Picture the scene; I’m minding my own business brushing my teeth when I receive a phone call from my colleague John Steele. Thinking âwhat have I done?â I answered, he proceeds to tell me he just received an email from McLaren inviting him down to Millbrook Proving Ground to drive the 720S and GT. However he wasn’t able to make it so asked it I wanted to go instead? I had to think about if for around 0.0000000000493 seconds.
Fast forward a few weeks and I was on my first flight since March 2019, heading for Luton. On arrival we (myself and the real Scottish journalists) were greeted by our chauffeur holding a McLaren sign. We arrived at the hotel for the night, then joined the team from McLaren for a relaxed dinner, I was sat across the table from Brett Soso their MD for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
The following morning it was time to drive some fast cars, thankfully the temperature had risen to around 8ÂşC compared to subzero and snow the weekend just before. Arriving at Millbrook we were issued with our stickers to cover the cameras on our phones. Then âhas anyone got a proper camera with them?â and of course I had my Canon R5, two GoPros and a DJI Osmo Pocket with me. After a quick chat on the radio the nice lady on the gate let us in.
It was a short drive to our base for the day and we were welcomed by a selection of beautifully coloured cars outside, from McLaren’s signature Orange on a 720S to a stunning shade of green on a GT called Serpentine. Entering the complex we found a fully exposed Green Carbon Fibre Elva, one of the prototypes (PP3 for those obsessed with the numbers, like me) and the recently released 765LT Spider in the amazing Ambit Blue launch spec.
After a quick presentation explaining the entire McLaren range and the technology found within each car, followed by a safety briefing, it was time to jump in the cars. We were introduced to our instructors who would be guiding from the passenger seat, all of whom were racing drivers, so we were in safe hands.
First up I took out the eye catching McLaren Orange 720S Coupe, I had to be careful when closing the door to make sure my hair didn’t get caught in the roof section. Foot on the brake and I hit the start button, the 710bhp, 4 litre, twin-turbo V8 sprung into life. Even though the temperature was much higher than the previous few days, the road was still a little on the greasy side, so not ideal conditions for all that power being delivered solely to the rear wheels. Before setting off I turned on the active controls to allow me to use the manual setting on the gearbox, when you have flappy paddles you need to use them, don’t leave it in auto.
Off we went, firstly we headed for the Alpine route. It was the first drive of the day so the tyres and brakes were cold, best to take it easy for a wee bit. I left the car in the comfort setting for both the suspension and drivetrain, even with these settings the 720S is very pointy, you just look in the direction you want to go and it’s already heading there, the hydraulic steering gives amazing feel and connection to the road. It’s no slouch either, just tickling the throttle and it wants to go, even at 30% throttle the rear tyres were struggling for grip even on the second lap of the alpine track when the tyres had a little bit of heat in them.
After the alpine route we headed down to the mile straight to test out the acceleration from 0-120mph. Sitting on the start line watching the 720S in front take off, with its rear end getting very squirrely, I did get a little nervous. It was our turn, I tried to pull away with as little wheelspin as possible by being gentle on the power and short shifting in first and second. I tried to feed in a little more power in third, nope, still spinning, fourth, still spinning, in fifth at 110mph and it was still lighting up the rears. When we reached 120mph, Warren, my instructor, said hit the brakes as hard as you can. The brake pedal is really solid and takes a bit of pressure to apply, with the combo of the carbon ceramics and the airbrake rear spoiler, the 720S strips speed off as fast as it accelerates, dropping it down to around 30mph I started accelerating again then slamming on the brakes again. Within the mile you could do this three or four times easily, it really is an impressive bit of kit. We done another run of the mile straight before heading back to base and swapping into the GT.
After a couple of minutes wait while the cars were sanitised we hopped into the Ludus Blue GT, which, as the name suggest is McLaren’s take on a grand tourer, a very unusual mid-engined design at that. The GT rides a bit higher than McLaren’s other cars making it easier to take places a supercar would normally struggle. Even though its mid-engined, McLaren have still managed to create a space in the rear for luggage, 420-litres, in addition to the 150-litres in the front. Most importantly though, it still features a twin-turbo 4 litre V8, which is slightly less powerful than the 720S at 612bhp, it still is very much a supercar.
Setting off the GT immediately felt more refined with less engine noise getting into the cabin, the steering felt a little bit heavier and the brake pedal was definitely softer, it felt more accessible compared to the rawness in the 720S. We followed the same routine as the 720S, with a couple of laps of the Alpine route. Getting out onto the circuit you notice the GT is still blisteringly quick, in comfort mode the gear changes aren’t as harsh as the 720S and the engine isn’t as loud either, however it had a different tone to it, with the turbo chatter a lot more noticeable. On the alpine circuit the steering was still very precise with plenty of feel, just a little heavier. Flicking the powertrain into sport mode, the gear changes quickened up nicely with a sportier display on the dash too, which was a nice addition.
Next we headed down to the mile straight, with slightly less power it should have been easier to hold traction, in theory. Only one way to find out, lining up on the start line and off we went. There was still some wheelspin in the lower gears but once you get up to high speed in fourth and fifth it felt more composed compared to the 720S. Again when getting to around 120mph I tried a brake test, it slows down at a very impressive rate, not quite as quickly as the 720S, due to the lack of an airbrake but still sheds speed mightily quick.
To display the grand touring nature of the GT we headed to the high-speed bowl for a couple of laps at 100mph, on the way over we saw a Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 casually parked up whilst out testing. Onto the bowl and the GT reaches 100mph in just a matter of seconds, leaving it in comfort mode for both the chassis and transmission and it becomes an autobahn mile muncher, with very little intrusion in the cabin from the engine or road noise. It is also a very nice place to be with leather everywhere and bespoke switchgear.
Back to base and to relax for a bit after the intense experience of driving such powerful cars in the greasy conditions. Sitting in the company of the stunning Elva and 765LT Spider it would have been rude not to get some photos, after seeking out a Millbrook photo minder to shadow me and make sure I didn’t take photos of anything I shouldn’t have. After I’d taken some photos I had to leave my bag behind the reception desk to make sure I didn’t try to sneak any photos out of eyeshot of the photo minder.
The flight back to Glasgow departed Luton at 17:30 so after our drive at 09:00 there was a bit of time to kill. The team from McLaren were very attentive and happy to chat, putting on hospitality for us including lunch. Around 14:00 one of the team from McLaren asked when we were leaving because they had a couple of spaces on the next run if we fancied another run? Our airport pick up was at 15:15 so myself and Matt from The Scotsman headed out in both cars again.
This time the alpine route was a little bit drier in places so it was possible to push the cars a bit more, even getting to try launch control in the GT. Left foot on the brake, press the Launch button, bury the throttle, wait for the boost to build then come off the brake. Even though the road was still slippy the car took off like a rocket with only a small amount of wheelspin, I even managed to push the revs to the blue light before changing gear, F1 style.
On arrival back at the base our transport to the airport had arrived, an amazing day. When we left we were given a McLaren goodie bag with three models in it, a McLaren F1 GTR, McLaren Vision Gran Turismo and a Lego Speed Champions Elva, a really nice touch.
A massive thanks to the guys from McLaren for the invite and hospitality, and also John for passing it on to me.
