Enjoy cruising at over 300 km/h in 2019 McLaren 600 LT Spider

The most powerful droptop in McLaren's Sport Series line has been unleashed.

After releasing a teaser image of the all-new Longtail (LT) last week, McLaren has officially taken the covers off of the 600 LT Spider. It serves as the company's fifth LT model and is touted as being one of the lightest and fastest in the segment.

“The McLaren 600LT Spider adds a new dimension of excitement to the most extreme model in the Sports Series family, while losing none of the Longtail focus. Taking full advantage of the strength of the carbon fibre MonoCell II chassis has ensured that the new Spider has dynamic abilities and performance on par with the 600LT Coupé, for a weight premium of just 50kg and with no additional structural strengthening required,” said Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren Automotive.

From the outside, the new 600 LT Spider get to keep the same exterior design as its coupe counterpart. McLaren, however, was busy reducing its weight in order for it to be as light and quick as possible. Using the 570S' body as its base, the company was able to shed about 100 kg without having to add additional structural supports as with most convertibles.

The result is a curb weight of just 1,297 kg, just 50 kg more than the 600 LT Coupe. According to Mclaren, this makes their latest droptop weigh 80 kg less than its nearest competitors, as well as have a power-to-weight ratio of 463 PS per ton.

Instead of a fabric soft-top, McLaren used a lightweight retractable hardtop that can be lowered and raised at speeds of up to 40 km/h. According to McLaren, this allows the 600 LT Spider to have a coupe-like cabin refinement. But more importantly, it allowed the engineers and designers to keep the familiar silhouette derived from the hardtop 600 LT.

To keep the driver and passenger free from any wind turbulence while the roof is down, McLaren installed an electronic-powered glazed wind deflector. However, the deflector can be deployed independent of the retractable hardtop should the occupants want more wind in their hair, or listen more to the V8's wail.

Powering the 600 LT Spider is a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 that is connected to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. From its namesake, the new droptop makes the same amount of power as its coupe brethren; 600 PS and 620 Nm of torque. This translates to a 0 – 100 km/h sprint of just 2.9 seconds (the same as the hardtop) and a top speed of over 320 km/h.

Helping the 600 LT Spider achieve those kinds of figures comes down to the revised aerokit. At 250 km/h, McLaren claims that the Spider is capable of generating the same amount of downforce as the coupe; 100 kg. Other than that, the Spider also comes with recalibrated dampers, firmer engine mounts, forged aluminum double wishbone suspension and a more lightweight braking system. Providing grip are track-focused, Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo R tires.

As for the cabin itself, it features Alcantara trim, carbon fiber racing shell seats from the McLaren P1, a digital instrument panel, and a touchscreen infotainment system. For those that want to shed more weight for their 600 LT Spider, McLaren is offering to have the audio system and climate control systems removed should the customers want them gone.

Like the 600 LT Coupe, the Spider variant will only be built in limited quantities and is already selling for a hefty GBP 201,500 (about Php 13.7 million).