 788HS is billed by the marque as the definitive and final evolution of the supercar family launched with the 720S, sharpened into the 765LT, and matured into the 750S. Rather than let the line fade quietly, Woking has chosen to send it off with the most extreme series production expression of the platform yet.
The name matters. “HS” stands for High Sport, a designation McLaren has used only twice before, reserving it for the rarest and most focused versions of its series cars. Its return signals intent—and the numbers back it up.
At the heart of the 788HS sits McLaren’s M840T 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, now producing 788 PS (roughly 777 hp) and 800 Nm of torque, courtesy of lightweight forged pistons, ultra-low-inertia twin-scroll turbochargers, and twin fuel pumps. The engine spins to 8,500 rpm, with peak power arriving at 7,500 rpm. The sprint from zero to 100 km/h takes 2.8 seconds, 200 km/h arrives in 7 seconds flat, and the car will run to a top speed of 330 km/h. With a dry weight of just 1,265 kg, the 788HS achieves 623 PS per tonne—614 hp per metric ton—the best power-to-weight ratio of any car in the lineage.
The aerodynamic package is the most advanced ever applied to the platform, generating 10 percent more downforce than the 765LT through a new front splitter, an S-duct, a raised active rear spoiler, and a Formula 1-inspired rear diffuser. The front ride height sits 5 mm lower than the 750S, working with a bespoke tune of McLaren’s Proactive Chassis Control III linked-hydraulic suspension. Braking comes via carbon-ceramic discs derived from the McLaren Senna, clamped by six-piston forged aluminium monoblock calipers with integrated cooling. For the first time in this series, the car rides on centre-lock wheels—a new Super Lightweight Forged Alloy design—while a quad-exit titanium exhaust gives the V8 a more intense voice throughout the rev range.
Exclusivity, naturally, is part of the appeal. Production is capped at 100 coupes and 100 Spiders worldwide, and every example will be individually curated through McLaren Special Operations, giving each owner the chance to commission something genuinely singular. For the ultimate statement, buyers can even forgo paint entirely and specify the car in full exposed carbon fiber, offered in gloss or satin finishes. A decade after the 720S redefined what McLaren’s supercars could be, the 788HS closes the book the only way a McLaren should: faster, lighter, and louder than everything before it.
