He Kept His Composure, But This McLaren Certainly Didn’t | Carscoops

      A McLaren 720S was ruined after sliding under a guardrail on the German Autobahn.

      Despite the crash's severity, the driver only sustained minor injuries.

      Police attributed the violent incident to excessive speed and slippery road conditions.

      A high-speed collision in Germany has garnered attention not only for the dramatic damage to the vehicle but also for the remarkable survival story that followed. The McLaren 720S was left severely damaged and caught in guardrails after drifting off an interchange, yet the driver escaped with only minor injuries. The car, however, was beyond repair.

      This incident occurred Saturday morning around 8:00 a.m., as the 61-year-old driver was navigating the overpass that links the A8 highway to the A995 near Munich in Bavaria. The Holzkirchen highway police indicated that the vehicle entered the curve at what they termed “inappropriate speed” considering the rainy weather.

      Supercar Lost Control in Wet Conditions

      With little traction, the McLaren slid off the road and became wedged under a segment of guardrail. Emergency responders from the Brunnthal Volunteer Fire Department initially feared the worst. Miraculously, the driver escaped with just minor injuries. Images show the guardrail piercing the cabin area, reportedly just inches from his head.

      According to German outlet NTV, the driver did not even need to be transported to the hospital and received brief treatment on-site before being allowed to return home. Fortunately, he was the only occupant, a situation that likely averted a fatal outcome.

      Authorities cleared the wreckage and reopened both lanes of the interchange overpass approximately two hours later. Police estimate the damages to exceed €250,000 ($290,000).

      As for the McLaren, it is almost certainly headed for the scrapyard. With most of its bodywork destroyed and the carbon fiber monocoque severely compromised, there’s hardly anything left to salvage. The supercar's active rear wing was deployed, which occurs automatically at high speeds and during hard braking.

      The exterior of this particular model appears to be in the Storm Grey color, accompanied by an optional set of lightweight forged alloy wheels and red brake calipers.

      The McLaren 720S was manufactured from 2017 to 2023 before being succeeded by the updated 750S. It featured a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine producing 710 horsepower (530 kW / 720 PS), with power sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.