Blazing-fast laps around Sepang Circuit with the 750S
05 Apr 2024|1,124 views
From the first time I drove at Sepang Circuit with my own car, I was hooked to the experience. At the racetrack, I could drive my car to its limits, test the effectiveness of the performance upgrades that I've done to it, and it was also the best opportunity to test out and improve my own driving techniques.
Naturally, when the opportunity to experience McLaren's supercars, including the new, sleek, lightweight and incredibly powerful 750S on track came knocking, I jumped on it. And that is how I found myself on a 6:00am flight to Kuala Lumpur along with several other automotive journalists.
750 prancing beasts distilled into one orange, wild machine
Unless you have been living under a rock, you would have at least heard of McLaren, be it from Formula 1 or the legendary McLaren F1 - a car that many regard as the world's first true hypercar.
It goes without saying that McLaren cars are fast. But just how fast? Let's put it all into perspective. The McLaren 750S builds upon the insanely-quick 720S, adding more power, more downforce and reduced weight to result in peak performance.
740bhp is a lot of power to propel 1,389kg - the result is mind-bending quick acceleration from 0 to 200km/h in just 7.2 seconds
With 740bhp (750ps as its name suggests) and 800Nm of torque from its twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine, the 1,389kg 750S goes from 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds, and from 0-200km/h in just 7.2 seconds. This supercar will go on to reach a top speed of 332km/h if you have enough runway and guts to try it out.
While the numbers are already plenty impressive, there's much more to the drive - as mentioned by Desmond in our review of the 750S, the handling has also been improved with a direct and responsive steering and well-judged suspension setup. The result is an outrageously quick, sharp and potent car. Now you know why I'm so eager to experience the car on my favourite racetrack.
It doesn't matter that I only had three hours of sleep... the thought of driving such a machine on my favourite racetrack is enough to put a big smile on my face
A match made in heaven
If you were to ask me, I'll say that there's no better place than a racetrack to drive a supercar like the 750S, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better car than the 750S to drive.
Originally an F1 circuit, Sepang International Circuit is a 5,544m-long racetrack that features a nice mix of technical corners, high-speed sweepers and two long straights.
The incredible straight-line speed and braking performance of the 750S shone through at the long straights of Sepang Circuit
Both the main and back straights on this circuit are around 1km in length each, and separated by a single hairpin - this presents an excellent opportunity to test the straight-line speed, braking performance, and stability of any car. With the 750S, this all translate to speeds exceeding 250km/h, which is then reduced to the ballpark of 70km/h within 150 metres from the moment the massive monobloc callipers clamps forcefully onto the carbon ceramic rotors.
The razor-sharp handling and amazing braking abilities of the 750S can be experienced to the fullest in the technical sections of the race track
The main straight leads into Turn 1 and Turn 2, which are successive low-mid speed hairpins - this is the spot where immense understeer would rear its ugly head in less-than capable cars, but the 750S takes it all like a champ with its sharp and agile turn-in.
Turn 3, which follows, is an interesting one - a full-acceleration zone with a slight inclining right hander, the g-forces generated by the unyielding mechanical grip and immense downforce of the 750S feels almost crushing here. At this moment, I understood just how well-engineered the car is.
The amount of speed that the car was able to carry through sweepers is only possible due to the ridiculous amount of mechanical grip and downforce that the 750S has
The next interesting section is turn 5 and 6, a pair of high-speed sweepers that test the balance of the car and the driver's finesse in weight transfer control to the limit. These consecutive bends are the best spots to feel the extreme limits of the car. Its potential was made clear when I realised just how fast I was going - almost 30km/h faster than I could do with my own car on sticky tyres and the 750S felt like it had more to give.
Seated within the cockpit of the 750S makes you feel like a superstar - the car eggs you on to go faster with a euphoric sense of speed with control
But that doesn't mean that one can drive haphazardly; letting go of the extremely responsive accelerator too quickly upsets the balance and caused the tail to kick out when I wanted to reduce the speed mid-turn. Catching the mistake was a non-affair as the communicative and responsive steering allows one to react quickly and instinctively. This is a car that eggs you on to go faster with an engaging and razor-sharp drive; it makes one feel like a superstar behind the wheel, but at the same time it also got me wondering just how fast it could be with the right person behind the wheel.
There's no need to go through the entire circuit to understand why the Mclaren 750S and Sepang Circuit is a match made in heaven. It takes no more than driving through the first few sections on the racetrack to realise that there's simply no way to explore the capabilities of the 750S on public roads, and the challenge that Sepang Circuit provides is exactly what a car like this is engineered to conquer.
After driving the 750S, GT and Artura, I realised that all McLaren cars are made for ultimate enjoyment on a racetrack
McLaren lives up to its reputation
The brand has been known to push the boundaries of engineering to create supercars with phenomenal performance. Apart from the McLaren 750S, I also got to experience the GT and Artura on Sepang Circuit.
One thing was clear after driving all three cars on Sepang Circuit - it doesn't matter if the car is meant to be an outright track machine, a Gran Tourer or a modern hybrid performance supercar, all McLaren cars are track ready and will provide plenty of joy in such an environment. And I can tell you for sure, I'm willing to catch another 6:00am flight to relive such an experience.
