2022 McLaren 765LT Spider

[MUSIC PLAYING] CLINT SIMONE: Welcome to Edmunds U-Drags. Today, we're power tripping. Over here, we have a sports car looking for a one-way ticket into the supercar club. And here, I mean, come on. It's already there. This is a dream pairing. Over here is the Chevy Corvette Z06, the rowdiest, most track-focused Corvette, ever. And over here is the McLaren 765LT, the lightweight, suped-up version of a lightweight suped-up exotic. Oh, baby. The U-Drag gods are good. And before we get rolling, what is U-Drags? Well, it's a race to there and back. You see, at Edmunds, we love to test cars. We came up with this not-so-scientific way of doing so that we call U-Drags. We're going to take these two monsters and send them all the way down the track where they're going to get hard on the brakes, turn around, and come all the way back. That means we're getting 1/4 mile, hard braking, handling, and a rolling race all in one. And after the first race, we're going to swap drivers and lanes to make sure everybody gets a fair shot. And stay tuned. Because at the end, we're going to crunch the numbers. First up is the Corvette Z06 making 670 horsepower and 460 pound feet of torque. Those are gigantic numbers. With the optional ZO7 package, it's got tons of aero, carbon fiber wheels, and incredibly sticky tires, the kind that are designed specifically for hijinks like this. Then there's the 765LT. This car is deep in supercar territory at 755 horsepower and 590 pound feet. Not a single gram is wasted. LT stands for lightweight. So you can see where this is going. Engine, suspension, brakes, everything is tuned up to the max. Is the Z06 really up for this kind of challenge? To find out, we've got two members of the Edmunds test team, Reese, and Kurt. KURT NIEBUHR: Oh boy. CLINT SIMONE: Hold on to your butts, folks. This one is going to be fast. Probably really loud too. If you haven't noticed, there's a lot of money in cars sitting behind me right now. So if you want to see us do more ridiculous things just like this, do us a favor and like and subscribe. And by the way, if you're looking to sell your car, head over to edmunds.com/sellmycar. [MUSIC PLAYING] KURT NIEBUHR: Corvette Z06. This one has the ZO7 package if you couldn't have already seen from the outside. I don't know what I'm going to do against that thing. But obviously, I have to use launch control. So launch control is not the easiest thing to get into. It's not impossible, but it's-- put the car into track mode, which is this knob thing down here, tap the ESC button that brings up the performance traction management menu, move it into Sport, and then that unlocks launch control. I'm going to try and set launch control at like 4,000 RPM, maybe 6% slip. Maybe 7% if I can get the tires really hot. But that's it. I mean, I-- it's a McLaren. It has 100 more horsepower. I can just hope that I get a better start and just get more traction. That's all I can hope for. So yeah. This is going to be fun. REESE COUNTS: I am in the McLaren. And I'm going to use the very advanced launch control. Now I press the Active button on the dash, put the car in the first gear, push the launch control button down here, and all it is is waiting for me to hit throttle. CLINT SIMONE: This one is exciting. [MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER 1: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. REESE COUNTS: Come on. KURT NIEBUHR: Oh. REESE COUNTS: Come on. KURT NIEBUHR: Oh. Holy [BLEEPS]. No way. Not a [BLEEPS] chance. Look at that. Whoo. That is fast. [MUSIC PLAYING] Oh. Wow. REESE COUNTS: Yeah, wow is an understatement. That was one of the most thrilling things I've ever experienced. KURT NIEBUHR: That was-- I thought I got a great launch. I loved it. I looked over, I couldn't see you. And then all of a sudden, it was like I had a parachute behind the car. That thing positively drove past me and just kept going. REESE COUNTS: I don't know if it's limiting torque off the line, but you definitely got off quicker. But yeah, I mean, this thing picks up power. It just sailed by. I really didn't know what this race was going to look like. But I didn't expect that. Whoa. This car. KURT NIEBUHR: It's weird to be in a Z06 with all this power, all the technology, all the radness that's baked into this, and then look over and get positively walked. Walked. REESE COUNTS: I mean, I would hope so for the price of this thing. KURT NIEBUHR: No, I mean, it is less than half the price. But that shows that if you want to go as fast as that thing, it's going to cost money. REESE COUNTS: Yeah, everything about it, the brakes, the engine, it just feels wonderful. KURT NIEBUHR: You looked like the thing was just glued onto the floor. It was no movement out of that thing. I wasn't looking at you when you went around the cone because I was kind of focused on my own issues. REESE COUNTS: To be honest, I probably could have taken the cones a little tighter. But I-- once you get on the power, I just really wanted to get the wheel straightened up as much as I could. Because when this starts putting it down, I-- it just hauls. [MUSIC PLAYING] KURT NIEBUHR: Oh. REESE COUNTS: Out of the McLaren and into the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06. So I'm going to put the car in launch control. I'm going to leave it in all the standard settings. Kurt really got a good launch on that last one. So