Home News Reviews McLaren 570S Coupe Review and Test Drive

McLaren 570S Coupe Review and Test Drive

09/11/2015

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It’s what they say about buses, but I didn’t know it also applied to supercars. In just a few days, not one but two supersportscars have been in my hands. The latest was the second generation R8 from Audi, which has attracted the praise and excitement which came when the model first burst onto the scene eight years ago. But you’ll have to wait a little for my thoughts on whether the on-road performance matches its looks and technology.

Before that, let me tell you I was one of a lucky few to get hold of a pre-production model of the very first of McLaren Automotive’s new Sports Series family of luxury high-performance sports cars, the 570S Coupe.

It’s now under production at the company’s state-of-the-art base at Woking in Surrey and even before the first customer handover takes place, there are more than 1,000 orders for the new addition to their range which already has some fabulous machines in their existing Ultimate and Super Series.

It’s a new chapter for the company, just five years after being created, and is aimed at opening up the brand to a new breed of customer.

The McLaren badge and the status that comes with it is now available to people who don’t necessarily have the depth of pockets demanded previously to experience the best of British automotive engineering.

The man from McLaren winced a little when I suggested that their new 570S sports coupe was accessible to many more prospective owners. “I’d prefer to say a McLaren is now ‘attainable’ “.

He wasn’t being pedantic – the new 570S may be the most affordable in the current McLaren range but with a starting price of £143,250 it’s still going to make a dent in your bank balance.

It aims to bring their renowned Grand Prix race-derived technology and design expertise within reach of a wider market. They’re confident of its appeal which is expected to lead to a doubling of output of the hand-built cars at their base where a team of 370 technicians turn out 14 cars a day. It takes 188 man hours – about 11 days – to build a 570S. To put that in perspective a Ford Focus emerges in less than 20 hours.

There’s no shortage of demand for the new car. The first 200 which will be delivered before the end of the year were ordered as soon as it made its debut at the New York Auto Show in April and before any of the buyers – or anyone outside McLaren – had even driven it and now it’s in production the order book is filling up

The car is stunning with electrifying performance from the 3.8 litre V8 but unlike its even gutsier bigger brothers is tailored to everyday usability. Quite simply, it’s a pedigree performance car which will return sporting satisfaction by the bucketload but also one you can live with for day-to-day motoring.

What makes the car special is a combination of aerodynamics and lightweight construction. Using aluminium and carbon fire body panels around a monocell cockpit ‘tub’ the car weighs only 1313kgs making it almost 150 kgs lighter than its closest competitor, the Audi R8.

Rather than focusing on creating downforce, the dynamic styling uses the air passing over and under it to provide balance, superb handling and agility. Strong crease lines along the bonnet force air over the doors and into the side air intakes to help cool the high temperature radiators…..a principle used in Formula 1.

Every McLaren road car since the iconic F1 from the 1990s has had distinctive lifting dihedral doors and on the 570 they feature a floating tendon which channels air to the intake. Even the door mirrors arms have been designed to contribute to cooling efficiency.

The car looks amazing and even in a more subtle silver grey paint job rather than the Mantis Green or Venture Orange alternatives from the range of 17 colours, it’s a headturner. On the launch event in Portugal I even got a round of applause from a group of relaxing cyclists as they looked up on hearing the rasp from the massive exhausts as I rounded a bend.

It’s a superbly balanced piece of kit which happily purrs along at a leisurely pace or at a touch of the go-faster pedal bursts into life with all its horses springing into action. Unlike the others in the McLaren stable which are more track-orientated, the 570S is very much a road car – but one of the liveliest you’ll find.

The transmission uses a seven-speed twin clutch system with ‘normal’, ‘sport’ and ‘track’ modes with razor-sharp quick shifts and there are similar settings for variations of power. It’s got the classic mid-engine, rear wheel drive supercar configurations but set up for the sportscar market with one of the most powerful engines in any road car.

The engineers have done a stunning job in making this a usable everyday sports car while keeping many of the elements of the super cars of its heritage. Even the tyres which have been developed jointly with Pirelli were deliberately made narrower to give less grip and return a more exhilerating drive.

One of the most dramatic features is the LED lighting. At the front they carry the McLaren ‘speed mark’ logo and at the back they incorporate the turn signal while following the trailing edge of the body panels to give the impression that they’re floating.

It’s got a simple uncluttered dash with the now essential cupholders and the option of three onboard cameras at front and rear and forward facing in the roof between the seats. Footage can be recorded on one of three USB ports. A £3400 option is a high quality Bowers and Wilkins 12 speakers audio system. Talking of options, the full pack of carbon fibre exterior trim including side skirts, diffuser and aero blades will set you back more than £13,000…….but it does look good.

The car has undergone more than 1.5 million kms of testing from the Arctic Circle to the Mojave Desert in the States in temperatures ranging from -30 degs to +50 and is bound to take the luxury sportscar market with the likes of Porsche and Aston Martin by storm.

Next year McLaren confidently expect to sell 1600 570s and the £20,000 cheaper and less sophisticated 540 and they’ll even be available on a PPP finance plan. A base model 570S demands a deposit of £27,500 and £995 a month over three years for 30,000 miles.