Here's The Most Impressive Thing About McLaren's New Supercar Convertible

Among them is McLaren, which brought its new supercar, the 650S, to the show.

We had seen images of the coupe version, but just got our first glimpse of the convertible. First off, it looks great.

Secondly, and more impressively, its performance is very nearly identical to that of the coupe version. The problem with chopping the roof off is a car is you lose rigidity and actually add weight (by adding brackets to make up for the lost stiffness). Aerodynamics are worse, too.

All that adds up to lost performance.

But McLaren says this convertible will have the same 0 to 60 mph sprint time - 3 seconds flat - as the coupe. It will reach 124 mph is 8.6 seconds. .2 seconds slower than the coupe. The two have the same twin turbo V8 engine.

How?

The British automaker says that the car's carbon fiber chassis "requires no additional strengthening or reinforcing in open-top guise, and gives the 650S Spider identical handling and ride, and virtually identical straight-line performance figures."

The weight difference is just 88 pounds, "with this additional mass coming from the Retractable Hard Top and roof mechanism, and is less than any other car in its class."

McLaren isn't the only automaker to deliver a coupe and convertible pair with similar performance, but it's still an impressive feat - and a good way to draw in buyers ready to spend over $300,000, without wanting to compromise on performance.

Here's the 650S coupe: