Back in my day, you used to be able to pay Honda for fancy gold-colored badges on your Accord. McLaren is now doing something similar for its upcoming Speedtail hypercar except, you know, the materials are just a bit nicer.
McLaren will offer a number of high-end finishes for the badges on the Speedtail. It's part of the McLaren Special Operations team, which is dedicated to customizing McLarens to the whims of their well-heeled buyers. For example, MSO was responsible for the green Senna that was revealed this past summer.
McLaren has not said how many options are available, and it's only showing off one badge for now, which comprises a mixture of carbon fiber and 18-karat white gold. The automaker said one of the other options is a badge made of pure platinum. It will also ditch the badge entirely in favor of an ultra-light lacquered transfer, too, if the buyer gives way too much of a hoot about curb weights (the gold badge weighs a whopping 3.5 ounces).
But this badge doesn't contain any ol' gold lifted from the ground. The badge comes from Vaughtons, a British company responsible for Olympic medals and various sports trophies. The emblems are also laser-etched with information about their provenance, in case you were concerned it wasn't fancy enough.
Late last week, McLaren gave us an early tease of the Speedtail's form, which looks pretty darn slick, both metaphorically and aerodynamically speaking. The automaker will build just 106 examples, all of which have been spoken for. Its hybrid-electric powertrain will put out at least 1,000 horsepower, and it has a top speed higher than 243-mph limit of the company's first supercar, the McLaren F1. We'll get to see the whole shebang on Oct. 26.
