DB11 vs 570 GT
McLaren 570GT £154,000/£199,485 Aston Martin DB11 £157,900/£187,005
The TopGear Garage is suddenly looking more… British. And considerably more handsome, sporting, exotic, upmarket and a whole bunch of other adjectives. More pertinently, on paper they do similar jobs – both are pitched as grand tourers. The Aston obviously so, with its frontmounted V12, rakishness and four seats; the McLaren less obviously so, but, well, it’s called the GT and has load bays front and back, so we’ll go with it.
To see how they compare, we’re going to try something new. After a couple of months of Charlie in the 570GT and Ollie in the DB11, they’ll swap. But here’s where we start, though: in the car park with two happy chappies…
Ollie Marriage: Right, you frst, since that car is all your own work.
Charlie Turner: Yes, I specced the 570GT myself, and thinking GT thoughts I avoided the supercar staple bright orange paint and went for £1,380 Pacifc instead (a colour created to reference the original F1 XP5). But then my hand slipped, and I have the MSO carbon-fbre exterior package and additional carbon side intakes (an eyewatering £20,820).
OM: And more carbon inside, by the looks of things.
CT: Yes, the cabin’s full of carbon. That was another £5,400. Alcantara, too. Plus I went for the sports exhaust (£3,240), lightweight diamond-cut wheels (£4,160) and yellow calipers and belts for a bit of contrasting highlight colour. All of which takes the GT to £199,485. And it looks considerably more sporting than yours.
OM: Which was hardly the point. And besides – how much?! My DB11 is a paltry £187,005. And mine’s a proper GT. Got seats in the back and everything.
CT: Yeah, but you’ll never use them and anyone you do insert in there would be happier on the 570GT’s parcel shelf.
OM: You’d be surprised how keen 12-yearolds are to travel in an Aston. Yours don’t even get that choice. Anyway, my car: I didn’t get to choose the spec myself, but I’ve been on the confgurator, and bar a couple of small things and one massive thing, this
is pretty much exactly as I’d spec my DB11. Cobalt Blue, black roof, smoked alloys outside. Together those added £6,180. This is ridiculous, isn’t it? The options prices on these cars are bananas. On the Aston, the choice of colour, embossing, stitching and trim is never-ending. Having said that, there’s only one thing I actively dislike.
CT: It’s that melamine kitchen surfacing, isn’t it...
OM: Bang on. The chopped carbon trim inlay that looks and feels like a plastic interpretation of marble. It’s awful. Every time someone opens the door, I have to launch into an explanation. Do you have any regrets about the state of yours?
CT: None, it’s perfect. Mind you, it’s at the outer reaches of the GT brief. McLaren says it’s 10–15 per cent softer than a 570S and yeah, on a motorway it’s a lovely supple mileage-killer, but activate the dynamics and it’ll destroy your favourite road better than any GT and leave the Aston trailing in its wake.
OM: I have to say I was initially quite envious that you drew the 570GT straw – I saw the DB11 as a bit too grown-up for me until it arrived. I think this spec gives it athleticism, and it’s received a rapturous response from everyone who’s seen it. OK, one of them was my mum. You done anything good in yours yet?
CT: Collected it from McLaren’s MTC HQ, in a handover I won’t forget in a hurry. That started with a guided tour of the facility by Amanda McLaren (Bruce’s daughter and a passionate petrolhead), followed by the reveal in their special handover room – dramatic music, then a wall slides aside revealing your car beautifully lit on a turntable. Managed not to drop it in the lake on departure, so all’s good.
OM: Very cool. Mine had a baptism of fre at St Athan for the feature last month. I got to skid it about indoors which was tremendous. I’ve done around 500 miles so far, and seem to be averaging about 21mpg.
CT: Really? I’m currently getting 15mpg out of the 570GT on my daily 100-mile round trip. Not very GT-ish.
OM: OK, let’s hook back up in a couple of months and see how we’ve got on.