McLaren GT
Designed to take on the 911 Turbo S, DB11, and Bentley Continental GT, the all-new McLaren GT has some big shoes to fill as it is the only mid-engine car in the lineup. Longer than any other McLaren (except for the 17ft Speedtail) and a rear hatch capable of storing two sets of skis and a bag for the weekend plus the 150L storage space at the front means it is on its way to being a thoroughbred Grand Tourer. But what about the ride and interior quality? Does it have what it takes to go up against Bentley and Aston Martin's plushness? Step inside the car, and you'll find yourself greeted by the scent and touch of soft Bridger Weir Semi-aniline leather, trim pieces all milled out of single pieces of aluminum, an electrochromic panoramic roof making the cabin feel very open and a beautiful place to be.
Now for the ride, it is impossible to give you a real world review as no one has performed a road test however McLaren has fitted a rather sophisticated system in the place of its active chassis control system found in the sports series. The system is now proactive, allowing it to predict future events and respond accordingly to provide the driver with ultimate comfort and safety. The system works by detecting events and logging them as they occur to optimize its performance over time and learn the roads you drive on every day. The overarching goal for the project was to deliver a car that was refined comfortable and relaxing to operate when needed but could still drive like a McLaren when the driver wants to go flat out. To that end, the steering is also a significant factor in delivering this experience to the driver which is why McLaren went with a hydraulic steering rack that was tuned for straight line stability rather than quick response off center like those found in the sports and ultimate series cars. The GT's steering is very progressive off-center giving the driver confidence at speed and is more heavily assisted (along with the brakes) at lower urban speeds to make the car more driveable in daily driving situations. In fact, the GT is the first car in McLaren's lineup whose design is heavily influenced by low-speed driving.
Its 4.0L twin turbo V8 shares the same base as the 720S however it has been modified mostly in part to make room for the rear hatch but also to provide Grand Touring driving experience. To make room for a rear hatch, McLaren engineers had to drop the V8 nearly 120mm lower into the chassis that forced them to redesign the plumbing of the exhaust and other systems. The radiators are moved to the hips where we can see the large side-intakes traditional of modern supercars while the air intakes are transferred to the shoulders of the car. Additionally, the exhaust was moved outboard to prevent you from burning your leg hairs while retrieving items from the trunk. New pistons, higher compression ratio, and a bespoke log manifold and muffler give the car a unique off-beat grumble tone not found in other McLaren's and is rather pleasing to the ears.
McLaren has come out with a product that ticks most boxes of a Grand Tourer, however, getting in and out of the car is certainly still a supercar experience. It will be interesting to see if the GT cements itself in the McLaren line-up or if it will remain a one-off experiment. At the end of the day, it is McLaren customers that will have to make that decision.
