McLaren 788HS: End of an Era

On July 9, 2026, McLaren pulled the cover off the 788HS — the marque's first genuinely new model in almost two years, and the last chapter in a story that started with the 720S back in 2017. If you've been following the 720S bloodline — 720S, then the raw and radical 765LT, then the sharpened-up 750S — the 788HS is where it ends. McLaren calls it a High Sport, HS for short, and it's only the third car in the company's history to wear that badge. The first two were rarities in the truest sense: the MP4-12C High Sport, with 10 built, and the 675LT MSO HS, with 25 built. The 788HS will see 200 examples total, split evenly between 100 Coupes and 100 Spiders, making it a limited run but the widest-reaching HS McLaren has ever offered. McLaren hasn't launched a new model since the W1 debuted in October 2024, and the two-year gap makes sense in context: the company has been mid-merger, backed by roughly £1.5 billion in fresh investment, and gearing up for a very different lineup ahead, including more hybrids and reportedly an SUV-shaped model for the first time in McLaren's history. The 788HS is being positioned as a send-off for the naturally-turbocharged V8 supercar formula before that shift happens. On paper, the numbers tell that story well. The 788HS runs the familiar 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, tuned to 777 bhp, or 788 PS, which is where the name comes from, along with 590 lb-ft of torque. McLaren claims 0-62 mph in 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 205 mph, quick but no quicker than the outgoing 765LT, because all the added aero comes with a drag penalty. Dry weight actually drops to 1,265 kg, 12 kg lighter than the 750S, despite the extra bodywork. Visually, this is where the 788HS earns its keep. Up front there's a bespoke splitter, larger intakes, and an S-duct cut into the bonnet to route air over the cabin. Up top, a functional roof scoop feeds cooler air to the engine bay. Out back is where it gets serious: a wing McLaren itself describes as snowboard-sized, bigger cooling vents, a quad-exhaust setup with perforated finishers, drag-reducing wheel spats, and the largest diffuser ever fitted to a 720S-generation car, complete with F1-style slotted vanes. New forged centerlock wheels sit over McLaren's Senna-spec brakes, and for the first time on this platform, McLaren is offering the body in fully exposed carbon fiber. McLaren says all of this nets roughly 10 percent more downforce than the 765LT, a modest claim by supercar-marketing standards, but one McLaren says it can actually back up with F1 wind tunnel data. Inside, the cabin borrows the Senna's lightweight bucket seats, wrapped in carbon fiber and suede, though the roof scoop does eat into rear visibility. Every 788HS is a bespoke commission through McLaren Special Operations, meaning custom livery, tinted clear-coat carbon, and personalized detailing are all on the table, so no two are likely to look alike. McLaren hasn't published fixed pricing, but expect commissions to start in the £300,000s, with final numbers driven by each buyer's MSO spec. With only 200 confirmed and each one a one-off build, allocation is going to be the harder part. The 788HS closes out one of the most respected V8 supercar lineages McLaren has ever built, right as the brand pivots toward hybrids and a broader lineup. For collectors, that combination of last-of-its-kind, genuinely limited, and individually commissioned is usually the recipe that makes a car matter ten years from now, not just this one. Interested in securing an allocation or learning more about the McLaren 788HS? Contact First Class Exotics.