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McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X

McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X McLaren Special Operations shows off MSO X
Ten MSO-built cars celebrate McLaren’s GT racing heritage.

What's the news?

McLaren has shown off ten specially-made versions of the 570S sports car, all styled and painted to represent great racing GT cars from the brand's illustrious history. All ten cars, built by McLaren's bespoke skunkworks McLaren Special Operations (MSO) were ordered by just one dealer. That dealer, McLaren Newport Beach, just happens to be the biggest-selling McLaren dealer in the US market. Together, the cars are know as MSO X.

All ten cars have been designed to emulate the looks of McLaren's 570S GT4 race cars, but it's the paint jobs we're particularly interested in as all of them draw on the classic colour schemes of the mid-nineties F1 GTR racing cars.

On the functional front, there's a new 'goose-neck' rear wing which is said to add 100kg of extra downforce, and a carbon-fibre roof snorkel, again inspired by the 90s F1 GTR race cars, which feeds air to the engine (as well as filling the cockpit with intake noise). There are also bigger front wings, more air intakes, and a specially-lightened rear bumper.

There are also exposed chassis panels in the cockpit, a bespoke carbon-fibre bulkhead that includes stowage space for a crash helmet, and a bar to attach a six-point racing harness. There's also a full telemetry system which includes built-in cameras to record your hot laps.

But it's the colour schemes we love. McLaren has shown just two so far - a red-white-and-blue one that references the classic Fina Oils AC Schnitzer car colours, and a dark grey, called 'Ueno Grey' that's inspired by the Ueno Clinic-sponsored F1 GTR that won Le Mans outright in 1995.

"The MSO X collection is the perfect example of the rich vein of bespoke service offered by McLaren Special Operations. Customers come to us with their thoughts and ideas and MSO works with them to set boundaries within which they can then let their imaginations run wild. What could be better than a McLaren buyer playing the role of 'race engineer' in briefing the MSO team and directing them to test and validate those ideas to create a race-bred road car such as this?" said Jolyon Nash, McLaren Automotive Executive Director, Global Sales and Marketing.

The MSO X commission progressed from an initial design discussion to all 10 examples being sold and delivered in just eight months, as McLaren Newport Beach Dealer Principal, Pietro Frigerio, explains: "The aim of this project was to have a serious track car that could still be driven on the road and this finished project screams 'race car' to the casual onlooker.To have the MSO X project go from renderings at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last July to the 10 magnificent supercars that we handed over to our excited clients today, is nothing short of amazing."

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Published on January 26, 2018