McLaren GT is serene speed in a superb grand tourer package
more vocality. It’s a deeper and bassier sound, but I’d score it around seven out of 10 for aural emotion.
At 1,530kg the carbonfibre car is the lightest in its segment by a good margin, and with 456kW and from its 4.0l twinturbo V8 engine, the superlight GT has a respectable power-toweight ratio of 298kW per ton.
The performance is suitably ballistic with a claimed 0100km/h time of 3.2 seconds and 326km/h, and the 630Nm of torque is on call from low rpm, making it an engine that doesn’t hanker for revs. But where’s the fun in that?
In the more easygoing sections the car was burning through just 13.2l per 100km, a very respectable fuel sipper.
It isn’t McLaren’s most dramatically styled car; the rapacious Senna and the windsculpted Speedtail jostle for that award. But the GT has the typically elongated and low-slung look of a grand tourer; it’s a simpler and sleeker design sans too many busy body curves.
The nappa leather-bedecked cabin radiates a more luxurious vibe than the suede or alcantara used in other McLarens. The well-padded seats proved comfortable over an extended drive, and all the touchpoints are soft.
Some of the interior finishes aren’t quite up to scratch for this price range, but these were preproduction models we drove and perhaps the customer versions will be better.
McLaren, the bastion of hardcore sports cars, has softened its stance here. The British sportscar firm has nailed the grand tourer concept with the way the GT adopts a Porsche 911 Turbo-like recipe of being an everyday supercar, blending performance with finesse and daily useability.
Getting into the car isn’ ta simple Porsche-like exercise because the GT is so low slung and has a wide sill, but the upside is that most observers’ attention will be taken by the drama of the McLaren’s dihedral doors, rather than how gracefully occupants ingress and egress.