Where McLaren supercars are concerned, the LT letters stand for Longtail and trace their roots back to the F1 GTR race cars of the 1990s. The nomenclature was revived for a run of 500 examples each of the 675LT coupe and the 675LT Spider starting in 2015 (with an additional 50-ish cars built by McLaren Special Operations) that took the 650S to new, more track-focused extremes. Now the juniorest McLaren supercar, the 570S, has been given the LT treatment. Meet the 600LT, a car that is unlikely to disappoint its owners. At all.

This assumes that your friendly local McLaren retailer will have one to offer from among an estimated 500 units worldwide; the 675LT models were snapped up as quickly as you can read this sentence, and the new car may be sold out (or close to it) as you read this. That said, McLaren hasn’t made public the exact price or build quantity, but each example will pack gobs of carbon fiber; increased power, downforce, and grip; and, yes, some additional length.

New aero-enhanced bodywork extends the body by 2.9 inches, although outside of the fixed rear wing, all but the keenest observers likely will need to get on their hands and knees and inspect the larger front splitter and enormous rear diffuser to notice a difference. McLaren also redesigned the front bumper, vented the front fenders, reshaped the rocker panels, and carved ducts around a pair of canards that extend off the rear fenders. Naturally, all the shiny aero pieces and the roof are exposed carbon fiber on the car you see here.

Those bits are said to help shave some 212 pounds from the 570S—no heavyweight, that car, at just 3189 pounds in our testing—although McLaren hints that figure is with every MSO option box ticked. The carbon-fiber seats of the P1 hypercar will be standard, however, while lighter seats from the Senna are available. The 720S contributes its brakes and its forged-aluminum suspension to lighten the 600LT’s load. Figure the 600LT to come in around 3000 pounds.

That’s not a lot of weight for the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-8 to push around, and by massaging the cooling system and installing ultra-short top-mounted exhaust pipes (which are shown shooting flames at about 0:50 of the video below), McLaren has goosed another 30 horsepower and 14 lb-ft of torque from the powerplant. The new totals are 592 horsepower and 457 lb-ft; should those seem a bit light in comparison with the 631-hp Lamborghini Huracán Performante, the 700-hp Porsche 911 GT2 RS, or the 710-hp Ferrari 488 Pista, the 600LT promises to claw the ground like a stubborn leashed dog. It will pack Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, quicker steering, stiffer engine mounts, and more responsive accelerator- and brake-pedal calibrations.

• Full Test: The Physics-Defying, 710-HP McLaren 720S
• 2018 McLaren 570S/570GT Get More Features and New Design Packs
• Every 200-MPH Production Car You Can Buy Today

Production starts in October, so pick up the phone now—you don’t want to miss out. Of course, if you do, you could just wait for the inevitable LT version of the scintillating 720S.

BY CLIFFORD ATIYEH 

If you like to read more articles by CLIFFORD ATIYEH click HERE.