Wednesday 1st April 2015

McLaren Sports Series (updated with new pics)

No more teasers - this is actually the 570S in all its glory!

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At last! It seems like an eternity since a 'baby McLaren' was announced, no doubt exacerbated by the #blackswanmoments viral marketing campaign. But now, a day before the full, actual, final, final reveal, McLaren has released a full set of pics and performance stats.

Aero influence results in more sculpted look

Given we've spent so long waiting to see the 570S, it's seems appropriate to begin with the styling. McLaren says it shows "evolution" of its design direction, with the front deliberately evoking the 650S and P1 but apparently "sharpened further." There's a great focus on airflow and aero, with everything from the bonnet to the flying buttresses via the intakes designed to ensure the smoothest flow of air around the car. McLaren says the appearance is "unique and striking" - it's certainly that, but it's arguably also the most challenging of the McLaren designs thus far. Still, we're not the ones spending £145,000 on a 570S...

It's powered by an evolution of the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 familiar to other McLarens but with 30 per cent of the components unique to this installation. The Seamless Shift Gearbox dual-clutch is the only transmission option. With 570hp at 7,400rpm and 443lb ft at 5,000-6,500rpm, McLaren says the 570S is capable of 0-62mph of 3.2 seconds, 124mph in 9.5 seconds and 204mph. Quick, then. For what it's worth, CO2 and fuel economy are officially rated at 258g/km and 25.5mpg.

Bit of P1, bit of 650S, lower price - sounds good!

But there's another notable number associated with the 570S, and that's the weight. Alright, so 1,313kg is a dry weight with lightweight options but then a 458 Speciale has a comparable figure of 1,290kg. Carbon ceramic brakes are standard, as are Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres. They're 225/35/R19 on the front and 285/35/R20 at the back. Interestingly the first Sports Series model doesn't use McLaren's ProActive Chassis Control. It has independent adaptive dampers but also anti-roll bars front and rear which cars with PACC do without. It retains the Normal, Sport and Track modes for both the handling and powertrain though.

Inside there's McLaren's IRIS touchscreen infotainment system on a floating centre dash plus a few displays and details clearly inspired by the Super and Ultimate Series cars. Interior customisation is also being strongly pushed by McLaren, with Alcantara, Nappa leather and carbon fibre available for nearly here, there and everywhere. If that's too much choice, the 'By McLaren' interior specifications are there to "best showcase the stylish cabin space and coordinate with each exterior paint colour." That definitely sounds like a Ron idea...

That's it for the time being on the McLaren 570S, but it's a great deal more than we've seen previously. Expect even more when the world actually sees the smallest McLaren sometime tomorrow.

 

[James__H]

Did someone leave a cheap looking plastic mic on the dashboard? (I'm sure it isn't, but it looks mighty weird whatever it is). Also, it's probably just my eyes but it looks like the rear press shot was taken with the car up on stands giving it a look of real positive camber. Whoever photoshopped it needs to check out the area under the right tyre in the same shot too...

I love McLaren but I think this somehow manages to be both fussy and plain at the same time. My first thoughts were that it looked a bit like a car from the Burnout games. Not necessarily a bad thing but it doesn't look anything like a £145k+ car, I'm sure it drives like one though. Then again I was of a similar opinion about the 650s until I saw one in the flesh.