McLaren’s staggering 650S goes 0 to 60 faster than you can pronounce MP4-12C

By Nick Jaynes February 27, 2014

McLaren just unveiled the performance figures for its latest supercar, the 650S. And, with your heart rate in mind, I’ll skip directly to the facts.

Powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8, much like the MP4-12C, the 650S makes 641 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. This will push the 650S to 60 mph in just 3.0 seconds, to 124 mph from null in 8.4 seconds, through a quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds, and onto a top speed of 207 mph.

To put this in perspective, I think McLaren said it best in its press release: “This performance puts the latest model from McLaren a full second quicker than the iconic McLaren F1 road car to 200 km/h, and 0.6 sec faster over the standing quarter mile, underlining its performance focus. This represents a sprint time to 200 km/h more than half a second quicker than the rapid 12C.”

McLaren is quick to call out its competition saying that similar performance from other supercars is only found in the stripped-out racing versions, while the 650S offers a rather refined cabin. “The cabin is trimmed in Alcantara. Enhanced levels of optional specification are also offered, including fixed-back carbon racing seats, based on the lightweight design found in the McLaren P1, an electric steering column adjustment assists ingress and egress, a rear parking camera and extended carbon fibre [sic] throughout the interior.”

It’s not all Alcantara, carbon fiber, and raw power, though. The 650S also achieves 24.2 mpg on the European drive cycle. So it’s stunning, comfortable, incredibly fast, and easy on owners at the gas pump. Imagine that.

I don’t know about you, but I am in deep awe and love with the 650S. Not only is its name far better than the unfortunately named MP4-12C, it’s also faster and better looking. And I haven’t even gotten to, well, not the best bit, but a good bit: the 650S will be offered from the get-go in Coupe and Spider drop-top variants.

So there we have it. The Mclaren 650S appears to be a car that is fast enough for you to cancel your Cialis prescription, comfortable enough for a cruise across Europe, and handsome enough that people might not notice the pale, wrinkled old man behind the wheel.

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Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…

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