I don't see a reason to change it. Here we go. Hopefully, I can keep traction. And maybe I'll get lucky. KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, man. I should probably get my seat set for this bad boy. Yeah. Launch sequence is kind of critical to get away. Active panel has to be turned on. I've got suspension and Sport just because this is a little bit bumpy out here. Power is set to full kill, which is the track mode. Put hard on the brake and then you just-- oh, make sure you're in first gear, pull the paddle, and press the Launch button. This might not get away the quickest. But it's going to finish first, at least if I don't royally screw something up. [MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER 1: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. REESE COUNTS: Oh my God. KURT NIEBUHR: Holy [BLEEPS] CLINT SIMONE: That is without a doubt the quickest run in U-Drags history. And you just saw it. KURT NIEBUHR: Sometimes in your life, there are things that you experience that can only be expressed through profanity. And that was [BLEEPS] one of them. REESE COUNTS: No kidding. I still can't believe that the Z06 got beat by that much. KURT NIEBUHR: I like can barely tell you what happened. All I know is that I left and then it was really time to stand on the brakes. And you got to stand on them on this thing. But when you turn the corner, ESC kind of helps keep you straight. Then dude, you get fired out of a cannon. REESE COUNTS: McLaren loves their firm brakes. But yeah, it-- once the power comes on, it just-- I don't know. It just seems to pull harder at the top. KURT NIEBUHR: Coming straight from the Z06 into this, the Z06 has great-- has a great front end. The steering feels fantastic. This is even better. REESE COUNTS: I know. Everything about that car feels like I want it to. It's just so fast. But it feels stable. The Z06 is kind of a little squirrelly off the line. Not bad, but it struggles. But the McLaren does too. But it feels dead straight while it's doing it. KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, I think I need to add one of these to my collection. Oh, dude. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now all I have to do is get out. Oh. REESE COUNTS: Thing's fun to get out of it, isn't it? KURT NIEBUHR: I don't know if I'd call it fun, but-- I'm just going to lay down here for a second. Oh. CLINT SIMONE: Let's recap. In race one off the line, the Z06 got a great start, ripping to 60 in 3.2 seconds, outgunning the McLaren's 3.4. And then everything changed. The 765 put the hammer down, winning the 1/4 mile by a half second in 10.4. Just look at that speed. Team Chevy cornered with a higher G force around the bend. But it wasn't enough. The McLaren won the race by an impressive 1.6 seconds, crossing the line at over 160 miles an hour. Not only is that the fastest finishing speed we've ever had on U-Drags, it beat the Z06 by 15 miles per hour. That's huge. In race two, both cars left the line side by side. But the McLaren hitting 60 in 3.1, and quickly pulling away from the Z06. By the time the Big Mac hit the 1/4, it was 0.7 seconds ahead, and almost 15 miles an hour faster. That active arrow really helps under braking and provides maximum stick in the corner. The 765 outperformed the Vette at 1.09 G's versus 1.01 and rocketed to victory by 2 and 1/2 seconds. Now let's see the in-car camera and the data. KURT NIEBUHR: Oh. Come on. Oh, no. Holy [BLEEPS] No way. Not a [BLEEPS] chance. Look at that. Whoo. That is fast. That's what a half a million bucks gets you right there. CLINT SIMONE: So we all just saw, and heard, how bananas that was. But I want to know how it felt. So talk us through how these two cars feel from behind the wheel. KURT NIEBUHR: I'll talk about the Vette because that's what I drove first. It feels like an animal. It feels very capable. But it's still an intimidating car. And it can make a good driver feel like an amateur. And you're just kind of always worried, not because of the car's doing anything bad, but because what it could do because you're not smart enough to tell it the right thing to do. REESE COUNTS: Yeah, I'm sure the car is capable of it. But the McLaren, on the other hand, is, I don't want to say methodical. But going down the straight, I'm spinning the tires. But the car feels dead straight. So where the Corvette's getting a little squirrelly. And just, I don't know. Honestly, I've never felt anything like that. The acceleration especially at the top end in the McLaren is wild. Wild stuff. CLINT SIMONE: It was crazy quick to watch. Bringing this maybe back down to Earth a little bit, it was roughly $300,000 that separates these two cars when it comes to price. KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah. CLINT SIMONE: Worth it? KURT NIEBUHR: I mean, it kind of depends on how fast you want to go. Could you mod one of these up to be as fast as this? Yeah. But then you'd lose your warranty, you'd lose everything else. And like this is, at this level, it takes this much more money to make this vehicle work. REESE COUNTS: That's the thing. This is an amazing car. It just happens that that has a little bit more to it. CLINT SIMONE: So much more. So much more in that race. By the way, we have plenty more U-Drags episodes to check out right here on the Edmunds channel. So go ahead and do that. And as always, thanks for watching. [MUSIC PLAYING]