Head to Head: McLaren 720S Vs Senna

Update: Part 3 and 4

We recently saw the McLaren 720S and Senna race it out to find which one is faster on a track and from 0-100 mph-0. In Part 3 and Part 4 the two cars go head to head once again. Part 3 doesn’t have a real winner as the goal is to find which car sounds better. Exhaust note on the two cars is compared – cold start, launch and driving with recordings from both inside and outside the vehicles. Judgement has been left to the viewers by putting up a poll at the end of the video. Surprisingly, most people think that the 720S is a better sounding car compared to its more extreme track-focused sibling.

The 720S seems to have the sports exhaust system which sounds considerably better than the standard one. Still, the Senna is the more extreme sounding car here in our opinion. It uses the same engine as the 720S, although with a number of upgrades to produce 789 horsepower which is 79 more than the car it’s based upon. McLaren even installed a new upwards opening exhaust system, which as you can see, looks insane with those three outlets. This was not only designed to make the car sound better but also in part to make the exhaust system shorter and thereby lighter.

So what do you think. Does the exhaust note on the 720S beat that of the Senna?

And here it is, the fourth and the last video of Autocar’s McLaren 720S vs Senna series where host Dan Prosser compares the two cars on the most important front: Which one is more fun to drive?

October 4, 2018

Part 1 and 2

Except for a few hypercars, there is nothing that can beat the McLaren 720S in a straight line. But what about the track? Can it beat the Senna in its own habitat?

Considering that the Senna is largely based on the 720S and features uncompromising upgrades that are focused on extreme track performance, it is obvious that the Senna is a faster car on the track. To test how much faster, Autocar brought both the McLarens to the Anglesey Circuit.

Let’s compare the specs. The 720S features a twin-turbo V8 that produces 710 hp and 568 lb-ft of max torque. The Senna on the other hand uses the same engine tuned to produce 789 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. As evident, the bodywork on the Senna is designed with aero in mind, even compromising much of its beauty for it. Even the carbon fiber monocoque of the 720S has received modifications for the Senna.

Without spoiling the fun, we’ll let you watch the video to see the difference in lap times. The comments from the host Matt Saunders are worth noting though. He admits that he couldn’t exploit all the performance out of the Senna and that the car could go around two seconds faster in the hands of a professional driver.

In Part 1 of the battle, the two cars went head to head in a 0-100 mph-0 race. The result might surprise you.