The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Mclaren delivers ‘super’iority with GT
You never know what will show up.
Picture this. You are driving down the road with your family on the way to an outing, and see out of the corner of your eye a supercar — one that you either have never seen before or one that you hoped you could experience firsthand or maybe even heard of, but never witnessed.
That happened today. On my way to work, I saw this bright Ludus Blue mid-engine supercar zoom by me on the highway and could only think of one thing; that guy is either a big executive, or just out loving life. As I pull into the office parking lot, I see the same Ludus Blue supercar that I wasn’t able to identify in the 2.8 seconds it took for him to fly by me previously.
Obviously, I did a detour to the normal parking spot to get another glance and roll the window down to identify it, and it was the Mclaren GT.
I decided it was a good time to stop and acknowledge the driver of this pretty sweet ride just to find out it was being delivered for a Grasso’s Garage review. In total shock as you can expect, the drooling stopped and now I was the guy loving life.
Boston Herald
The GT is new to the Mclaren lineup in hopes of attracting the real Grand Tourer lover. From the C-level executive looking for speed to the empty-nesters looking for some attention, the GT is just the car.
Everyone always wants to know the numbers so let’s start there. It’s goes 203 mph at top speed, has 465 ft.-lb. of torque and gets 612 horsepower from a 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8 engine paired with a push button seven-speed transmission and paddle-shifters.
Talk about putting you in your seat. A quick zero-to-60 came in at 3.1 seconds. Optioned up, our GT included a $8,000 carbon ceramic brake package, $13,000 paint option and $15,000 in luxury accoutrements.
Producing cars in Surrey, England, Mclaren offers some of the best mid-engine supercars in the business and competes with others like the Aston Martin DBS and Acura NSX. Although we haven’t tested those models yet, we anticipate that Aston and Acura will show up soon with their flagship in hopes of getting a slice of the review pie.
Let’s not discount Chevrolet either, the new Corvette midengine design along with their less than $60,000 advertised price makes them a contender for auto enthusiasts abound.
On our brisk drive to Boston for a dinner appointment, we couldn’t think of a better vehicle to take. Parked right out front near the waterfront, it was the talk of the town for the two-plus hours. The “frunk” (short for front-trunk) offers great size for storage similar to that of Tesla, while the rear hatch provides limited storage for luggage and/or golf bag, keeping in mind this compartment is on top of the engine.
Illuminated lighting that adjusts in the cabin and cellphonelike design for the infotainment system were exceptionally easy to navigate and utilize. Mclaren, known for the lack of technology reliability, showed excellence in our review, a lot better than we anticipated.
The supercar dream for some and drool for others delivers big in the Mclaren GT. Consumers looking for an alternative to the everyday driver or upscale family mover can find it here. The GT was super smooth and had the hum of most mid-engine cars. We received tons of nods and thumbs ups from onlookers in our 24-hour test. It stuck to the road easily while accelerating to excessive speed rapidly.
The car just wanted to go and go and go. The suspension was really smooth and certainly a great upscale car option for the everyday driver, but more likely the weekend cruise.
With 30 exterior color options and three interior leather configurations, the GT is made for those specifically who want exclusivity. I doubt you will ever see another one of these on the road in this color combination, especially with the low production numbers Mclaren manufactures yearly. Mclaren produces cars beginning at $184,900 with their 540C all the way up to the $2.2 million Speedtail.
Executives, couples and small families who want to go fast and look good while doing so while having the cash to burn can certainly be the talk of the town. Keeping up with the Joneses won’t be an issue with Mclaren as they have the perfect car, or should I say, supercar for you.
Mclaren GT
MSRP: $210,000
As tested: $263,625 MPG: 15 city, 22 highway, 16.3 as tested