McLaren Create Two Bespoke Commissions for One Customer

Called the MSO R Coupé and MSO R Spider, the cars are the latest in a long line of McLarens produced as personal commissions, a service that sees the customer working closely with MSO to agree the direction, scope and specification of a project.

The two cars, which share the same external, internal and mechanical specifications, are finished in a striking yet understated Liquid Silver – the Coupé in satin and the Spider in gloss finish – with a carbon fibre central stripe. Both also have the same design of twin-element rear wing, with front dive planes to further enhance aerodynamic performance.

The interior design of the cars is arguably even more distinctive than the exterior.  Both cabins feature Alcantara trim material throughout. Primarily in black with red stitching, the theme is reversed for the seats, which are red with black stitching and feature an MSO R logo embroidered in black on the headrest.  

The steering wheel has a carbon fibre upper and lower, with black Alcantara grips and a Delta Red centring stripe. Switches are in gloss black and vent mechanisms are satin black, with bezels in carbon fibre.

This bespoke features do not stop at visual and design changes. The engines of both cars have been blueprinted and the heads and exhaust ports hand-polished, helping to give the M838TL twin-turbocharged McLaren V8 engine maximum power of 688PS (679bhp) and up to 700Nm (516lb ft).  

“An MSO Personal Commission is the highest level of partnership between a customer and McLaren Special Operations, undertaken to design, develop and create unique interpretations of McLaren cars, expertly tailored to meet the exact requirements of the owner,” said Jolyon Nash, Executive Director, Global Sales and Marketing at McLaren Automotive.

“A typical MSO Personal Commission extends beyond paint colours and materials and finishes to encompass changes to body and interior design and also dynamic and powertrain enhancements as required. The result is a McLaren personalised by MSO to become a car that is literally one of a kind – or in the case of these stunning MSO R cars, one of a matched pair.”

One of the first McLarens commissioned at this level was the McLaren X-1. Unveiled during the weekend of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2012, the X-1 was produced for an anonymous buyer.

McLaren Special Operations says it is currently seeing an increasing number of customers enquiring about bespoke and one-off cars.