Mclaren GT

New wheels cut back the black

WHAT A DIFFERENCE 15 STRIPS OF diamond-cut aluminium make. ‘Transformative’ is possibly a little strong for the effect the GT’S new forged rims have had to the car’s appearance, but it certainly looks less development prototype and more GT car as a result of having them fitted. They provide the jewellery that was missing on our black-over-black-over-black Macca.

Mclaren offers a wide-ranging paint palette to choose from, and if I was in the fortunate position to be speccing my own GT the three black options wouldn’t make the long list. When the wheels were being switched, the replacement for GT06 MCL on Mclaren’s press fleet was being prepared and wore a more elegant Serpentine dark green hue. The GT also suits light greys and silvers and deep blues. But not black. I’d also be more adventurous inside with a brighter colour of hide; it’s all a bit too serious when every surface looks like the inside of Batman’s cave.

Getting back into the GT after John Barker borrowed it for a tour of the UK’S specialist sports car manufacturers (you can read the latest instalment on page 28), I needed a little time to remind myself of the car’s purpose. It screams supercar, its screaming V8 backing this up, but the suppleness to its chassis and weighting of its controls tell you that, despite a twin-turbo V8 that’s very much rooted in the supercar DNA its maker is famous for, the GT does calmer much better than a 570S ever did or a 720S can ever hope to. So much so that I find myself using it for those journeys that, were it a 720S, I’d probably put its key down and take our E63 S.

Date acquired December 2021 Total mileage 2376 Mileage this month 701 Costs this month £0 mpg this month 22.2