Supercar-market sweep
Got a shopping list of all the parts to create the ultimate driver’s car? McLaren has already beaten you to it, and it’s called the 620R.
McLaren’s Sports Series as we know it is on borrowed time, with a new era just around the corner. And what better way to sign out than with a ‘Best of…’ masterpiece that involves mooching around McLaren’s Technology Centre with a big trolley cherry-picking all the really good stu?
Be clear, this isn’t McLaren’s 570S-based equivalent of Porsche’s 911 GT2 RS or Ferrari’s Pista. That was the 600LT (sold out as a coupe, still available as a Spider), a road car uprated to shine on track. The 620R is a racer (the 570S GT4) made barely road-legal and a new Sports Series high watermark. It’s more powerful than the 600LT coupe (611bhp versus the LT’s 592bhp; torque is the same) and, while marginally heavier (1282kg to the LT’s 1247kg), the R enjoys a serious aero advantage (185kg of downforce at 155mph versus the LT’s pitiful 100kg) thanks to elements derived from the 570S GT4.
Back to that big trolley. First in is the Monocell 2 carbon tub and the GT4’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 in its most potent state of tune yet, free of racing restrictions. Now grab some lightweight aluminium wishbones (as used on the LT and GT4), track-stiff springs and roll bars, and deadly serious two-way tweakable coil-overs with slack-free steel rather than rubber top mounts and no fewer than 32 clicks of adjustment in which to get completely and hopelessly lost – nice. If the LT’s steering and precision felt high-definition after the standard 570S, the R promises a level of clarity to beggar belief.
That trolley’s looking good. Lightweight forged wheels with centre-lock nuts and carbon brakes? Check. Grab that adjustable 570S GT4 rear wing and, while we’re here, let’s knock up a bespoke front end – splitter, bonnet and bumper, with dive planes – heavily inspired by the GT4 car and hellbent on generating proper downforce and leachy grip (in concert with the optional slick tyres). To finish, lob in carbon seats with six-point harnesses, whip out the carpet, stereo and infotainment, limit the production run (to 350 units) and charge a quarter of a million quid. Done.