McLaren 720S RYFT: The Deep Guide to the Carbon Package That Redefined the 720S
McLaren 720S RYFT is a search that means one thing. You have seen a 720S wearing full carbon aero somewhere, maybe on a Miami street or in your feed, and it stopped you. The proportions were sharper. The front was more aggressive. There was a long tail wing that changed the whole silhouette. And you wanted to know what it was.
The answer is RYFT. A carbon fiber aero brand that chose the 720S as its first canvas and produced one of the most recognizable transformations in the modern supercar world. It is not a subtle kit. It is a complete reimagining of how a 720S looks, and it has become a benchmark for what a built McLaren can be.
We are Squadra Nostra. We look after exotic and performance cars across Miami-Dade and Broward County, and we come to you. This guide goes deep on the RYFT package. The design story, every component, the engineering behind the front lip, the replica problem, and what it takes to build one properly in this climate.
Table of Contents
1.What McLaren 720S RYFT Actually Is
RYFT is a carbon fiber design house that builds exterior aero packages for supercars. The McLaren 720S was their first project, launched around 2020, and it remains the platform the brand is most known for. Everything about their identity was established on this car.
What separates them from most aftermarket carbon suppliers is scope and coherence. This is not a company that sells a front lip and hopes you figure out the rest. The 720S catalog runs to more than twenty five carbon components, and they were designed as one unified visual system rather than a collection of separate products.
The brand has since expanded well beyond carbon panels into exhaust systems, suspension and forged wheels for the platform. That matters because it means you can build an entire 720S within one design language, where every part was drawn to work with every other part. Very few aftermarket brands offer that.
Squadra Nostra Perspective The reason RYFT builds look right and most mixed brand builds do not is coherence. When one team designs the splitter, the skirts, the diffuser and the wing together, the lines actually flow. When you buy four parts from four companies, they each reference their own idea of the car. That is why some 720S builds look designed and others look assembled. |
2. The P1 Design Language
This is the detail that explains why the kit works visually. RYFT did not invent a new design language for the 720S. They took cues from the McLaren P1 hypercar and applied that vocabulary to a car that sits below it in the hierarchy.
That decision is smarter than it sounds. The P1 is a McLaren, so its design language is already native to the brand. Sharper angles, more aggressive intakes, a more extreme rear treatment. When you push a 720S toward P1 territory, you are not fighting the car. You are moving it up the ladder within its own family.
This is why the kit reads as a more serious McLaren rather than a modified one. The 720S already has beautiful sweeping bodylines with its double skin aerodynamic doors and its hidden headlight sockets. RYFT accentuated those lines and injected aggression through sharper curves rather than bolting drama onto a shape that did not ask for it.
Expert Note: Why the Design Reference Matters Most aftermarket kits fail because they impose a generic aggressive look on a specific car. Widebody arches designed for one shape get adapted to another. RYFT went to McLaren's own hypercar for the vocabulary. That is why a RYFT 720S looks like something Woking might have built, not like something bolted on afterwards. The reference point is everything. |
3. Form Meets Function: The RYFT Philosophy
The brand describes their approach as form meets function, and every design begins as a sketch. That sounds like standard marketing until you look at how the front lip was actually engineered, which we cover next. The process runs from sketches to 3D renders to wind tunnel testing before a part is produced.
The two most requested pieces from clients were a front lip and a wing, so that is exactly where the company started. That is a telling detail. They built what owners actually wanted first rather than releasing a full kit and hoping. The rest of the catalog grew outward from those two anchor pieces.
The stated goal was to enhance McLaren's existing design language rather than override it. That is a genuinely different philosophy from most widebody brands, whose entire selling point is transformation for its own sake. RYFT is trying to make the 720S more of what it already is, which is a harder and more disciplined brief.
4. The Front Lip and the Four Duct Solution
This is the most interesting engineering story in the whole package, and it is worth understanding because it tells you what kind of company you are dealing with.
The problem RYFT faced was this. Clients kept raising concerns about front lips that place an air dam across the middle of the car. An air dam blocks airflow and traps air, which creates drag. On a normal car nobody notices. But some RYFT clients own record setting 720S builds, and the company did not want to be responsible for slowing one down.
