Rear air outtake grill cover Mansory Carbon for McLaren 720S

Mansory Carbon Rear Air Outtake Grill Cover for McLaren 720S

The rear air outtake grill cover is a small panel doing a heat-exposed job. It frames the slotted opening on the engine bonnet through which hot air from the M840T 4.0-litre V8 BiTurbo, the intercoolers and the bay extractor fans escapes upward through the rear deck. Within the Mansory Carbon Fiber Body kit set for McLaren 720S it belongs to the engine-bay carbon trio — paired with the engine cover and the air-outtake engine bonnet — and its role is decorative rather than aerodynamic: the carbon lattice retraces the OEM grille geometry without narrowing the extraction path. Owners specify it because exposed weave under the rear glass and across the deck is what makes a Mansory 720S read as a single sculpted shell rather than a body-coloured car with carbon accents bolted on. Active Aero hardware, the Monocage II tub, the Proactive Chassis Control II hydraulics and the dihedral door geometry are untouched.

Construction & Materials

This panel sits directly above the turbocharger housings and the exhaust manifolds. Radiated heat soak after a hot lap, convective load from the bay extractor fans and ambient sun load on the upper deck all converge on a small piece of carbon. Mansory engineers it as a heat-tolerant trim: the visible face is autoclave-cured prepreg twill, the underside carries a matte heat-resistant finish, and the louvre / mesh geometry is dimensioned from a digitised OEM grille so the open area matches factory extractor flow.

• Visible weave: 3K twill prepreg outer ply, optional 2K plain weave or forged-look on request
• Cure: full autoclave cycle, controlled temperature and pressure for resin uniformity at thermal duty
• Wall thickness: roughly 1.6–2.2 mm at the lattice ribs, thicker around the perimeter flange
• Underside coating: matte black heat-resistant lacquer; optional ceramic thermal coating to manage radiated load from the turbos beneath
• Open area: matched to the OEM grille — louvre pitch, slot width and aggregate vent area replicated from the factory part
• Topside finish: deep-gloss UV-stable lacquer over visible weave, satin clear, or raw-look exposed weave
• Mounting: OEM clip and fastener locations, no donor-panel modification, perimeter gasket reused
• Hardware: stainless fasteners, OEM seal strip retained, optional Mansory-engraved corner badge

Design & Visual Function

Look at a 720S from three-quarter rear and the eye runs from the buttress shoulder, across the engine cover, over this grille and into the rear wing root. The OEM grille is plastic with a body-tinted frame — a perfectly good piece of industrial design that nevertheless breaks the carbon line when the rest of the bay is in exposed weave. Mansory's carbon replacement closes that gap. Light catches across the lattice the way it catches across the buttresses, and on a car already specified with the carbon engine cover and the air-outtake bonnet panel the rear deck reads as one disciplined surface from glass to wing.

The functional brief is restraint. Hot-air extraction here is non-negotiable: the V8 BiTurbo generates significant under-bonnet temperature, the intercoolers reject heat into the bay extraction circuit, and the entire rear-deck outtake path must remain unrestricted. Mansory's grille is geometry-matched to the OEM, not a closed-off styling cover. The carbon adds visual mass, not flow resistance. Owners who track-day their 720S can specify the louvre version (slatted ribs, slightly higher exit angle for hot air rolling off the deck at speed), while owners who run the car primarily on road tend to choose the mesh-pattern version that mirrors the OEM grille more literally.

Finish-wise this is a part where ceramic-coated gloss lacquer earns its keep. The panel is small, exposed to direct sun and to baked-on bay heat, and lacquer that has not been UV-stabilised will yellow noticeably within a few summers. Mansory's lacquer system is engineered for the duty. A satin or raw-weave alternative reads quieter and pairs naturally with a matte-paint car or with a body in Sarthe Grey, MSO Defined Carbon Black or any of the lower-saturation McLaren palette options.

Compatibility & Fitment

Designed for the McLaren 720S Coupé and Spider, model years 2017–2023. NOT compatible with the 765LT — the Long Tail uses a different rear deck panel, a different outtake slot dimension and a different grille mount geometry. Active Aero hardware including the deployable rear wing hydraulics and the Variable Drift Control / airbrake function is untouched (this part lives ahead of the wing root, not on the wing surface). Front Active Lift, OEM rear-camera washer aperture, parking sensors and the bay extractor fan circuit are all retained. The replacement is a like-for-like swap into the OEM grille seat — open area, perimeter gasket and clip positions are matched to factory.

