THE MCLAREN 750S IS RIDICULOUSLY FAST, JUST LIKE DOWNHILL SKIER AND WORLD RECORD HOLDER SIMON BILLY.SIMON
The replacement to the rather successful McLaren 720S was recently revealed, and in true McLaren fashion, it’s an absolute stunner of a machine. You can see that the car is an evolution of the 720S, the exterior changes aren’t aggressive, in fact, if you first spotted the all-new 750S from a bit of a distance, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was a 720S. Things are quite similar under the hood too, but better as is the norm for a replacement to a model, especially in the world of supercars and hypercars. The new McLaren 750S sees fitment of McLaren's tried and trusted twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 powerplant but for the 750S, the men in white coats at McLaren’s factory in Woking have done a bit of tickling and massaging to make things more efficient and more powerful. The ECU has had a rework to increase boost pressure and ensure the fuelling keeps us and doesn’t have a dreaded lean-out, there’s a new set of high-flow fuel pumps in play. After all is said and done, the new McLaren now kicks out a very healthy 552 kW, which when converted to that other rating that people use so it sounds like they make more power, it’s a cool 750 hp. The torque has obviously increased along with the power, and it’s now rated at a powerful 800 Nm dead. All of this has been coupled to McLaren’s sturdy and quick-shifting 7-speed dual-clutch transmission with newly revised gear ratios. All this means the new 750S is capable of launching from zero to 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds and it can also get up to 200 km/h in as little as 7.2 seconds, which is wicked fast. Power is nothing without control, and so the Proactive Chassis Control system also underwent a number of hardware and software changes to complete the full series update. With stats like that, the car is one of the quicker ones available off the showroom floor, and someone would need to be in something pretty serious to keep up with it.
Unless your name is Simon Billy. The 32-year-old is a speed skier from France’s Haute-Alpes region where skiing at speed down a hill is a thing you do in cold and snowy mountain regions. The man actually comes from a family of speed skiers, so he’s a second-generation athlete following in the ski trails of his father, Phillipe Billy. Phillipe set the downhill ski record back in 1997 with a ridiculously fast speed of 243.902 km/h. Younger brother Louis has been clocked at a slightly slower but just as insane speed of 241.125 km /h. The World Record for the discipline was set back in 2016 by Italian Ivan Origone, who clocked over 250 km/h when his skis crossed the traps at 254.958 km/h. At a recent event, Simon was set to attempt a World Record run that he’s had to wait seven years to do, these things can only be done when the conditions are perfect. After a strong run on the previous day, Simon strapped his old helmet on and gave it his all. The man clocked an astounding speed of 255.500 km/h, narrowly beating rival Simone Origone. You can imagine how steep the ski slope must have been for gravity to be able to pull a man to the bottom at such a high speed. There’s no motor, no propulsion and also no safety. If you mess up a run it’ll look like a cartoon where the main character rolls into a snowball while shattering all 206 bones. Most people have never been that fast in a car, never mind in a tight suit on skis. “Since I was a kid, I’ve witnessed all the records here in Vars, and today I’m writing my name in history, after my father did it a few years earlier. Today, it’s a childhood dream come true.” But what connects Simon to McLaren? Well, that’s the shared relentless determination to redefine and shatter boundaries through the meticulous pursuit of cutting-edge technology and advanced materials. It's a tireless dedication to pushing every limit and honing every detail - precisely the elements that make the 750S a new apex in supercars that surpasses the benchmarks for performance, engagement and purity of response, true to its DNA.
Take a look at the YouTube video that shows off the amazing speed and agility of the all-new McLaren 750S and how it's linked to the new World Record holder for downhill speed skiing, Simon Billy: McLaren 750S X The World’s Fastest Skier | McLaren Automotive
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News World Record Downhill Skiing Skiing Simon Billy Hypercar 750S McLaren McLaren Automotive