The solution was a front lip with four ducts that feed air directly into the radiators while refusing to trap air that would generate drag. That is a genuinely clever piece of design. It solves two problems at once. The car keeps its cooling airflow, which is critical on a twin turbo V8, and it does not pay a drag penalty for the aggressive look.
This matters more in Miami than almost anywhere else. Our heat means the 720S cooling system is already working hard. A front aero part that chokes the radiators is not a styling choice here, it is a mechanical risk. The fact that RYFT designed around this rather than ignoring it is a meaningful mark of quality.
Miami Note: Airflow Is Not Optional Here This is the single biggest reason we take aero part selection seriously in Miami. A cheap front lip that looks aggressive and blocks a radiator inlet will raise your intake and coolant temperatures on a hot afternoon. On a twin turbo V8 in traffic, that is not a cosmetic problem. Any front part on a 720S here has to feed the cooling, not fight it. |
5. The Long Tail Rear Wing
The rear long tail wing is the piece that most dramatically changes the 720S silhouette, and it is the part people recognize from across a parking lot. It is one of the two components the brand started with, because it was one of the two things clients asked for most.
The name is a deliberate nod. Longtail is McLaren's own designation for their most extreme, most track focused variants, going back to the F1 GTR Longtail and continuing through the 675LT and 765LT. Naming the wing this way places it firmly inside McLaren's own language rather than outside it.
Visually it extends the rear of the car and gives the 720S a purposeful, motorsport derived stance that the factory car does not have. The factory 720S has an active rear wing that serves as an airbrake and adjusts itself. The RYFT wing changes the entire rear proportion and it is the defining element of the look.
Expert Note: Understand What You Are Changing The 720S has a sophisticated active rear wing from the factory. Any change to the rear aero on this car should be understood, not assumed. We always talk through what the factory system does and how the new part sits with it before a build starts. On a car with this much engineering behind it, that conversation is not optional. |
6. Every RYFT Component Explained
The 720S catalog runs to more than twenty five carbon pieces. You do not have to buy all of them. Understanding what each does helps you build a package that suits your taste and your budget. Here are the main components.
Component | What It Changes | Visual Impact | Build Level |
Front lip and splitter | The front face and stance | Very high | Entry piece |
Rear long tail wing | The whole silhouette | Highest | Entry piece |
Side skirts | The side profile and drop | High | Core |
Rear diffuser | The lower rear aggression | High | Core |
Race hood | The front deck and venting | Very high | Statement |
Fenders | The front width and vents | Very high | Statement |
Rear bumper shell | The rear with side vents | Very high | Statement |
Canards | Front corner detail | Moderate | Accent |
Headlight surrounds | Front detail framing | Subtle | Accent |
Mirror caps | Small carbon accent | Subtle | Accent |
The logical build order follows the brand's own history. Start with the front lip and the wing, because those are the two pieces that define the look and they were the two pieces clients asked for first. Then add skirts and diffuser to connect the front and rear into one line. Then go deeper if you want the full statement.
7. The Race Hood
The race hood is one of the more serious pieces in the catalog. Replacing a hood is not the same as adding a lip. It is a large structural panel with lines that your eye reads immediately, which means fitment has nowhere to hide.
A carbon race hood does two things. It saves weight over the factory panel, and it changes the front deck of the car into something far more purposeful. On a mid engine car the front is not carrying an engine, so a vented race hood is about air management and visual aggression rather than heat extraction from a motor.
This is also the piece where installation skill matters most. Panel gaps around a hood are visible from every angle and every distance. A hood that sits even a few millimeters wrong ruins the look of an otherwise perfect build. Dry fitting and careful adjustment here is not optional. It is the whole job.
8. Fenders, Skirts and the Rear Bumper Shell
These are the pieces that take a RYFT 720S from tastefully upgraded to fully transformed. They are also where the investment climbs sharply, because these are large, complex carbon panels rather than bolt on accents.
The Fenders
Carbon fenders change the front width and add venting that the factory car does not have. They are among the most expensive individual pieces in the catalog and for good reason. A large curved structural panel in carbon with correct fitment is genuinely difficult to produce well.
The Side Skirts
Skirts run the length of the car between the wheels and they visually drop the whole profile. Their real job in a package like this is connection. They tie the front lip and the rear diffuser into a single continuous line so the car reads as one design rather than a front and a rear.
