Car and Driver: McLaren MSO HS: This Upgraded 675LT Is So Special It’s Already Sold Out

MSO, in McLaren-speak, stands for McLaren Special Operations, and its latest creation, the HS, certainly is special. It’s so special, in fact, that the 25 units of this powerful, aggressive-looking supercar, based loosely on the 650S, are already sold out. That doesn’t mean we can’t look at it, and we’re happy to ogle the car’s modified bodywork and exposed carbon fiber.

More specifically, the HS coupe has a full carbon-fiber body kit, a carbon-fiber hood and roof, and lightweight glass for the windows. Its carbon-fiber rear wing, said to be similar to that on the McLaren P1 GTR, makes for a total downforce of 484 pounds at 150 mph, can be electronically adjusted for either track or street settings, and also functions as an air brake. For those new owners who will take the HS on the track, McLaren’s Track Telemetry system is included and can display information such as lap times, splits, analysis of track maps, and vehicle speed through certain sectors.

The 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V-8 engine, shared across the entire McLaren range, is slightly more powerful than it is in the standard 675LT, making 679 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque in the HS (an increase of 13 horsepower). Glossy carbon-fiber trim and “MSO” badges on the header tank and plenum cover spruce up the engine bay a bit.

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Because each of the 25 people lucky enough to buy an HS was able to special-order their car, interior trim differences versus the 675LT vary. And because no two HS models are the same, MSO won’t say how much these buyers paid for this limited-run vehicle. Not that it matters to those of us who missed out, anyway.

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