One McLaren customer is about to take delivery of not one, but two one-off MSO (McLaren Special Operations) creations.
Called the MSO R Coupe and MSO Spider, the two cars have the same body parts, interior fittings and mechanical specifications - but unlike other MSO builds we've seen this year, the MSO R's engines have been beefed up for added performance.
The engines of both cars have been blueprinted off the M838T powerunit used in the 675 LT. But in MSO R trim the heads and exhaust ports are hand-polished, and the exhaust system has a ‘crossover’ muffler to increase pipe length and optimise gas flow.
These changes bump the performance of the 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged McLaren engine to 506kW of power (679bhp) and up to 700Nm of torque.
The pair of MSO R's feature a carbon fibre stripe down the middle of the cars and are painted in the same hue - Liquid Silver - but with the roof up on the Spider, the two are distinguishable by differing finishes with the Coupe in satin and the Spider finished in gloss.
The front bumper, bonnet, louvered fenders, roof scoop and rear deck are all MSO Visual Carbon Fibre components, as are the side mirror and wiper arms.
Delta Red stripping features on the front splitter and side blades, while the splitter, side skirts, sill panels, rocker panels and plenum cover carry MSO R branding.
The wheels are a 5-spoke design, finished in satin black on the Coupe and gloss black on the Spider.
The interior design of the cars is just as distinctive as the exterior. Both cabins feature Alcantara trim material throughout. Primarily in black with red stitching, the theme is reversed for the seats, which are red with black stitching and feature an MSO R logo embroidered in black on the headrest.
The steering wheel has a carbon fibre upper and lower, with black Alcantara grips and a Delta Red centring stripe. Switches are in gloss black and vent mechanisms are satin black, with bezels in carbon fibre.
The cars are started with an MSO R-branded key, and both the Coupe and the Spider feature bespoke IRIS screen and instrument cluster displays and gear-shift lights.
The final visual touch is a plaque on each car identifying them as an MSO Personal Commission.
“An MSO Personal Commission is the highest level of partnership between a customer and McLaren Special Operations, undertaken to design, develop and create unique interpretations of McLaren cars, expertly tailored to meet the exact requirements of the owner," said McLaren Executive, Jolyon Nash
"A typical MSO Personal Commission extends beyond paint colours and materials and finishes to encompass changes to body and interior design and also dynamic and powertrain enhancements as required."
"The result is a McLaren personalised by MSO to become a car that is literally one of a kind – or in the case of these stunning MSO R cars, one of a matched pair.”
As with all MSO creations, the price and customer details are never disclosed. But I have no doubt we'll see more these two beauties in a concourse event or cruising around Monaco sometime in the future.