The Rear Bumper Shell With Side Vents
Replacing the rear bumper shell rather than just adding a diffuser is a much deeper commitment. It changes the whole rear treatment including the side vents. This is the piece that completes a full RYFT build and it is what separates a complete kit from a partial one visually.
9. Canards and the Small Details
Canards are the small fins on the front corners of the bumper. On the RYFT catalog they are listed as race canards, and their job is to manage air around the front wheels and reduce turbulence and lift at the corners of the car.
Be honest about what these do on a street car. Properly sized and positioned canards on a track car generate real front end stability under braking. On a 720S that lives on Ocean Drive, they are primarily a visual signal that the car is serious. That is a perfectly valid reason to fit them. Just know which one you are buying.
The same applies to headlight surrounds, mirror caps and trim accents. These pieces do nothing aerodynamically. What they do is complete the design. On a car with a full carbon front and rear, factory painted mirror caps are the detail that breaks the spell. The small pieces are what make the build feel finished.
10. 2x2 Twill Carbon and Why the Weave Matters
Every RYFT 720S component uses a 2x2 twill carbon weave. This is not a random spec. It is the visual signature of the entire package and it is why every piece looks like part of the same car.
A 2x2 twill means each carbon tow passes over two and under two, which creates the diagonal pattern most people picture when they think of carbon fiber. It conforms well around curves, which matters enormously on a car with the 720S bodywork, and it produces the deep three dimensional look that people actually want from carbon.
The consistency is the real point. Every piece in the catalog shares the same weave, so a front lip, side skirts and a rear diffuser all read as one material. Mix weaves across brands and the eye immediately catches it, even if you cannot name what is wrong. Weave consistency is one of the invisible things that makes a build look factory.
Expert Note: Weave Direction Is Craft Beyond the weave type, the direction of the weave across each panel is a craft decision. On a well made kit the pattern flows logically across the car. On a poorly made one, panels sit next to each other with the weave running at odds. It is subtle and it is one of the fastest ways to tell real quality from a copy that only got the shape right. |
11. UV Protected Resin and the Miami Sun
RYFT states that their parts are made to OEM quality specifications with UV protected clear resin. In most of the country that reads as a nice detail. In Miami it is one of the most important specifications in the entire product description.
Carbon fiber does not fail from UV. The resin and clear coat over it does. Under sustained ultraviolet exposure, poorly protected carbon clear coat yellows, hazes and eventually degrades. The weave underneath is still fine, but the part now looks brown and cloudy instead of deep and black. It cannot be undone easily.
Miami sits far south with intense sun for most of the year. Cheap carbon parts here can start showing yellowing within a few years, sometimes faster on a car parked outside. This is exactly why buying quality carbon matters more in this city than almost anywhere else. UV protection in the resin is your first line of defense.
Warning: Cheap Carbon Is a False Economy in Miami We have seen budget carbon parts on Miami cars go yellow and cloudy in under three years. At that point you are buying the part twice, plus paying for the labor twice. Our UV levels find the weakness in every cheap resin. This is one of the categories where trying to save money genuinely costs more. |
12. Genuine RYFT vs Ryft Style Replicas
This is the section nobody selling parts wants to write, and it is the most important one in this guide. Search for RYFT 720S parts and you will find listings described as Ryft Style. Those two words change everything about what you are buying.
A genuine RYFT part comes from RYFT Design and carries their engineering, their materials, their fitment development and their warranty against manufacturing defects. A Ryft Style part is a copy of the shape made by someone else. It borrows the design language and none of the development behind it.
The difference shows up in the places that matter. Fitment on a copy is usually approximate, which means gaps, gaps that need shimming, or panels that need reworking to sit right. Resin quality is unknown, which in Miami means UV performance is unknown. And the functional details, like four ducts that feed radiators without trapping air, are often just shape without the engineering.
This is not a moral lecture. Some owners genuinely want the look at a fraction of the price and accept the trade offs, and that is their choice to make. What is not acceptable is a shop selling a copy while letting you believe it is genuine. Know which one you are buying, know what you gave up, and price it accordingly.
