Re: Chris Harris video: McLaren 650S onboard

Re: Chris Harris video: McLaren 650S onboard

Thursday 24th April 2014

Chris Harris video: McLaren 650S onboard

Full service to be resumed soon; for now here's Chris lapping Ascari in the 650S



So we've written about the McLaren 650S. Chris has talked about it, quite a lot in fact. But there comes a time when you just have to crack on and drive and while Chris is off in the States filming his regular Wednesday night video slot is a more straightforward affair. Given that he was so addled with man flu at the time he could barely string a sentence together it's a commendable effort - Ascari is not a track on which to take liberties. And yet here he is, Scandi flicking a 650hp supercar. Fair play.

We'll be back at Ascari next week in fact, trying out one of the 650S's key rivals on the same tarmac. More on that soon but at least we'll have some tyre tracks to follow. For now though...

Take it away Chris!

 

Author
Discussion

Alex

Original Poster:

9,975 posts

283 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
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Wow.

04helipilot

396 posts

150 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
quotequote all
Mr Harris you are such a yob.............love it

Ian_C

193 posts

209 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
quotequote all
Superb. Feel sorry for anyone who has just taken delivery of a brand new 12C....

D200

514 posts

146 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
quotequote all
Looks a bit awkward to do nice long progressive slides in. The drifting in his old 458 vid looked much better, more controllable. Is the 458 speciale going to be his next vid?

MarvGTI

427 posts

124 months

Wednesday 23rd April 2014
quotequote all
Ian_C said:
Superb. Feel sorry for anyone who has just taken delivery of a brand new 12C....
I feel envious as f**k all of anyone who has taken delivery of a brand new 12c...

peteA

2,680 posts

233 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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Ace driving...as usual!

dukebox9reg

1,570 posts

147 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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Does look a lot better to my eyes with the P1 face transplant.

e21Mark

16,205 posts

172 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
Would have liked to have seen a couple of quick (drift free) laps.

scarebus

858 posts

170 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
Man porn at its best, just love the way Chris seems to use his body weight to throw the sideways.

Fantastic, and remember he was poorly then.....

Lione1 Richie

173 posts

182 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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Replicating the P1 face on the 12C hasn't worked for me with the original 12C front being much more cohesive. The new nose seems to halt the natural flow of the lines to a conclusion at the front, instead it is awkwardly interrupted by the new headlights.

The rear end treatment on the 650S is less awkward that the front but again I still prefer the original 12C rear. It may simply be a case of familiarity to the older design however.

The new car also seems to be a little colour sensitive. I don't think I've seen a colour that makes an original 12C look bad.

It'd be good news for me if I had the money as I'd get an older car and upgrade to new spec wink

RB Will

9,662 posts

239 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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looks a bit snappy on the limit

threespires

4,289 posts

210 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
Ian_C said:
Superb. Feel sorry for anyone who has just taken delivery of a brand new 12C....
Explain why?

MogulBoy

2,925 posts

222 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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One of the things I like about these cars is the fact that the steering wheel boss is round - not at all commonplace these days!

SimonD

486 posts

280 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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One of Harris' earlier videos said the 650S was much quicker to kick the back out than the 12C. For me, probably an average driver, that would take away confidence in me making progress on a real road. Add in 'that' face, the price increase and the flat bottomed steering wheel and it's 12C everytime for me. Seems like 1 step forward and 3 steps back.

Why is everyone so obsessed with drifting? Yes it looks cool for about 5 seconds, but it's an expensive, slow way to get around a track, isn't suitable for a public road and cars that are tail happy make a 'normal' driver slower IMO. Which, I'm afraid, 90% of us are. The driving abilities held by the likes of Chris Harris or other professionals are rare on the roads.

mrdemon

21,146 posts

264 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
e21Mark said:
Would have liked to have seen a couple of quick (drift free) laps.
this, it's all getting a bit dull.

gofasterrosssco

1,235 posts

235 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
SimonD said:
One of Harris' earlier videos said the 650S was much quicker to kick the back out than the 12C. For me, probably an average driver, that would take away confidence in me making progress on a real road.

Why is everyone so obsessed with drifting? Yes it looks cool for about 5 seconds, but it's an expensive, slow way to get around a track, isn't suitable for a public road and cars that are tail happy make a 'normal' driver slower IMO. Which, I'm afraid, 90% of us are. The driving abilities held by the likes of Chris Harris or other professionals are rare on the roads.
Yes, but that's with the settings on track mode presumably.. If you don't want to drive around as if you're arse is on fire, then leave it in Normal / Sport / Etc. and the car will take car of you.

It's not about drifting per se, the point being shown is that despite being monsterously quick and powerful, the car is still controllable and cohesive up to and beyond the limit, which is handy 'incase' you end up in that situation on the road or track..

Go watch some What car? videos if you want to see cars bumbling along in the manner they will typically be used for on the road.

jon-

16,497 posts

215 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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I really like Ascari.

If you're ever doing a European trackday make sure it includes Ascari. And Portimao

SimonD

486 posts

280 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
gofasterrosssco said:
Go watch some What car? videos if you want to see cars bumbling along in the manner they will typically be used for on the road.
No need. Chris has produced enough other videos showing cars making good progress on the road when driving (often very) quickly without having the back hanging out at every opportunity.

I appreciate your comment about it being a demonstration of the car's controllability, and perhaps Chris's showmanship, but my point is that for most people I'm guessing a 12C would be easier to handle when going quickly on the road.

It's no different to Peugeots of old. I've driven a 306 GTi-6 on track, flat through Craner Curves, and a reasonable amount on the road, but the cars unpredictable behaviour, in my opinion, made it a hard car to hustle.

I believe that electronics are supposed to be a safety net, not a de-facto tool for going quickly.

Monty Python

4,812 posts

196 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
gofasterrosssco said:
Yes, but that's with the settings on track mode presumably.. If you don't want to drive around as if you're arse is on fire, then leave it in Normal / Sport / Etc. and the car will take car of you.

It's not about drifting per se, the point being shown is that despite being monsterously quick and powerful, the car is still controllable and cohesive up to and beyond the limit, which is handy 'incase' you end up in that situation on the road or track..

Go watch some What car? videos if you want to see cars bumbling along in the manner they will typically be used for on the road.
This - watch the Autocar video of it on the road with all the electronic aids switched on.

Anubis

1,029 posts

178 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
What a bland interior. It's just so...dull. Like an Audi or BMW - it's grey, with a bit of black with a bit more grey and most redeeming features have been removed by a couple of buttons and a few silvery vents.

Where's the flair?! The outside is like 'wow' and inside it's so dreary!