Mantis Green Longtail — A Custom McLaren 675LT Print, Built to Spec

Some colours ask for attention. Mantis Green demands it. Parked on an airfield apron, wing raised and dihedral doors reaching skyward, this 675LT looks less like a road car than a creature that has wandered in from the paddock, and its owner wanted that presence captured on paper, exactly as it lives in his garage.

The McLaren 675LT: a Longtail reborn

Unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the 675LT revived a name McLaren had not used in nearly two decades: Longtail, borrowed from the 1997 F1 GTR that extended its bodywork in pursuit of downforce and still came in more than 100 kg lighter than its predecessors. The new car followed the same creed. Its re-engineered 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 produces 675 PS, the figure stamped into its name (666 bhp in imperial terms), along with 700 Nm of torque.

Weight was hunted with near-obsessive discipline. Carbon fibre bodywork, thinner glass and a polycarbonate engine cover brought dry weight down to 1,230 kg, more than 100 kg below the 650S. The extended Longtail airbrake and reworked aero raised downforce by 40 per cent, and the car reaches 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds. Production was strictly limited: 500 Coupés, followed late in 2015 by 500 Spiders that sold out in roughly two weeks. Mantis Green sat on the factory palette, and it remains one of the boldest choices on it.

The commission

This owner chose it without hesitation. His request began simply: a 675LT print in the actual colour of his car rather than the white from our catalogue. From there, the details sharpened. The carbon fins beside the doors on his car are painted in Mantis Green, so the side intakes on the print were painted to match. Silver brake calipers, a door swung open and the rear spoiler raised completed the stance, while the car's VIN and a personal line set it apart from any other example.

Each element was built up in layers, from bare door and cockpit to bodywork, wheels and calipers, until the illustration matched the car panel for panel.

The print

The final piece was produced as a metal print, and in the end he ordered two: one carrying his name, and a second with only the VIN, set aside for whoever takes the keys next. It is a quietly generous idea, a portrait of the car that travels with its history.

Explore our McLaren 675LT poster, browse the full McLaren collection, or commission a print of your own car.