I’ve made no secret of my disdain for the McLaren Senna’s visage (and the rest of it, for that matter). I find its design to be harsh, rude, incohesive and butt-ugly. Unlike the very sleek and excellent 720S. But this very well could become one of those cases where I’ll stomach the way it looks because of how incredibly it performs.
In the first of a four-part series, Autocar pitted the Senna and the 720S against each other in a zero to 161km/h to zero test, meant to explore the cars’ grip, aerodynamics, weight and brakes.
The 720S beat the Senna from zero to 60 mph because the latter just couldn’t get its wheels to hook up from a standstill. But once that happened, it hit 100 faster than the 720S could. The Senna did 161km/h down to zero in 3.77 seconds, while the 720S did it in 4.13. The full zero-to-100-to-zero test took 9.35 seconds and 9.97 seconds, respectively.
To put that into perspective, Autocar also mentioned the same test it did with a Bugatti Veyron, which did the full run in 9.9 seconds after hitting 100 in 5.5 seconds. The Senna hit 161km/h in 5.4 seconds. That’s lightness and aerodynamics at work.
I know I’ve just thrown a lot of numbers at you, but the point I’m trying to make is the Senna’s performance is bonkers. It’s crazy fast, crazy quick and whatever other speedy adjective you care to use. Does that make it more attractive in my eyes? Maybe if I squint at it…? Maybe if I…?
Nah. It’s still ugly. Sorry.