Mclaren’s everyday supercar
MY FAVOURITE Mclaren is the 570GT, a car intended to be rather more practical and easier to live with than rocketships like the 720S. Well now the 570GT has been replaced by a new car called simply the Mclaren Gt.according to Mclaren, people liked the 570GT but wanted something even more user-friendly. More of a grand touring car in fact.
So this is it: two thirds all-new, according to its makers, even though it still uses the same twin-turbov8 that’s used in all Woking’s cars.
Not quite the same, argue the engineers, because the engine has smaller turbochargers and a slightly higher compression ratio to make it more driveable and a bit less full-on. It still produces 612bhp so the new GT is no slouch.
The engine has been lowered down in the carbon fibre chassis to allow for more luggage room. Mclaren claims you can get a bag of golf clubs under the glass tailgate.
Clearly the person at the company who makes this claim plays his 18 holes with a slightly smaller complement of clubs than many players because a big bag of sticks is going to be a tight fit.the tailgate itself opens and closes electrically at the touch of a button.
I suspect that this system is fitted not to save owners the effort of manually lifting the lid but because if they were entrusted with closing the lid there’s a good chance £163,000 Petrol – 4.0 612bhp 0 to 62mph in 3.2 seconds, 203mph top speed 23.7mpg 270g/km Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin DB11, Mercedes-amg GT
9/10 they might smash the glass with a sharp piece of luggage. Or a 4-iron.
The luggage floor is lined with some miracle fabric that Mclaren says was developed by NASA. Miracle materials usually are.
This material’s job is to stop thev8 engine and all its hot bits from turning the GT’S luggage bay into a blast furnace.
It works reasonably well but with 40°c possible in there you don’t want to store chocolate in it. Or expensive wine.
There’s still a generous front boot in case you are carrying stuff that doesn’t like getting hot.
Mclaren’s engineers have tuned almost every area of the new car to make it more friendly over long distances.
The suspension, which is a development of the Proactive Chassis Control fitted to the 720S, is tuned to be more comfortable; the exhaust is quieter and the special Pirelli P Zero tyres are grippier in the wet than those fitted to other Maccas.
The GT has a nose lift system so that you don’t biff the front spoiler on speed humps which at full lift gives the car the same ground clearance as a Mercedes-benz C-class. Make no mistake, this easier-to-live-with and softer Mclaren is still an outrageously fast car. Its 612bhp gives it a top speed of 203mph and the ability to go from 0-62mph in 3.2sec.
Rivals from Bentley and Aston Martin have more cabin space and are 2+2s so that you can get a lot more luggage in them than you can in the Mclaren, but neither of these cars would see which way the GT fromwoking went.
They might be as fast in a straight line but they won’t be able to go around a corner as quickly as the Mclaren.
This is a car that’s easy to drive fast, helped by the fact that it has the best steering of any sports car on sale today. It uses a hydraulic system driven by an electric pump rather than a pure electric assistance that you’ll find on most cars these days.
Mclaren expects the new GT to make up 25 per cent of all sales. I suspect that’s got a lot to do with the fact that its £163,000 price is quite reasonable by supercar standards.
If you want a genuine GT with plenty of luggage space then I suspect you’d go for a Bentley Continental GT or a high performance SUV like Bentley’s own Bentayga.
Not me. I like the Continental GT but the Bentayga is a hideous looking car.
I’d take the beautiful Mclaren and pack light. Or send my man ahead with the luggage.that’s what they used to do in Downton Abbey times.