MCLAREN GT
Can a £163k Gt-cum-supercar really hack it as an everyday driver and retain its exclusive appeal? You bet it can
WHY WE RAN IT
To see if a mid-engined supercar really can cut it as a commuting grand tourer
It’s funny how, sometimes, something amazing starts from something ordinary. There I was in the office when a brief message popped up on my computer, from editor Tisshaw: “Do you fancy running a Mclaren GT longtermer?” My brain might not be the swiftest, but even I woke up pretty sharpish at that point.
If I’m honest, I’m not quite sure why Tisshaw even needed to ask the question. Ours is a special world at Autocar, but even against that backdrop, a Mclaren GT as a daily driver takes some beating.
A few months later, though, and it’s gone. That was a bleak day. All grey sky and mist, made even greyer and mistier by the lack of the Belize Blue Mclaren parked outside my house. Not that my time with GT07 MCL started out that way. I’ll admit to a fair degree of scepticism before it arrived. Yes, it was an exciting prospect. But as a GT? And an everyday commuter? That seemed like an altogether different prospect, with its carbonfibre tub, midmounted engine and strict two-seater layout. GTS are meant to be longlegged cruisers, seats reclined, arms stretched out, long bonnet pointing towards the south of France. The Mclaren promised anything but.
And yet within a week, it was suggesting a broader appeal. Not in the traditional GT sense, but with enough comfort and flexibility that meant a long commute didn’t fill me with dread. The sense of excitement from opening the dihedral doors meant every single journey at least started as an occasion.
Even the process of approaching the car turns the mundane into something memorable: walk out of the front door, glance at the lowslung shape 20 yards away, press the Mclaren logo on the key (it’s keyless, but using a key in this touchless age adds to the sense of occasion), whip up the door and drop across and into the low-slung seats. A monobox SUV can’t compete with theatre like this.
Admittedly, I’m short so don’t have as far to drop as some (entry and exit would be a pain for anyone vastly over six foot), but because everyday events feel special in this car, the GT helps to set things up to be more adventurous. I’ve used it day in, day out and never found it to be tiresome.
You’d have to be dead inside not to get excited by the prospect of a trip in a supercar, but the M1/M25 slog to which I’m subjected can certainly give it a good go. Yet even those tortuous stretches of asphalt became events to be savoured.
Of course, the GT’S hardware helped. With the 4.0-litre V8 that appears in other Mclarens, in this case with 612bhp and 465lb ft, and contained within a 1530kg body, acceleration was never lacking.
If I’m honest, though, it’s the steering and ride that I’ll miss most. It’s not as luxurious or sumptuous as a traditional GT, but it’s comfortable enough for the commute and absorbs far more than those low-profile tyres have any right to. Then when the road opens up, it rewards more than those traditionalists.
The hydraulic power-assisted steering is something that feels alive in your hands no matter what speed you’re doing, and there’s a wonderful roll about the car’s rear that means you can be doing normal road speeds and still get enjoyment from it. That’s why this car impressed me so much: you don’t need to go for a special drive to enjoy it. It gives you those moments of joy on most journeys.
In terms of running costs, the GT wasn’t quite as bank-breaking as I thought it might be. We’ve covered close to 3000 miles in it so haven’t needed a service or new tyres (a pal of mine has a 720S and has just extended the warranty, to make sure he swerves any of the reportedly frightening parts bills), but in fuel economy terms, an average of 23.1mpg is pretty impressive.
The recent highs of petrol prices certainly don’t help, but a penceper-mile cost on fuel alone came out at 30p a mile. It was helped by the number of journeys I did that were solid motorway stretches: on those, I regularly saw 30mpg on the trip. By cruising at 60-70mph, with the gearbox perma-locked into the upper ratios and the engine at relaxed revs, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Flipping all the settings to Track and the gearbox to Manual (with its delightfully snappy change) soon fixed any concerns that I was in danger of hypermiling a Mclaren. We had several fills where the average economy was in the 17s.
Not that that has spoiled the
❝ It’s the surprise and delight of the Mclaren that will last longest in my memory ❞
experience. You’d have to be a bit daft to imagine a V8 petrol wasn’t going to occasionally sting at the pumps.
It’s the surprise and delight of the Mclaren that will last longest in my memory: those five minutes of a journey where the road, traffic and weather all come together and the taps can be opened up. Or getting stopped by strangers wanting to know more about it. No, it’s not a traditional GT. But have I ever wished for anything other than the Mclaren in our five months together? Nope.
I just need to remember to leave my computer’s chat messenger open, just in case Tisshaw ever sends another of those messages.