Looking into the not-so-distant motoring future, electrification and automatisation are set to dominate our driving experience, as we increasingly take on board stricter emissions and safety standards.

But before these become the norm, McLaren has introduced the ultimate evolution of the original supercar format it has been perfecting since its first road car: the MP4-12C, in 2010. By basically re-jigging the same elements over the last ten years – the powerful motorsport-sourced twin-turbo V8 engine, the rigid carbon-fibre chassis, and some other very clever engineering marvels – McLaren has now put Ferrari, Lamborghini and their ilk firmly in its sights. And the 765LT could be the car that finally overtakes them.

So how exactly do you construct the ultimate sports car? Obviously you take your best effort so far in terms of production models, which in this case was the McLaren 720S. Then you give it additional oomph (45 HP ramped up to 765 HP) and throw in some extra downforce. The side effect of all this is that you end up with one of the most breath-taking, goose pimple-inducing chassis in supercar history – and apparently longer than the original, hence the LT, or Longtail, of its name.

Then you also need to take some of the weight off it, and that’s where things get a bit tricky. After all, every single McLaren is already extremely light, being made from materials otherwise used exclusively in Formula 1 or in Nasa’s workshops. To achieve a reduction of 80 kilos, McLaren’s engineers had to come up with such approaches as using titanium bolts and slimming the windows down by 0.8 millimetres. Oh, and taking the carpets out. That’s the level of sacrifice we’re talking about here.

Seven seconds of happiness (and more)

The result is the definitive sports car of 2020. Securing this title is now more difficult than ever, with all the electric Porsche Taycans and Teslas as well as the über-SUVs like the Audi RS Q8s and BMW X6 Ms producing some compelling performance figures and genuinely engaging drives. But this fire-spitting, animal of a McLaren is simply in another league – in fact, it’s in one all of its own.

With its 0–200 km/h acceleration time of 7 seconds, the 765LT is one of the fastest cars ever made, and yet it’s only a rear wheel drive. Still, with its 200–0 km/h braking distance of 108 metres it’s also one of the most confidence-inspiring.

Mind you, it’s still a car for those who really know how to drive – a vanishingly rare ability in 2020. Tackle a corner like a pro and you can hit speeds not far off those of an F1 driver, or you can even go into a huge powerslide like a drift master. But do this wrong and it can easily veer out of control.

Nevertheless, the main thing I took away from the car is that it’s just so absurdly quick. It’s so fast that it actually causes you physical pain. After a day of accelerating, braking and throwing it around the corners of the Silverstone track, I felt sick and dizzy – even back home in Warsaw several hours later. Have we come to the point where a car can be… too fast? Surely there’s no such thing as “too fast” when it comes to the ultimate sports car? Which the 765LT undoubtedly is.

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Price list for Poland (selected items)

• McLaren 765LT (basic version) - EUR 402,500 (incl. taxes)
• exterior carbon fibre pack (one of several) - EUR 41,000
• track brake upgrade - EUR 32,860
• air conditioning & DAB radio - free of charge

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Tomasz Cudowski, ‘Eurobuild CEE’

Only for the slight and supple

Warning: each new McLaren, like every sports car, requires a wee sporty slip of driver. If you’re above 185 cm (6 feet) in height and weigh more than 100 kg (16 stone), getting into the McLaren 765 LT is like packing a large bulldog into a shoe box. And when you’re eventually squashed in, the coup de grâce is the drop-down door closing to give you a good whack on the “petrol head”. I mean: helmet.