From the first time I drove at Sepang Circuit with my own car, I was hooked to the experience. At the racetrack, I could drive my car to its limits, test the effectiveness of the performance upgrades that I've done to it, and it was also the best opportunity to test out and improve my own driving techniques.
Naturally, when the opportunity to experience McLaren's supercars, including the new, sleek, lightweight and incredibly powerful 750S on track came knocking, I jumped on it. And that is how I found myself on a 6:00am flight to Kuala Lumpur along with several other automotive journalists.
750 prancing beasts distilled into one orange, wild machine
Unless you have been living under a rock, you would have at least heard of McLaren, be it from Formula 1 or the legendary McLaren F1 - a car that many regard as the world's first true hypercar.
It goes without saying that McLaren cars are fast. But just how fast? Let's put it all into perspective. The McLaren 750S builds upon the insanely-quick 720S, adding more power, more downforce and reduced weight to result in peak performance.
740bhp is a lot of power to propel 1,389kg - the result is mind-bending quick acceleration from 0 to 200km/h in just 7.2 seconds
With 740bhp (750ps as its name suggests) and 800Nm of torque from its twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine, the 1,389kg 750S goes from 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds, and from 0-200km/h in just 7.2 seconds. This supercar will go on to reach a top speed of 332km/h if you have enough runway and guts to try it out.
While the numbers are already plenty impressive, there's much more to the drive - as mentioned by Desmond in our review of the 750S, the handling has also been improved with a direct and responsive steering and well-judged suspension setup. The result is an outrageously quick, sharp and potent car. Now you know why I'm so eager to experience the car on my favourite racetrack.
It doesn't matter that I only had three hours of sleep... the thought of driving such a machine on my favourite racetrack is enough to put a big smile on my face
A match made in heaven
If you were to ask me, I'll say that there's no better place than a racetrack to drive a supercar like the 750S, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better car than the 750S to drive.
Originally an F1 circuit, Sepang International Circuit is a 5,544m-long racetrack that features a nice mix of technical corners, high-speed sweepers and two long straights.
The incredible straight-line speed and braking performance of the 750S shone through at the long straights of Sepang Circuit
Both the main and back straights on this circuit are around 1km in length each, and separated by a single hairpin - this presents an excellent opportunity to test the straight-line speed, braking performance, and stability of any car. With the 750S, this all translate to speeds exceeding 250km/h, which is then reduced to the ballpark of 70km/h within 150 metres from the moment the massive monobloc callipers clamps forcefully onto the carbon ceramic rotors.
The razor-sharp handling and amazing braking abilities of the 750S can be experienced to the fullest in the technical sections of the race track
The main straight leads into Turn 1 and Turn 2, which are successive low-mid speed hairpins - this is the spot where immense understeer would rear its ugly head in less-than capable cars, but the 750S takes it all like a champ with its sharp and agile turn-in.
Turn 3, which follows, is an interesting one - a full-acceleration zone with a slight inclining right hander, the g-forces generated by the unyielding mechanical grip and immense downforce of the 750S feels almost crushing here. At this moment, I understood just how well-engineered the car is.
The amount of speed that the car was able to carry through sweepers is only possible due to the ridiculous amount of mechanical grip and downforce that the 750S has
The next interesting section is turn 5 and 6, a pair of high-speed sweepers that test the balance of the car and the driver's finesse in weight transfer control to the limit. These consecutive bends are the best spots to feel the extreme limits of the car. Its potential was made clear when I realised just how fast I was going - almost 30km/h faster than I could do with my own car on sticky tyres and the 750S felt like it had more to give.
Seated within the cockpit of the 750S makes you feel like a superstar - the car eggs you on to go faster with a euphoric sense of speed with control
But that doesn't mean that one can drive haphazardly; letting go of the extremely responsive accelerator too quickly upsets the balance and caused the tail to kick out when I wanted to reduce the speed mid-turn. Catching the mistake was a non-affair as the communicative and responsive steering allows one to react quickly and instinctively. This is a car that eggs you on to go faster with an engaging and razor-sharp drive; it makes one feel like a superstar behind the wheel, but at the same time it also got me wondering just how fast it could be with the right person behind the wheel.
There's no need to go through the entire circuit to understand why the Mclaren 750S and Sepang Circuit is a match made in heaven. It takes no more than driving through the first few sections on the racetrack to realise that there's simply no way to explore the capabilities of the 750S on public roads, and the challenge that Sepang Circuit provides is exactly what a car like this is engineered to conquer.
After driving the 750S, GT and Artura, I realised that all McLaren cars are made for ultimate enjoyment on a racetrack
McLaren lives up to its reputation
The brand has been known to push the boundaries of engineering to create supercars with phenomenal performance. Apart from the McLaren 750S, I also got to experience the GT and Artura on Sepang Circuit.
One thing was clear after driving all three cars on Sepang Circuit - it doesn't matter if the car is meant to be an outright track machine, a Gran Tourer or a modern hybrid performance supercar, all McLaren cars are track ready and will provide plenty of joy in such an environment. And I can tell you for sure, I'm willing to catch another 6:00am flight to relive such an experience.
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