Supercars might seem exotic with their hand-crafted construction, rare materials and sky-high prices, but they’re just like the cars you or I would drive and can go wrong at any minute. Now, despite charging upwards of $400,000 for its 765 LT supercar, McLaren has revealed that it might not have stuck the rear window on correctly.
The 765 LT was launched back in 2021 and boasted 755 horsepower (765PS if you’re McLaren), a top speed north of 200 mph and a zero to 60 time under three seconds. The car went on sale starting at $400,000 with prices quickly ramping up when you start looking through the McLaren options brochure.
That eye-watering figure isn’t quite enough to make sure the car holds together when you’re driving it the way it’s meant to drive, as McLaren has now revealed that the rear window of the car could work loose when you’re nearing 100 mph, reports Road & Track.
According to the British supercar maker, if you drive the 765 LT with its windows open at speeds of 96mph or greater, the rear windshield could work loose, as R&T explains:
Here’s what happened: McLaren discovered that the polycarbonate panel making up the rear window can detach from the car, which can theoretically increase the risk of a crash. The adhesive that bonds the window to the frame can fail under certain conditions. Those conditions are unlikely to occur during normal (or at least, legal) road use, but can happen on a racetrack where higher speeds are common.
McLaren became aware of the issue after several warranty claims were submitted due to a rattling noise coming from the rear window. When McLaren initially tried to replicate the condition that led to the window separating, they were unsuccessful, until they became aware of the fact that some racetracks require cars are driven with windows down as a safety measure.
The recall impacts the 2021 model year 765 LT coupe, but cars spec’d with a factory-fitted roof scoop are not subject to the recall. In total, the issue is thought to hit just 163 cars sold across the U.S., reports CarScoops.
Thankfully, the issue only appears to arise when the cars are driving at 96 mph or higher, which is obviously not something McLaren owners would be doing regularly, especially not on America’s highways… right?
To ensure owners can get back out on track and drive their supercars in anger, rather than keeping them stored up in collections across America, McLaren has a quick fix prepared to rollout, as CarScoops adds:
Dealers need to install bespoke fastenings into each corner of the polycarbonate panel to secure it in place. In the meantime, McLaren has advised drivers not to exceed 96 mph (154 km/h) with the windows open and also avoid driving on racetracks. For those who wish to do so before the fix is ready, McLaren will apply an extra adhesive to the perimeter edge of the support frame to reinforce it as a temporary measure.
The McLaren recall isn’t the first issue to hit the cars driven by the super-rich this year. Porsche Carrera GT owners were told to stop driving their cars over issues uncovered with the supercar’s suspension, while all 28 Koenigsegg Jesko owners were told to stop driving their cars after a fire destroyed one of the Swedish hypercars.
These issues followed countless recalls to hit American motorists this year, including drivers of Fords, Teslas and BMW models.
If you are worried that your six-figure supercar might be affected by a recall, there are a few easy ways to check if it’s the case. First up, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a super handy app that you can use to see if your vehicle is impacted by a recall, or you can head to the regulator’s website and plug your VIN into its recall search tool.
