The British manufacturer is currently testing the new customer sports car on various racetracks in Europe, the USA and the Middle East. The test models will cover a total of 30,000 kilometres on runs lasting up to 36 hours. "It was a proud moment when we saw the 720S GT3 begin its intense development phase on the track," said Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren Automotive. "We are confident that we will have a first-class GT3 vehicle to offer to our customers."

In the tests, McLaren are focusing not only on lap times and reliability but also on the handling of the car in race conditions for both professional and amateur drivers and on cost-efficiency for customer teams. Factors such as tyre wear, fuel consumption and ease of servicing will also be analysed. McLaren are working in close collaboration with Pirelli during the tests. The Italian company is also the exclusive tyre partner to the ADAC GT Masters.

The McLaren 720S GT3 project was first announced in November 2017 and is scheduled to be complete in time for the 2019 race season. The price will be set at 440,000 GBP. Like the series production 720S upon which it is based, the GT3 version will also have the MonoCage II carbon-fibre chassis and a 4-litre V8 twin-turbo engine. More than 90 percent of the components in the production version are being upgraded or replaced for the GT3 variant.

McLaren have previously competed in the ADAC GT Masters in the 2012 and 2014 seasons. Their greatest success during those two campaigns was the pole position for Philipp Eng at the Red Bull Ring in 2012.