McLaren release ‘Daniel Ricciardo Edition’ 720S

Less than a fortnight after Daniel Ricciardo won the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Monza, McLaren Automotive announced a special edition of their 720S supercar to mark the occasion.

Ricciardo’s Monza victory, his first since joining McLaren this year, broke a personal drought that stretches back to 2018, while it was McLaren’s first F1 race win since 2012!

What made Monza doubly impressive for the McLaren F1 team was that Ricciardo’s team mate Lando Norris finished second. The last time McLaren went 1-2 was 2010.

To celebrate the Monza result, and Ricciardo specifically, McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the bespoke and custom division of McLaren Automotive, revealed they were creating a very special, very limited version of their 720S that would be exclusive to the Australian market.

“Daniel Ricciardo’s relentless determination and pursuit of excellence are qualities that perfectly reflect the McLaren ethos. Following McLaren’s outstanding performance with a landmark one-two finish for the team at the Italian Grand Prix, it’s the perfect time to reveal this limited series in celebration of the Aussie driver,” said George Biggs, Commercial Executive Director, McLaren Automotive.

“The 720S is a fitting model to celebrate Daniel’s achievements and we’re delighted to see it adorned with the Australian flag crafted by MSO.”

Created by MSO in partnership with McLaren dealerships in Sydney and Melbourne, the ‘Daniel Ricciardo 720S by MSO’ will be limited to just three vehicles, acknowledging Ricciardo’s F1 race number. All three will be finished in Papaya Spark (orange), which is the same shade used on the McLaren MCL35M F1 car. This is accented with Burton Blue detailing on the lower sills, brake calipers, air ducts, mirror caps and rear diffuser. Each unit also carries an Australian flag and Ricciardo’s number 3 on the dihedral doors.

Ricciardo’s signature features on the carbon fibre sills, while ‘One of Three’ badging inside denotes each car’s special status.

Unsurprisingly, Ricciardo was pretty rapt to have a car named after him.

“One of the great privileges of driving for McLaren is getting behind the wheel of many of the brand’s exhilarating supercars. And while each offers something unique, the 720S is the absolute benchmark.” said Ricciardo.

Colours and cosmetics aside, the Daniel Ricciardo 720S by MSO is unchanged from a regular 720S coupe (the special edition is not available on the 720S Spider). That means it’s powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 producing 530kW and 770Nm maximums and driving the rear wheels through a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Listed 0-100km/h acceleration is 2.9 seconds and top speed is 341km/h.

Other features include adaptive suspension, carbon ceramic brakes and 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels shod with 245/35/R19 and 305/30/R20 rubber, respectively. Driver-assistance technologies include Proactive Chassis Control II, Variable Drift Control and McLaren Track Telemetry.

When McLaren Automotive announced the Daniel Ricciardo 720S by MSO on 24 September, they made no mention of price, but assume that the limited edition carries a sizeable premium over the standard 720S coupe’s $508,000 list price. You can also assume all three units were sold soon after the reveal.

The trio of Daniel Ricciardo 720S by MSO supercars are due to reach Australia later this year.