McLaren, a track car specialist who has only been in street-legal model production for a little over a decade in its current incarnation, has made a point of salient progression; as each new model has appeared, it has represented both a celebration of the previous model just as it has suggested its obsolescence as state of the brand. In this way, McLaren shares a certain spirit with Bugatti, the golden age performance-touring car reboot similarly positioned to be so extravagantly iconoclastic.

It’s been about six years on the nose that brash British supercar and racing firm McLaren announced its 720S model (and subsequent 720S Spider). The 720S’s appearance displaced the 650S, a model that launched in 2014 and therefore appeared to be just coming into its own when it was dethroned. The 720S has had a bit more time in the sun, but as a paradigmatic model from an obsessive firm its time has also come, and the recent unveiling of McLaren’s new four-wheeled statement, the 750S, signals the exotic automaker’s most recent revolution.

The 750S is, McLaren tells us, the new paradigm: the lightest and most powerful regular production street-legal car in McLaren’s short history. But it uses the 720S as a departure point. Available as a coupe or drop-top, it is powered by a 730-horsepower V8 engine producing 590 pound-feet of torque, and outfitted with a seven-speed transmission with updated ratios. The model can snap from 0-60 MPH in 2.7 seconds. There’s carbon fiber everywhere in the build, from monocoque to seats to structure and, in the case of the Spider variant, retractable hard top.

Performance features of the 750S include a new one: McLaren Control Launcher, which can set pushbutton performance preferences across the powertrain, aero system, and handling, and the driver’s layout, which includes a column-mounted instrument display with Active Dynamic controls in easy reach.