Today, we are getting bombarded with information about the 570S, an entry-level supercar from McLaren. A lot is riding on this model, as together with its future sister models it needs to double sales. Because the company invited plenty of journalists to a sunny location and gave them keys to a 570 horsepower coupe, nobody had a bad word to say… except for Chris Harris.
The first and most important car of the Sports Series is £50,000 cheaper than its big brother. But more importantly, McLaren designed the 570S to be more usable, an everyday car.
Despite having a de-tuned version of the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8, the 570S will accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 204 mph (328 km/h). That's better than anything else in its segment (Audi R8 V10, Porsche 911 GT3) and on par with models from the segment above (Huracan, 488 GTB).
McLaren designed the 570S to be more practical and usable. Because the carbon fiber sill is lower, you can get in and out without showing everybody your underpants (if you're a lady). Outward visibility is also improved, and the cabin is described as "a triumph from McLaren" by Harris. Having lived with the 650S over the summer, the journalist claims the navigation, premium sound system and leather seats all work better on the newer model.
That said, not everything is perfect. For instance, the gearbox isn't as responsive as Ferrari's and the 570S doesn't have the all-weather traction of the Porsche 911 Turbo S. While the NVH levels are low, the sounds that do make it inside are not that pleasant. "Oh, but none of those have orange paint and doors that open up," we hear you say.
In 2017, a Spider version is coming out, and a year before that we'll get another car. McLaren won't tell us what it is, but it could be something like a stripped-out GT3 rival for the track. Even without a limited slip differential, the 570S is already a lot of fun when attacking the bends, so we have high hopes for the Woking boys.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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