If you want the sharpest, fastest drive, rent the McLaren 750S. If you want the roof open on Pacific Coast Highway, rent the 720S Spider. Both are two-seat, mid-engine McLarens with a twin-turbo V8 behind your shoulders, and both will feel absurdly fast on any road in Southern California. The difference is in how the day feels: the 750S is the newer, lighter, more focused coupe, and the Spider trades a little of that edge for open air.
For a McLaren rental in Los Angeles, you can pick either one from the Monza Exotics McLaren fleet: a 750S in orange and a 720S Spider in black with an electric-blue interior. Here’s how they differ and how to choose between them.
Where McLaren Sits Next to Ferrari and Lamborghini
Every McLaren road car is built around a carbon fiber tub, the stiff, light passenger cell that the rest of the car bolts to. McLaren points out that its 1990s F1 road car used a carbon fiber monocoque when others used aluminum, and it still treats lightness as the brand’s central idea. You feel it in the steering: the car responds to small inputs, and it changes direction with less weight swinging around than you expect.
The other McLaren signature is the dihedral door, which swings up and forward from a hinge near the windshield. It’s usually the part of the car people film. Compared with the Ferrari and Lamborghini models in Monza’s Los Angeles supercar rentals, a McLaren tends to feel calm and technical from the driver’s seat, with excellent visibility and a surprisingly supple ride for a car this fast.
McLaren 750S: What Changed From the 720S
The 750S is the successor to the 720S, and McLaren describes it as the lightest, most powerful series-production McLaren supercar it has built. According to McLaren’s 750S page, the V8 makes 740 hp (750 PS) and 590 lb-ft of torque, the car reaches 0 to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds and tops out at 206 mph, and the coupe has a dry weight of about 2,815 lb (1,277 kg). McLaren credits that weight to the carbon fiber monocoque, carbon-shelled racing seats and the lightest alloy wheels it has fitted to a car.
McLaren also kept hydraulic power steering, which many rivals have dropped for electric systems, along with its Proactive Chassis Control suspension. In practice the 750S feels a little more alert than the 720S at every speed, with steering that tells you what the front tires are doing. The 720S was already very fast, and what you notice most in the 750S is how quickly it reacts.
When you book a McLaren 750S rental, ask for a quick walkthrough of the drive modes at handover. Comfort is the setting you want in Los Angeles traffic, and the sportier modes are for the open canyon road, where the car makes the most sense.
McLaren 720S Spider Rental: The Open-Air Option
The 720S Spider is the convertible version of the car the 750S replaced. McLaren’s 720S Spider page lists 710 hp (720 PS) and 568 lb-ft from the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 layout, 0 to 124 mph in 7.9 seconds, a top speed of 212 mph and a dry weight of about 2,937 lb (1,332 kg). Its carbon tub, the Monocage II-S, was designed around the roof mechanism.
That roof is the reason to pick it. It’s a fully electric retractable hard top, so with it up the car feels like a coupe on the freeway, and with it down you hear the V8 and feel the sea air. McLaren also points to 360-degree visibility with the roof up or down, which helps when you’re sharing a lane with distracted drivers on PCH. A McLaren 720S Spider rental suits a day where the scenery matters as much as the speed, and it sits alongside the other open cars in Monza’s Los Angeles convertible rentals.
Living With a McLaren for a Day
Getting in takes one practice run. Open the dihedral door, sit on the wide sill first, then swing your legs in and slide down into the seat. Getting out is the reverse. Watch the door’s arc in low parking garages and next to pillars before you open it all the way.
Nose clearance is the real day-to-day issue. Approach driveways, gas station entrances and speed bumps slowly and at an angle, and avoid steep garage ramps if there’s another option. Ask at handover whether the car has a nose-lift system and how to use it. Visibility is better than most people expect from a supercar, but the car is wide, so take tight Hollywood Hills streets slowly.
Space is limited in both. There’s room for two people and a small bag or two in the front luggage compartment, so pack for a day out and leave the suitcase at the hotel.
McLaren 750S vs 720S: Which to Pick for Your Plan
Pick the 750S if the day is about driving. An early run up Angeles Crest Highway or the canyons above Malibu suits the lighter, sharper coupe, and its orange paint makes it the one people photograph at the coffee stop.
Pick the 720S Spider if the day is about being out in Los Angeles. A slow cruise up PCH at sunset, a drive to dinner in Malibu or a birthday where the passenger matters as much as the driver all suit the open roof. Put the top up for the freeway home once the evening cools.
If you can’t decide, think about who’s in the other seat. A car enthusiast will probably prefer the 750S. Someone who mainly wants the experience of a supercar, with the wind and the sound, tends to remember the Spider more.
Booking a McLaren Rental in Los Angeles
At the time of writing, Monza’s listings start from $1,695 a day for the 750S and $1,295 a day for the 720S Spider, with a one-day minimum. The deposit and extra-mile rate are on each car’s page, and both cars are available for pick-up or delivery. Before you set off, check the extra-mile rate against your route, since a canyon loop followed by a run up the coast adds up faster than people expect.
Book a few weeks ahead for weekends and holidays, since there’s one of each in the fleet.
Book Your McLaren
Decide whether your day is a canyon drive or a coastal cruise, then check dates for the car that fits. Browse both cars on the Monza Exotics McLaren rental page and book your McLaren while your date is still open.
