McLaren 7201 Named Performance Car of the Year

Road & Track magazine has selected the McLaren 720S supercar as its Performance Car of the Year.

The 720S beat nine other contenders for the title, including the runner-up Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. The other contenders were the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Audi TT RS, Bentley Continental Supersports, Honda Civic Type R. Lamborghini Huracan Performante, Lexus LC 500, Mercedes-AMG GT R and Porsche 911 GT3.

R&T editors evaluated the 10 vehicles during two days of road-testing through Kentucky and Tennessee and two days at the National Corvette Museum’s 2-mile, 13-turn test track in Bowling Green, Ky. After the first round of voting, judges selected four finalists—the Camaro, Civic Type R, LC 500 and McLaren 720S—based on a mix of objective and subjective measures.

The second round was nearly unanimous, with six of the eight editors judging the 720S the best overall performance car. Describing the supercar as “inhumanly sleek, monstrously quick and reassuringly approachable,” R&T says the 720S rides better than the Bentley, outhandles the Huracan and leaves the “snorting Camaro dead to rights” in a drag race.

Introduced in March at the Geneva auto show, the 720S is powered by a 4.0-liter V-8 engine that generates 710 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque. The engine propels the car from zero to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and to a top speed of 212 mph.