Reality Check: Ask One Direct Question Ask your supplier whether the part is genuine RYFT from an authorized dealer, or a Ryft Style replica. A straight answer tells you a great deal about who you are dealing with. If the answer is vague, or the price is dramatically below every authorized source, you already know. There is nothing wrong with choosing a replica knowingly. There is a lot wrong with being sold one unknowingly. |
13. Coupe and Spider Fitment
The RYFT 720S range covers both the Coupe and the Spider from 2017 onward. This matters because owners often assume aftermarket parts are universal to a model and they are not always.
The Spider has a folding hardtop and different structure around the rear deck. Parts that sit on the front of the car, like the lip, the fenders and the hood, are generally shared. Parts near the rear deck are where the two body styles diverge and where you must confirm the exact fitment for your car.
There is also the question of the 750S, which succeeded the 720S and shares much of its DNA. Some suppliers list parts as fitting across 720S, 750S and 765LT. Do not assume. Confirm the exact part number against your exact car and year before ordering anything, because carbon panels are made to order and rarely returnable.
14. Beyond Carbon: Exhaust, Suspension and Wheels
The brand has grown beyond carbon aero into a broader catalog for the 720S, which changes what a RYFT build can be. You can now build the car within one brand across several categories rather than mixing suppliers.
Exhaust
An exhaust is the most emotional upgrade on any 720S. The car is twin turbocharged, and turbos absorb a great deal of the sound energy before it ever reaches the tips. A quality system claws back what the turbos took. On a 720S this is often the mod owners thank us for most.
Suspension
Suspension changes the stance, which is what makes carbon aero actually work visually. A full carbon kit on a car sitting at factory ride height never looks quite right. The gap over the wheel undermines everything the aero is trying to say. Stance and aero are one project.
Forged Wheels
Forged wheels are lighter and stronger than cast, which is a real performance benefit through reduced unsprung mass. They are also the single biggest visual change available besides the aero itself. A full carbon build on factory wheels is a build that stopped one step early.
Expert Note: Aero, Stance and Wheels Are One Decision The most common mistake we see on carbon builds is treating these as three separate purchases spread over three years. The kit goes on, the car still sits high on factory wheels, and the owner cannot understand why it does not look like the photos. Plan all three together even if you buy them in stages. The look depends on all of it. |
15. Full Kit vs Individual Pieces
You can buy the complete body kit or you can build it piece by piece. Both are valid and the right answer depends entirely on your budget and your patience.
Approach | Cost | Result | Best For |
Front lip only | Entry | Sharper face, subtle change | Testing the water |
Lip plus wing | Mid | The signature RYFT look | Best value transformation |
Core four pieces | Premium | Cohesive front to rear | Most serious builds |
Complete body kit | Top tier | Full transformation | The full RYFT vision |
Our honest advice for most owners is the lip and the wing first. Those two pieces are where the brand started because they are the two that define the look. They deliver most of the visual transformation for a fraction of the complete kit cost. You can always go deeper later.
If you are going to build in stages, plan the whole thing on paper first. Know which pieces you want and in what order. Then each purchase moves toward a finished design rather than accumulating parts and hoping they resolve into something coherent at the end.
16. The Installation Process
Carbon aero installation on a 720S is careful, patient work. These are expensive parts on a car with a carbon fiber structure, and the difference between a factory look and a bolted on look is entirely in the process.
Stage One: Verify Everything
We confirm every part matches your exact model, year and body style before anything comes out of the box. Carbon panels are made to order and rarely returnable, so this step protects you from an expensive mistake that cannot be undone.
Stage Two: Dry Fit Every Panel
Nothing is bonded or finally mounted until it has been dry fitted. We check panel gaps, alignment against the bodylines and how each piece sits with its neighbors. This is where problems are found while they are still cheap to solve.
Stage Three: Mount Correctly
The 720S is built around a carbon monocoque and correct mounting points matter. Parts are fitted with proper hardware to proper locations. Improvising a mounting point on a car with this structure is not something we are willing to do, ever.
Stage Four: Check Airflow and Function
We verify that nothing blocks a radiator inlet or a cooling path. On a twin turbo V8 in Miami this is a genuine mechanical check, not a formality. Then we road test for wind noise, flex or any part that moves when it should not.
Stage Five: Protect and Document
Carbon should be protected before it ever sees a Miami summer. We plan film or ceramic coating together with the build rather than as an afterthought. Then we document everything with photos and video and we store every factory part removed.
