McLaren is very proud of how they’ve managed to make a whole lineup of sports cars out of basically the same formula. To the untrained eye, there isn’t much of a visual difference in McLaren’s models in the Sports Series and Super Series. McLaren knows this and they think that’s a good thing.
“At McLaren, we like to think we’ve got the only authentic sports car setup in the market,” McLaren chief engineer Paul Burnham told Car Advice. “It’s no coincidence that not a lot separates McLaren’s various models, given they feature all a carbon fiber tub, hydraulic steering and the same 3.8-litre twin-turbo V-8 sitting amidships.”
They’ve managed to take that same basic formula and create multiple similar, yet distinctly different sports cars. “Our aim was to make the Sports Series more exploitable at road speeds, whereas, with the Super Series it’s about pure performance,” Burnham added.
The Sports Series consists of the 570, which has three different variants, and the 540C which are intended to be road-going supercars. Think of them as the (very) rich man's Miata. The Super Series consists solely of the 720S which has modifications like fatter tires to make it more of a track car, albeit similar to the Sports Series. In case you’re wondering, the P1 hypercar is in the Ultimate Series.
Burnham’s statement of being the only authentic sports car might sound a bit cocky, but in context, it’s more of a sense of pride. Burnham has every right to be proud of the McLaren lineup and making supercars that are just as at home on the street as they are on the track.
Now, if they start making crossovers on us, he’ll have to revoke that claim.