Dubai’s appetite for statement supercars has never been subtle, yet even by the city’s exalted standards this new arrival feels special. Last night, behind the glass façade of McLaren Dubai’s mammoth showroom, Chic Icon watched the covers slip from a 750S so heavily personalized that it now stands alone in the world—part rolling sculpture, part love letter to the company that changed Formula 1 forever.
A Tribute in XP Green
The standard 750S is already the marque’s lightest and most powerful series-production model, but the owner of this car wanted something that would speak directly to McLaren’s heritage. Working hand-in-hand with McLaren Special Operations (MSO) in Woking, he specified an arresting XP Green paint—an archival hue that whispers of 1960s Can-Am monsters—outlined by delicate yellow pinstripes that trace every major panel crease. The attention to detail borders on obsessive. Bruce McLaren’s signature is hand-painted across the active rear wing; Union Jack and New Zealand flags sit shoulder-to-shoulder on the buttress, while each mirror casing carries a tiny “Speedy Kiwi” badge: the same talisman Bruce stitched to his overalls.
The overall effect is slippery, sophisticated, and quietly defiant in a region where high-vis hyper-metallics reign. Under low showroom light, the color flips from deep bottle-green to almost midnight blue; outside, it should glow like a gemstone against Dubai’s terracotta dunes.
Inside the Racing Time Capsule
Swing up the dihedral doors and the homage continues. MSO re-trimmed the cockpit in green and saddle-tan leather—a nod to traditional British racing interiors—offset by exposed carbon sill plates laser-etched with Bruce McLaren quotations. The seats themselves are Senna-style carbon buckets, their lacquered backs signed by the craftsmen who built them. Paddle shifters feature a discreet yellow accent to mirror the exterior pinstriping; even the start-stop button has been color-matched.
At first glance, these touches feel poetic. Once the twin-turbo V8 barks into life they become visceral, reminding driver and passenger alike that every McLaren road-car carries the DNA of the racing team. The anonymous owner summed it up neatly: “I wanted a 750S that celebrated McLaren itself—past, present, future. MSO turned my sketchbook into something breathtaking.”
The Numbers That Matter
In raw performance terms, nothing has changed. The 4.0-liter V8 still unleashes 740 PS and 800 Nm, good for 0–100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and 200 km/h in a shade under eight. What is remarkable is how many 750S orders coming out of Dubai receive an equally deep dive into MSO personalization: more than 25 percent, according to General Manager Mazen Al Nashar. “Our clients don’t view a supercar as the end product,” he told us, still beaming after the handover. “They see it as a starting canvas. With MSO we can riff on color, texture, and even circuit-specific aerodynamic tweaks until the car becomes a personal crest.”
Given that McLaren Dubai is the largest standalone retailer and after-sales center in the marque’s global network, the showroom doubles as an unofficial concours of one-off specials. This new 750S slots in seamlessly beside previous MSO projects: volcano orange Elvas, satin-grey Speedtails, and even a P1 re-imagined in the colours of Ayrton Senna’s 1988 MP4/4.
Why the 750S Matters
McLaren bills the 750S as the spiritual successor to both the 720S and the track-focused 765LT. Lighter by 30 kg than its predecessor, blessed with quicker steering, and fitted with a ferocious new exhaust, it arrives just as the supercar market faces renewed scrutiny of overweight and complexity. The car strips away hybridity and four-wheel-drive gimmickry to re-focus on power-to-weight and driver engagement—principles Bruce himself would recognize.
That purity makes it an ideal playground for MSO’s artisans. Where the Speedtail or Artura’s complex aero surfaces can limit bespoke liveries, the 750S’s taut lines beg for heritage pinstriping, subtle graphics, or in this instance XP Green paint that pools like racing silk over each panel.
Standing beside the finished car, camera shutters clicking, we were struck by how understated the final composition felt. Dubai supercars often shout; this one converses. You notice the clever color flips, the signature hidden in plain sight, the way the yellow stripe flows around the dihedral hinge and dissolves into shadow. None of it is loud, yet together it pulses with brand mythology.
For McLaren fans, the symbols are catnip—the speedy kiwi, the cross-flags, the Bruce scrawl—but you don’t need to be a historian to appreciate the craft. It’s there in the perfect alignment of pinstripes across separate panels, or the uniform grain of the saddle-tan leather against the stark carbon tub.
We left the event convinced of two things. First, Dubai’s hunger for personalization shows no sign of slowing; with MSO on speed dial the city’s collectors will continue to turn limited-series McLarens into one-of-none masterpieces. Second, the 750S may become the sweet spot in Woking’s line-up: a car light enough, loud enough, analog enough to thrill purists, yet digital enough to please daily drivers, and malleable enough for MSO to paint every owner’s dream.
In a market where rarity equals currency, a tribute car that quietly salutes its own heritage might just be the boldest statement of all.
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