17. Protecting Carbon in the Miami Climate
You just spent serious money on carbon fiber and put it on a car that lives under the most punishing sun in the continental United States. Protecting it is not an upsell. It is the difference between a build that still looks incredible in five years and one that looks tired in three.
The threats here stack up. Relentless UV attacking the clear resin. Salt air settling on every surface. Lovebug season twice a year, where acidic insect remains bake onto your front end in ninety degree heat. Road debris on the causeways hitting a splitter that costs more than a used car.
The answer is paint protection film on the impact zones, particularly the front lip and splitter which take everything the road throws forward, plus a ceramic coating over the carbon for UV protection and easier cleaning. Both together. The film handles physical damage, the coating handles sun and chemistry.
Miami Note: Protect It Before the First Summer Carbon under Miami sun is on a clock from day one. Owners often plan protection as a later phase and lose the first year of resin life to UV. Plan the film and the coating as part of the build, not as a separate project next season. The cheapest time to protect carbon is before it has been exposed. |
18. Value, Reversibility and Resale
A full carbon build is a significant investment and it is fair to ask what it does to the value of the car. The honest answer is that it depends entirely on the buyer, and that it depends on decisions you make now.
A tastefully executed RYFT 720S with genuine parts and professional installation is genuinely desirable to the right buyer. Some people will pay for it, because building the same car themselves would cost more than the premium you are asking. That buyer exists, but they are a smaller pool than the buyers for a stock 720S.
Reversibility is what protects you. These are bolt on parts, so a car built with genuine components and correct mounting can return to factory specification. Keep every factory part removed, clean, dry and labeled. Keep your invoices proving genuine parts and professional installation. That documentation is what turns questions into confidence at sale.
Warning: Never Discard the Factory Parts Every factory panel that comes off should be stored, labeled and kept complete. It is worth real money and it is your route back to standard specification for a future sale. We have seen owners lose serious value simply because a previous shop threw parts away. We label and store everything as standard practice. |
19. How Squadra Nostra Handles RYFT Builds
We start a carbon build with a conversation about what you want the finished car to be, not with a parts list. How aggressive do you want it. Are you keeping it long term or selling in a few years. Do you drive it hard in the heat. Those answers shape everything we recommend.
We are honest about genuine versus replica and we will tell you plainly which one you are looking at and what the trade offs are. We are honest when a lip and a wing will get you eighty percent of the look for a fraction of the complete kit. We would rather give you the right advice than the biggest invoice.
Our team carries more than 15 years of combined work on exotic and performance cars including McLaren, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and Bentley. We are mobile across Miami-Dade and Broward County and we work to OEM and manufacturer correct standards. We understand carbon structures and we respect what a 720S is.
What You Get With Us
● Honest advice on genuine parts versus replicas, with no games.
● Fitment verified against your exact model, year and body style.
● Every panel dry fitted before anything is finally mounted.
● Cooling airflow verified, because this is Miami and it matters.
● Film and ceramic protection planned into the build, not bolted on later.
● Factory parts labeled and stored to protect your value.
● Photo and video documentation of the full build.
Ready When You Are Call 305-250-9853 or email info@squadranostra.com. We are open Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM and Saturday to Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. Tell us your 720S and the look you want and we will map out an honest plan that protects both the car and your money. |
20. Closing Thoughts
The RYFT 720S is one of the defining builds of the modern supercar aftermarket, and it earned that position by doing the hard thing. It went to McLaren's own hypercar for its design vocabulary instead of imposing a generic aggressive look. It engineered a front lip that feeds the radiators instead of choking them. It designed twenty five pieces as one system instead of a catalog.
If you build one, build it properly. Start with the lip and the wing because that is where the brand started and that is where the transformation lives. Plan the stance and the wheels alongside the aero, because the look depends on all three. Know whether your parts are genuine. Protect the carbon before the first Miami summer touches it.
And keep every factory part in a box. Do all of that and you end up with a 720S that stops people in parking lots, that still looks incredible after five Florida summers, and that can go back to standard the day you decide to sell it. That is a build done right.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions 720S owners in Miami ask us most about RYFT builds.
FAQ 1: What is RYFT?
