2024 McLaren GTS Is an Almost New Kind of British Supercar, It's Here to Kill the GT

No matter how you look at it, the new McLaren GTS will fill the roads of our world from 2024 with the roar of a more powerful engine, the beauty of more carefully crafted lines, but the same sporty elegance we're used to seeing from the guys making these cars.

The GTS was envisioned by McLaren as a replacement for the GT, but that doesn't mean many of the elements that have made that car a hit won't make their way into the new interpretation. And some of those elements have been significantly upgraded, too.

We'll start with the chassis, which is your usual McLaren-made carbon fiber monocoque piece - MonoCell II-T is what McLaren calls it. This part of the car seems to have been carried over from the GT in full, with little to no modifications.

The body that was placed on top of the chassis may appear at first look the same as on the GT, and that's understandable because many of the lines used on that one have been carried over to the GTS. After all, why mess with perfection? But there are places on the car where some changes have been made.

At the front, for instance, we now get a lower bumper section featuring more pronounced (and also wider) air intakes. At the opposite end, the car's behind was treated to taller functional air scoops, a large rear diffuser, and restyled dual exhausts.

In the usual places on the car's body new and larger badges stating the model's new name can be seen, placed strategically to compete for attention with the exhaust, mirror caps, and windows surround in gloss black finish.

You might have noticed how the changes made both at the front and rear have been generally designed to allow more air into the engine area. That's because the 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that moves the GTS is a bit punchier than the one fitted on the GT.

More specifically, through increased crankshaft torque, more aggressive combustion phasing, and revised ignition timing the powerplant's output has been pushed almost 15 hp over what it cranked out in the GT, reaching a total value of 626 hp (635 ps).

The increase may not seem all that great for a car of this caliber, but with the help of the seven-speed SSG transmission and the standard launch-control function, the McLaren GTS is capable of accelerating from a standstill to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds, and to 124 mph in 8.9 seconds, a tad quicker of what the GT was capable of. The rocket on wheels tops at 326 kph (203 mph).

The above numbers are impressive, but they get even more so when you think about how light the GTS is. At 1,520 kg (3,351 pounds, curb weight), the GTS tips the scales 10 kg (22 pounds) faster than its predecessor, making the vehicle not only the lightest in its class, but also one with a power-to-weight ratio of 414 hp per ton.

All that power is both handled and kept in check by an intelligent adaptive suspension system with adaptive damping with proactive damping control, and carbon ceramic brakes that bring the GTS to a halt from 62 mph in 32 meters (105 feet).

One interesting thing the vehicle makes use of is the lift system which raises the ground clearance of the GTS from 110 mm to 130 mm, and it does it in just four seconds, which so happens to be half the time the GT was capable of achieving.

The interior of the McLaren has been upgraded as well, and we're now treated inside with a selection of options, including Softgrain Aniline leather seats with a double-piping pattern and new contrast stitching. The switches and controls come in polished aluminum, and there are two main screens in the dashboard: a 10.25-inch one acting as an instrument cluster and a seven-inch one used for infotainment purposes.

The interior of the GTS can be flooded with ambient lighting in six colors, or with natural light coming through the optional electrochromic glazed panoramic roof.

Despite not being made for carrying stuff, the GTS does come with decent luggage space: a total of 570 liters, unevenly divided between the space behind the passenger cell and the nose of the vehicle.

The new McLaren GTS will spin its 10-spoke alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero tires starting next year for prices that have not been disclosed. For reference, the starting price of the GT was around $212,000, but that's only for orientation, as the many customization options often drove the price much higher. And so it will be with the GTS as well.