'Buying' a McLaren 570GT
There's a McLaren 570GT joining the PH Fleet, but did Dan choose the right spec?
"Now Mr Trent, orange with green might not work."
Even on the understanding this was going through the motions 'sales controller' Simon Snowball at McLaren's Knightsbridge showroom demonstrated commendable patience indulging my (in)decision. If I'm only going to get to do this once I might as well enjoy the experience, right?
So why a GT and not an S? I'd say it was an agonising choice. Can't pretend it was exactly life or death but it did cause me some sleepless nights. Fresh out of driving a very orangeS I'd have said I was more aligned with this end of the Sports Series spectrum. Mainly because notions of maturity, comfort and refinement aren't ones I'd put at the front of my 'buying' decision for such a car. Hand on heart I prefer the looks of it too, the way the contrasting sections of bodywork inform you of the way the air goes over, around and through the bodywork a really effective combination of form and function. Goes alright too.
Tough 'lucky git' decision to make...
So to my spec. Having been advised GT customers tend towards more subtle colours I was originally tempted by the 'Pacific' blue worn by some of the launch cars. With the aid of a selection of painted blocks Simon was able to start the configuration process, equivalent ones for the upholstery helping coordinate paint with interior. For a laugh I first went as tasteless as possible - Mantis Green with orange leather. Then we started playing with the Pacific and some tan leathers. This was more like it. Then a curve ball - maybe something lighter like Ice Silver from the second tier 'Elite' range for £3,490. As night fell outside the Knightsbridge showroom and matt wrapped supercars came out to play I pondered how much better this might look after dark.
"Want that one."
Unlike the S the GT comes with body-coloured door intakes, toning down this distinctive side 'graphic' somewhat. I was all up for adding a bit of S attitude by opting for the dark inserts but was talked out of it. Instead the contrasting Dark Palladium bits will be restricted to the splitter, skirts, diffuser, intake and wing. You can go carbon for these - selectively or as a package - but my thought was you either go all-in or not at all. Modesty prevailed and I went with the latter. I had wanted at least one flash of McLaren orange somewhere on the car and reckoned the brake calipers would be the place. But a polite insistence from the PR man for red badges created a clash - red calipers it was then, with the standard iron discs and Stealth finished Super-Lightweight forged wheels.
With a tactful steer from Simon I went for the £2,520 'Luxury 2' option from the By McLaren Designer Interiors range, there being a choice of five Luxury and five Sport packages bundled together to avoid any sub-optimal clashes. There are tweaks you can make therein - the black steering wheel and carpets I chose will hopefully tone things down a tad, given the all-brown GT in the showroom felt a little like sitting inside a packet of Werther's Originals.
It's on the way...
The total? £178,735. A fair hike from the base price of £155,775 I'll admit, but shy of £200K. I'd call that admirably restrained - more carbon on the outside could easily have sent it over that threshold. Full spec breakdown below, the configurator shots you see the only sense of 'my' car I have until delivery day comes.
I can't wait!
FACT SHEET
Car: McLaren 570GT
Run by: Dan
On fleet since: Er, it's not here just yet!
Mileage: 0
List price new: £178,735 (Basic list price of £155,755, plus Elite Ice Silver paint £3,490, Super-Lightweight Forged wheels in Stealth £3,490 + £1,110, red brake calipers £900, Rocket Red badge set, Vehicle Tracking System £630, Sports Exhaust £3,240, Luxury Design 2 package in Saddle Tan and Carbon Black from By McLaren Designer Interiors £2,520, Carbon Fibre Interior Pack £2,500, GT Upgrade Pack £5,020, first aid kit and warning triangle £60)
Last month at a glance: Somewhere on the production line in Woking...
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I think the colour was his own choice and the rest was co;our coordination most likely based on the experience of the sales guys. Suppose not everyone needs to shout 'look at me. I've got an expensive car!'
Flamboyance certainly wasn't the order of the day with this feature..
If it actually WAS my own money I think I'd be getting one very much like the orange S I did the videoblog on - as per the article I *think* I like the S shape more, the more aggressive look with the contrast side panels and the fixed carbon seats and Alcantara interior on that car were very much 'my' kind of thing. I have to say though, that car got A LOT of attention - couldn't park it anywhere without people wanting to sit in it, take pics, etc... which I really enjoyed indulging and sharing. I'd have been interested to see if that novelty wore off over an extended loan too.
But the motivation behind going for a spec like this is to - hopefully - create a slightly more interesting story as I live with it. If I'd specced the orange one it'd have made boring reading, basically because each month you'd have just got me saying "it's f
king ace" to varying degrees. With the GT there will always be that niggling doubt about whether I 'did the right thing' and the car has to prove itself as being a match for the lairy car I actually wanted. Basically it has something to live up to and I hope it will make for more interesting reading to find out if it does or not. So hopefully some degree of method to the madness. Credit to Simon at the dealership and the accompanying PRs too - the only 'steer' I was given was the red badging. I'm sure if I'd done something really 'wrong' they'd have vetoed it. And 'boring' colour or not, it's still a 570hp carbon fibre supercar with crazy doors. I don't think it's going to be a dull car to be around!
Cheers,
Dan
I must admit I prefer the GT look over my 570S but I prefer a sporty car to a GT cruiser. If only they did a GTS ????
That way you have the looks and sportiness combined. Hopefully McLaren will have taken my feedback on board and its something we may see in the future. Apparently quite a few 570S owners have said they like the GT look so there is definitely a market for a GTS IMHO
Good to see McLaren have stolen the Geneva motorshow and all the talk about Lamborghini PR stunts and Fake Ring times has gone away.
McLaren continue to lead the Supercar market really rattling their Italian opposition which can only make them up their game rather than just come out with Stripes and spoiler "specials" .
Rule Britannia !
Something that makes you go "wow" before you get in it - it's not a Mercedes that should be black or silver. It's a supercar.
An S in whatever lairy colour you like. A GT should be grey or midnight blue or smthg. I do not think black would work as it is quite a bulky car.
Tan for the interior is not bad at all. Everyone loves Ferrari gt's with tan interiors. Why not here?
To me the GT is more about elegance so i think you made the right choice. I would have maybe gone for a slightly darker grey though.
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