RYFT is a carbon fiber design house that builds exterior aero packages for supercars. The McLaren 720S was their first project, launched around 2020, and it is the platform they are best known for. The 720S catalog runs to more than twenty five carbon components, plus exhaust, suspension and forged wheels.
FAQ 2: Why does the RYFT 720S look so good?
Because the design language comes from the McLaren P1 hypercar rather than from a generic aggressive template. The vocabulary is already native to McLaren, so pushing a 720S toward P1 territory moves it up within its own family instead of fighting the shape. That is why it reads as a more serious McLaren, not a modified one.
FAQ 3: How much does a RYFT 720S kit cost?
It depends entirely on how far you go. A front lip alone is the entry point. The lip and wing together deliver the signature look for a fraction of the full kit. The complete body kit with fenders, race hood and rear bumper shell is a top tier investment. Call us with your goal and we give you a clear number.
FAQ 4: What is the difference between RYFT and Ryft Style?
Everything that matters. Genuine RYFT comes from RYFT Design with their engineering, materials, fitment development and warranty. Ryft Style is a copy of the shape by someone else. Fitment is usually approximate, resin quality is unknown, and functional details like the four duct front lip are often shape without the engineering.
FAQ 5: Which RYFT pieces should I buy first?
The front lip and the rear long tail wing. Those are the two pieces the brand started with, because those were the two things clients asked for most. They define the look and they deliver most of the visual transformation for a fraction of the complete kit cost. You can always go deeper later.
FAQ 6: What is special about the RYFT front lip?
It has four ducts that feed air into the radiators while refusing to trap air that would create drag. Clients raised concerns about front lips with an air dam across the middle hurting aerodynamic performance, so RYFT engineered around it. In Miami heat, a front part that feeds cooling rather than blocking it genuinely matters.
FAQ 7: Will carbon fiber survive the Miami sun?
Quality carbon with UV protected resin holds up well. Cheap carbon does not. Under our UV levels, poorly protected clear resin yellows and hazes, sometimes within a few years on a car parked outside. The weave is fine underneath but the part looks brown and cloudy. Protect it with ceramic coating from day one.
FAQ 8: Does the kit fit the Spider as well as the Coupe?
The RYFT 720S range covers both Coupe and Spider from 2017 onward. Front parts like the lip, fenders and hood are generally shared. Parts near the rear deck are where the two body styles diverge. Always confirm exact fitment for your exact car, because carbon panels are made to order and rarely returnable.
FAQ 9: Will a RYFT build hurt my 720S resale value?
It depends on the buyer. A tastefully executed build with genuine parts and professional installation is desirable to the right buyer, though that pool is smaller than for a stock car. Reversibility protects you. Keep every factory part stored and labeled and keep your invoices proving genuine parts.
FAQ 10: Do I need new wheels and suspension too?
If you want it to look like the photos, yes. A full carbon kit on a car sitting at factory ride height on factory wheels never looks right, because the gap over the wheel undermines everything the aero is saying. Plan aero, stance and wheels together even if you buy them in stages.
FAQ 11: Do canards actually do anything on a street car?
On a track car, properly sized and positioned canards generate real front stability under braking. On a 720S that lives on Ocean Drive, they are primarily a visual signal that the car is serious. That is a valid reason to fit them. Just be clear with yourself about which one you are buying.
FAQ 12: Can you install at my home in Miami?
Yes. We are fully mobile across Miami-Dade and Broward County and we plan and fit at your home, office or garage. Your car never leaves your sight, which matters on a build involving carbon panels this valuable. Work needing a paint booth goes to a partner facility, which we arrange.
How-To: Plan Your RYFT Build
Here is the sensible path from an idea to a finished RYFT 720S with our team.
1. Confirm your exact car. Year, Coupe or Spider.
2. Decide your goal. Sharper front, signature look or full transformation.
3. Be honest about your budget and whether you will build in stages.
4. Gather reference photos of RYFT builds you actually like.
5. Call 305-250-9853 or email info@squadranostra.com with the details.
6. We advise on genuine versus replica and what each really means.
7. We plan the full design on paper, even if you buy it in stages.
8. We plan stance and wheels alongside the aero, not afterwards.
9. We verify fitment, dry fit every panel and check cooling airflow.
10. We protect the carbon, document everything and store your factory parts.
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