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McLaren 570S Spied Testing with Ferrari F12berlinetta as Benchmark

Placing McLaren's name in the same sentence with "entry-level" may have seemed ridiculous a few years ago, but here we are, looking at these spyshots of what will be the easiest way to enter the Woking family. Ladies and gentlemen drivers, we give you the McLaren 570S.
McLaren 570S spyshots 7 photos
Photo: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
McLaren 570S spyshots: rearMcLaren 570S spyshotsMcLaren 570S spyshotsMcLaren 570S spyshotsMcLaren 570S and 657LT prototypesMcLaren 570S spyshots with Ferrari F12berlinetta
Before we move on to digesting the clues fed to us by the supercar convoy our photographers snapped, we'll remind you the Brits are currently developing a Sports Series family that will be slotted under the current Super Series.

The Sports Series

Just like the Super sub-species, which includes the Asia-confined 625C, the 650S and the 675LT, the Sports stuff will be offered to us in three main flavors. The 570S we see here will be the "standard" model, if we can call it so. The Series should also include an even more usable 5xxC model, while at the top of the range we'll find a street-legal track special 5xxLT model.

The British spiders are coming! Yes, as McLaren has accustomed us, we shall also receive open-top versions for most, if not all of these models. McLaren has the cocky habit of delivering Spider versions for comparos, stating they're just as good as the coupes. After having driven the 12C and 12C Spider, it's hard to argue with their logic.

A recipe with GT ingredients

The basic ingredient here will be the carbon tub, the monocoque chassis that sits at the core of all the Macs out there. As usual, we'll find a 3.8-liter twin turbo V8 at the center of the carm working with a seven-speed SSG dual-clutch gearbox.

Sure, the engine will be downtuned compared to what is offered on the Super Series - as the car's designation tells us, we'll be dealing with 570 PS or 562 hp.

Still, there's no reason to be worried. You see, McLaren is getting closer to the grand touring concept than ever with its Sports models, so the reduced output will come with the advantage of even greater drivability.

It's not like anybody is surprised to see a Ferrari being used as a benchmark, but while many would have expected the 552 hp just-as-turbocharged, entry-level California T to serve that role, the British engineers went for what is the best GT on the market, the Ferrari F12berlinetta. Sorry, Aston fans.

We may be looking at both a Coupe and a Spider here

Speaking of the Prancing Horse, what you see in front of the F12 is an old 675LT prototype, but when it comes to the actual subjects of this spyshot session, the two cars up front, things get a bit more complicated.

While the second prototype appears to have a coupe-like rear window, the test vehicle up front replaces this with a solid panel, while also covering up its rear side windows with camo (car #2 has visible side rear windows). Moreover, there's some sort of a buldge in the area where the aforementioned panel meets the roof. These clues point towards the Spider scenario, as if that panel would be covering a pair of rear buttresses. Alas, the camo on the pillars wouldn't allow the metallic roof to be operated, so we can't be sure of the test car's open-top nature.

While McLaren may not have all that much experience with building GTs, the suprising usability of the supercars should be a serious hint of things to come.

As for what styling moves the serious camo might be hiding, McLaren boss Ron Dennis is the kind of man who follows the "cluttered desk is a sign of cluttered mind" philosophy, so expect the same performance-over-drama design we've received so far.

The McLaren Sports Series will land on our planet at the New York Auto Show in April, while an European debut is reportedly set to take place simultaneously, at the AutoRAI 2015 event in the Netherlands.
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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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