Installation & Reversibility

Plan around 30–60 minutes of bench time. Open the engine cover, release the OEM grille (clip and fastener combination depending on production year), inspect the gasket strip, transfer it to the carbon part if reusable or fit a new one, seat the carbon grille into the OEM aperture, torque the perimeter fasteners to spec, verify gap and flush around the slot perimeter, and confirm the bay extractor fans run free with no contact at the lattice. Reversibility is full — keep the OEM grille and the panel can be swapped back in a coffee break. DIY is feasible for a competent owner. For installations that coincide with the engine cover or air-outtake bonnet swap, schedule a McLaren-certified body shop or a Mansory-trained installer to do all three panels in one bench session.

Pairing within the Mansory 720S programme

This is the third panel in the rear-deck carbon trio. It pairs with the Mansory carbon engine cover and the air-outtake engine bonnet panel — the three together close the rear-deck weave field from buttress to wing. For owners who add the active rear surface, the Mansory performance wing sits behind this grille and completes the rear deck composition. Specifying all three engine-bay panels plus the wing is the cleanest route to a fully resolved Mansory rear quarter.

Maintenance & Durability

The grille collects two predictable hazards: bay heat from below and surface contamination from above. Below, ceramic-coated underside finish handles the radiated turbo load — periodic inspection at every service for any micro-crazing or lacquer lift around the inner ribs is sensible. Above, the topside lives under the rear glass shadow most of the time but still sees direct sun during long stops; a ceramic coating refreshed every 12–18 months keeps the lacquer optically stable and makes it resistant to bird-strike and tree sap, which are the two failure modes that actually mark lacquered carbon in the wild. Cleaning is the standard carbon protocol: pH-neutral shampoo, two-bucket method, soft microfibre, no alkaline degreasers or ammonia-based glass cleaners on lacquered weave. Carnauba wax is fine; ceramic coating is better. After trackday use, let the bay cool fully before any wet wipe-down — thermal shock on a hot lacquered surface is the easiest way to kill the finish.

If a chip happens — typically a stone fragment kicked up by the rear tyres into the deck — repair workflow is straightforward at a carbon-trained body shop: feather the lacquer, blend a clear repair, polish back. Severe panel damage routes through a replacement order. PPF on this panel is unusual because of its geometry, but a clear ceramic refresh after track sessions covers most of the realistic abuse.

Lead Time & Warranty

Bench-built to order in Mansory's atelier with a typical lead time of 4–8 weeks depending on weave specification and finish queue. The panel ships with a 12-month warranty against manufacturing defects and against finish failure under normal road and trackday use. Customisation requests — a forged-look variant, a tinted lacquer, a contrasting interior accent that matches the bay piece — extend lead time slightly and are quoted at order.

FAQ

Q: Does the carbon grille restrict hot-air extraction from the engine bay?
A: No. The lattice geometry is matched to the OEM grille — louvre pitch, slot width and aggregate open area are replicated from the factory part. The carbon adds visual mass, not flow resistance. The bay extractor circuit operates exactly as it does with the OEM grille fitted.

Q: Will it fit my 765LT?
A: No. The 765LT uses a different rear deck panel and a different outtake aperture. This grille is dimensioned for the standard 720S Coupé and Spider only.

Q: Mesh pattern or louvre slats — what is the difference?
A: Mesh follows the OEM grille appearance most literally and reads quieter on a road-spec car. The louvre variant uses slightly slatted ribs that bias hot air rolling off the deck at speed, and it visually emphasises the rear-quarter motorsport language. Both have matched open area; the choice is aesthetic.

Q: Does it interfere with the deployable rear wing or the airbrake function?
A: No. The grille sits ahead of the wing root, on the engine bonnet outtake slot. The Active Aero hydraulic deployment, Variable Drift Control behaviour and airbrake function are unaffected.

Q: How hot does this panel actually get?
A: The underside sits in the radiated zone above the turbos and exhaust manifolds — soak temperature after a spirited drive is meaningful. The autoclave laminate plus heat-resistant underside finish (and optional ceramic thermal coating) handle the duty without distortion. The topside runs much cooler — comparable to any deck panel under sun load.

Q: Is the OEM grille a clean reverse, or does the swap leave traces?
A: Clean reverse. Mounting uses OEM clip and fastener positions; the OEM gasket strip is reused or replaced like-for-like. Refit the original grille and the panel is back to factory.

Pair this grille with the Mansory engine cover and the air-outtake engine bonnet for a fully resolved rear-deck weave field, and add the performance wing if the rear-quarter spec calls for the active surface in carbon. Specification, finish samples and bench-build slots — WhatsApp +44 7488 818 747 or [email protected].