Quick smart
No one had a problem with how fast the McLaren S went No one complained about its handling And yet McLaren’s added more power and shorter gearing to its replacement the S So it’s even more urgent in a straight line The suspension’s been fiddled with the components themselves are now lighter and the furiously clever software linking each damper has been recoded to be as comfy as a S when you’re commuting and almost as wild as a LT when you’re not The result is a car that verges on genius No other supercar combines such an uncanny level of comfort and user friendliness with such frightening performance and handling But with only per cent new parts versus the S you’d be right in asking “hang on wasn’t the last one pretty much as good? And why does the new one look the same?”
First off don’t deride McLaren for only mildly reworking the bodywork The S came along seven years ago and still looks like a spaceship A Huracán’s had more work than Simon Cowell and Ferrari’s F is a renosed Which was a turbocharged From
The kg lighter has a touch more downforce and improved cooling but still looks fresher and more exotic than the newer hybrid Artura Whoops What Woking has really sweated is the details Build quality ensuring the butterfly doors don’t leak and the dashboard never squeaks At long last McLaren has a responsive bugfree touchscreen that acknowledges the existence of Apple CarPlay It’s not quite perfect The lighter exhaust delivers the promised enhanced soundtrack on the way to rpm but it’s still flatulent on part throttle and it’s a pity the armrest cubby isn’t quite big enough for your iPhone now there’s a reason to plug it in But still this is a much harder car to nitpick than a S
The engineers insist countless ‘pain points’ have been eradicated from the production line so the S is easier to build and won’t be a McWorkshop hypochondriac The nose lift can finally outrun a tectonic plate You can save all your favourite driving settings on one button rather than having to twiddle more knobs and dials than a steam engine’s footplate The warranty is transferable between owners and there’s a highres reversing camera
Bedroom poster material? No But when the rest of the car is this complete this outstanding something for Britain to be rightly proud of it’s about time McLaren’s last V supercar had an ownership experience to match the way it looks and drives Sensationally