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McLaren LT to be ongoing badge for supercar brand's second-rung specials

The 600LT is the latest in the 'Longtail' lineage.

The LT badge that began with the famed McLaren F1 GTR ‘Longtail’ in 1997 is set to become the UK sports car specialist's ongoing nameplate for next-level versions of the brand’s Sports, Super and Ultimate series cars.

CarsGuide understands that, while the 600LT is only the fourth car to receive the ‘Longtail’ treatment, other cars will follow as part of the brand’s ‘Track25’ roadmap to deliver 18 new cars or derivatives by 2025. McLaren representatives told CarsGuide at the Australian launch of the 600LT that there would be no messing around with other nameplates as Ferrari has with ‘Speciale’ or ‘Pista’ saying that in terms of McLaren second-rung specials, “LT is it”.

We expect a Spider version of the 600LT to be next in line to receive the LT badge, but it would be no surprise to see the 720S with the 'Longtail' treatment. Such a model would likely sit beneath the hardcore 720S-based Senna that appeared last year.

McLaren’s latest 'Longtail' enhancements for the 600LT involved reducing weight by roughly 100kg through extensive use of carbon fibre bodywork, as well as re-designing components like the brakes and exhaust.

The 600LT has no carpets, no door pockets, no GPS, and no air-conditioning. The glass is even thinner than the 570S on which it is based. Various new aero parts, including the 74mm extension to the body, increase downforce significantly.

As to the rest of McLaren’s ‘Track25’ plan, there is a replacement for the 673kW P1 ‘hypercar’ in the works as well as a model called the ‘Speedtail’ that McLaren describes as ‘The ultimate hyper-GT’.

The Speedtail will share the F1's three-seat layout. The Speedtail will share the F1's three-seat layout.

McLaren plans to place the Speedtail as the ‘ultimate road-going McLaren’. Only 106 cars are slated for production, and it is touted to produce in excess of 736kW from a tweaked version of the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 powering the 720S. Importantly, McLaren says the Speedtail will have a three-seat configuration like its legendary F1 predecessor.

That would make it the most powerful road-going McLaren ever produced, although how it fits into the range alongside the P1 replacement is unknown.

What would you most like to see next out of McLaren: The P1 replacement, the Speedtail, or a 720S-based LT?