Last Thursday I drove a McLaren 750S down Via de la Valle doing 42 miles per hour. That's the speed limit. That's also the most disrespectful thing you can do to a car with 740 horsepower. It felt like putting a leash on a wolf and walking it through a farmer's market.
A friend of mine just took delivery. Nardo Blue over a black interior. He lives off Calzada del Bosque in Rancho Santa Fe, which, if you've never driven it, is this winding canopy road that feels like it was designed by someone who wanted you to enjoy your car but never go fast. So basically the worst possible commute for a mid-engine supercar. He doesn't care. He loves it.
I borrowed it for a few hours. Here's my take.
The 750S is McLaren's replacement for the 720S, and the upgrades aren't just spec sheet stuff. The throttle response is sharper. The suspension somehow got more composed without getting harsh. And the thing weighs about 2,840 pounds, which is genuinely absurd for something this powerful. You feel that lightness everywhere. Turn-in is instant. Braking is ridiculous. And the sound, this flat-plane crank V8, sits right behind your head and screams through a note that's angry but not obnoxious.
Compare that to something like a Ferrari 296 GTB, which I think sounds better at low RPM but loses character up top. The McLaren is the opposite. Calm below 4,000 RPM, then absolute chaos above 6. I prefer it that way. You choose when the drama starts.
The interior is where McLaren still gets mixed reviews, and I get it. It's minimal. Almost too minimal. The infotainment screen is fine, not great. There's no massive center console with 47 buttons like a Bentley. But I actually respect the approach. You're not buying this car to sync your Spotify playlists in surround sound. You're buying it to drive.
Now here's where I'll connect this to what I do for a living, because I can't help myself.
I work with buyers in La Jolla, Del Mar, and Rancho Santa Fe. A lot of them have two, three, sometimes five cars. Garage space matters more than people realize. I had a listing last year on Avenida Chamnez in La Jolla where the garage was technically three cars but in reality couldn't fit anything wider than a sedan without folding mirrors and praying. That's a problem if you're parking a 750S with those dihedral doors. You need vertical clearance and width. I always tell my clients to measure, not guess.
Rancho Santa Fe is different. Most estates have four-plus car garages, some with separate outbuildings. I showed a property on Bia Santa Ynez earlier this spring that had an eight-car garage with a lift system and climate control. That's the kind of setup where a car like this makes sense. You're not cramming it between a Suburban and a golf cart.
Del Mar is tricky. The lots along Stratford Court and some of the older neighborhoods near the village are tight. Beautiful homes, but the garages were built in the '60s and '70s for cars that were six feet wide and sat flat. A modern supercar with ground clearance issues (the 750S nose will scrape on steep driveway transitions) needs a property that accounts for that. I've walked clients away from homes they loved because the driveway grade would destroy their front splitter. That's a real conversation I have. More than once a year.
So back to the car. Would I buy one? Yes. Without hesitation. I think it's the best pure sports car under $400K right now. The Porsche 911 Turbo S is more livable and the Ferrari 296 is more emotional, but the McLaren is the one that made me grip the wheel harder and grin like an idiot on a random Thursday afternoon.
My friend asked me what I thought when I dropped the key off. I told him the truth. That car is wasted on Via de la Valle. He laughed. Then he took it to Palomar Mountain that weekend.
Smart man.