Supercar buyers waiting for the replacement of the McLaren 750S now know its name and its power: the McL 820, first spotted on a giant kiwi statue in London, will arrive in 2027 with 809 horsepower, 69 more than the car it replaces.
McLaren confirmed the name in a statement on October 30, according to Road & Track. The British carmaker also confirmed the output behind the number: 820 metric horsepower.
Converted to the figure used in the United States, 820 PS equals 809 horsepower, Car and Driver reports. The car is due to reach streets and racetracks sometime in 2027.
The McL 820 is the successor to the 750S. Earlier this month, McLaren announced that the 750S will end production sometime next year.
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A name hidden on a kiwi bird
The name first appeared in an unusual place. McLaren installed a giant statue of a kiwi bird in London’s Covent Garden neighborhood, wrapped in a black and orange camouflage livery, Road & Track reports.
Hidden on the bird’s flank was a short code: McL 820. The British magazine Autocar spotted it first, and McLaren confirmed the name a day later.
The bird is not a random choice. Founder Bruce McLaren came from New Zealand, where the kiwi is a native flightless bird, and he used it as a visual centerpiece of his racing team’s branding.
The “Speedy Kiwi” logo has long been part of the company’s culture, and McLaren is now working to build awareness of it again.
What the 820 in the name means
McLaren has a simple rule for naming its cars. As with earlier models, the number shows the output in metric horsepower, also written as PS.
Under that rule, the 720S and the 750S carried their metric output in their names. The standard 750S is rated at 740 horsepower in the United States, according to Car and Driver.
That puts the McL 820 69 horsepower above the car it replaces. Road & Track notes that McLaren has never launched a new production model less powerful than its predecessor.
The new McL prefix
The “McL” prefix is also new for McLaren’s production cars. It was previewed on the McL 6GT, which the company showed during this year’s Monterey Car Week.
That car stood out for a retro-inspired design and a manual gearbox, Road & Track reports. McLaren says the McL 820 marks the start of a naming system built around McL.
“The naming convention marks the next chapter in McLaren’s evolution, creating a clearer and more consistent approach that unifies cars across McLaren Automotive and Racing,” the company said, according to Top Gear.
What McLaren has not said yet
Beyond the name and the power figure, almost everything about the car is still secret. McLaren has not released its engine, weight, acceleration time, top speed or price.
The company says details will start to come out next year, ahead of the car’s arrival on roads and racetracks in 2027, Car and Driver reports.
Road & Track adds a report that McLaren dealers have described a mid-engined supercar with the internal code P34, about 810 horsepower and a hybrid twin-turbo V6. McLaren has not confirmed that this is the McL 820, and the company has not said whether the new car uses a V6 or a V8.
Two possible readings of the number
The reports leave room for two readings. If the dealer description is right, the P34 would slot between the Artura and the 750S in price and positioning, Road & Track says.
In that case, the magazine argues, a “true” replacement for the 720S and 750S line could push closer to 1,000 horsepower and take on the Lamborghini Revuelto. That is the magazine’s reading, not a McLaren statement.
McLaren’s own words point the other way: the company presents the McL 820 directly as the successor to the outgoing 750S. Until the car is shown, the official version is the one in the statement.
How the reveal unfolded
The kiwi went up in Covent Garden on Thursday, October 29. That same day, Road & Track published Autocar’s find and described the name as a highly logical guess, not yet official.
On October 30, the magazine updated its story: McLaren had confirmed in a statement both the McL 820 name and the 820 metric horsepower output, and released photos of the statue.
A company of 16 years reinventing itself
McLaren Automotive, the company that began with the MP4-12C, is marking its 16th year in 2026. It is changing its design language, bringing in new investment and adding more models.
Top Gear points out that the McL 820 news follows a redesign of the company logo inspired by founder Bruce McLaren’s service station.
McLaren also plans a hybrid SUV aimed at rivals such as the Lamborghini Urus and the Aston Martin DBX, according to Top Gear.
New money and 1,000 jobs in the UK
The new supercar is part of a larger expansion. McLaren recently said it will invest about £500 million in the UK to expand manufacturing and engineering, creating at least 1,000 jobs, Top Gear reports.
The blog covered that plan when it was announced, in a report on McLaren’s investment in a new UK factory and its first SUV.
That investment is meant to support the 750S successor, the SUV and a wider range of cars, all built in Britain.
The 809-horsepower question
For now, the McL 820 exists in public only as a name on a camouflaged bird and a power figure on a press statement.
Its 809 horsepower already puts it above the 750S, the latest car in the line that began with the 720S.
When McLaren finally shows the car in 2027, will 809 horsepower be enough to keep the 750S’s successor at the top of its class?
