650s - First impressions

[Kent Border Kenny]

I picked up my 650s Spider last week, so thought, after all the very much appreciated help that I received here, that I should post about what I think of it.

This is going to be piecemeal, it’s pissed down for the last week, and the rapid approach of actual Brexit has me flat out at the bank.

I bought the car on a bit of a whim. I’ve been juggling cars, parking spaces and homes recently, and wanted to reduce the number of cars. I then, without warning, just fell out of live with my R8 Plus. I’ve no idea why. I never loved it like my V8 one, but it was a brilliant car, and then suddenly, it wasn’t.

Bought my car privately, six years ok’d, £9,000 miles, and straight off the transporter from McLaren who’d returned it to what would seem to be perfect.

The only sign I can see that it’s not straight from the factory is the slightest of marks on the roof, probably from a tiny stone.

It’s in Storm Grey, and I think that it looks spectacular. A rich, deep metallic colour, and the interior is the one I wanted, alcantara and leather, black with orange stitching and seat belts.

The drive home, in a deluge showed me a drive that’s not quite as docile as the R8, but with much better suspension damping, and a feeling of utter solidity everywhere.

I don’t mean firm suspension, I mean that the only parts moving or flexing are those that are designed to move or flex. The rest seems to be made from cast iron with the weight of polystyrene.

Today I got a bit of a drive on drying roads. Not interesting ones, and not actually dry, but OK, and the only word that comes to mind is fast.

It’s fast in a way that other cars aren’t. There’s no getting the weight transferred rearwards then flooring it here, it is too fast.

I put my foot down progressively at 95mph in a straight line, and the back stepped out immediately.

No drama, no fear, but lots of loss of traction.

Anyway, it’s home, washed, and put away, and I’ll wait for a sunny day to actually explore it a bit more.

[Kent Border Kenny]

R8Reece said:

Thanks for the update, sounds fantastic.

Am I the only one slightly concerned about the back end at 95mph incident??! My R8 feels as planted as they come and never experienced anything similar. Yes, it’s 4WD but surely a straight line + 95mph + progressive, non-hammering-acceleration shouldn’t = back end stepping out?

Slimy roads, RWD cold tyres and 640bhp combined is probably just a bit much.

[Kent Border Kenny]

justin220 said:

Back end stepping out at 95mph is not normal. Get the Geo/Alignment checked.

Keen to see some pics!

It looks as though the weather might improve today, so hopefully I’ll get some taken.

Here’s some from the dealer’s pictures, taken on a brighter day.

[Kent Border Kenny]

dsl2 said:

Pzero Corsa's are very traction limited to say the least until they are in the high 20 degrees C range.

My next tyre change will be to the afore mentioned PS4's, recommended as being a big step up for lower temperatures / damp & wet road use.

Thanks to both of you. Tyres were at 12C, which I know because I’d been fiddling around with the information screen at the traffic lights a couple of minutes previously. I’ll look at putting something else on for the winter.

[Kent Border Kenny]

sjc said:

Great looking car .
That was the car at Alistair Bols but you said earlier bought it privately ??

Mistake by me if I did, or I badly explained that it was a sale he was doing for a private seller, but yes, it was the car at Alastair Bols, and he was a pleasure to do business with.

[Kent Border Kenny]

stuthe said:

I've been musing the same change as you. I've recently sold my third car and have two cars left. There is a temptation to sell them both and get a 650 spider.

I'm worried I'll find it a bit playstation /boring as I love analogue drivers cars, but I'll be interest in reading more as you get more feel for it

Enjoy

Stu

It doesn’t feel analogue so far, it feels alive, and very, very fast.

I’m amazed that when accelerating up to speed on a slip road or the like, at a pretty decent rate, it seems to not need to go above 3,000rpm in Auto.

I went out again last night in it, as the roads were dry, and it started to rain as I was leaving the garage, so still no more information to share. I’m starting to get pretty frustrated at this point.

[Kent Border Kenny]

Drclarke said:

I am curious, if it’s a dealer selling a private car does he provide the same warranty and back up that a more established dealer would have to do?

Yes, he does.

I asked if it could be sold without a warranty, and was told that that’s not possible.

[Kent Border Kenny]

drcarrera said:

Is that AB's warranty or just a Mac one transferred from the previous owner? IIRC Mac extended warranties can be transferred by private sellers but not by dealers?

His would not normally be the McLaren one, but there’s a route to having McLaren accommodate their warranty being transferred and a dealer fulfilling their legal obligations too, which keeps everything legal and above board, and everyone happy.

[Kent Border Kenny]

Bispal said:

Lovely car many congratulations.

You need to be careful in the wet / slippery conditions on PZeros's my old 12C would do the same, could be scary! However my 675LT with more power and MPS4S has tons of traction, even in the wet. I recommend you change the tyres, I don't think its a geo issue.

The ride should be like a Rolls Royce. Try switching from normal to track suspension. If there is no change in comfort then its likely the accumulators will need replacing. However I am 99.99% certain AB would have picked up on that if it was an issue.

I guess you are in Kent? You should join the McLarens owners FB group but if not there are plenty of us local to Kent to meet up with.

Enjoy!

Edited by Bispal on Monday 2nd November 19:20

McLaren had it in for a full service then transported it down for me to collect, so yes, I’d hope that they’d have spotted it. I’ll try switching it and see. It’s now back in McLaren warranty, so will go back to them if there’s an issue.

I’ll swap the tyres over straight away I think. The set that’s on is nearly new, so I’ll want to find a place that can store them, and I also want to make sure I use a place that will be sure to look after my rims, can you recommend anywhere?

I also don’t have an owner’s manual of any sort, are they available online?

I have had a bit of a look, but can’t find one.

[Kent Border Kenny]

davek_964 said:

Did you check under the 'glove compartment'? There are some manuals there.

I have an electronic copy - can't remember where I downloaded it but happy to send it to you if you pm me (it's pdf)

I didn’t, I’ll have a look, thanks.

[Kent Border Kenny]

johnnyreggae said:

Pick your language ! https://cars.mclaren.com/gb-en/ownership/service-a...

And that’s smashing too, thank you.

[Kent Border Kenny]

Harryoz said:

Congrats on the buy

When I had a 650S, switching the tyres to MP4S was the best thing I did to address traction issues.

Is there PPF on the car and roof? Perhaps the mark is just on that and not to the paint?

There is, it’s on all the main areas.

I’m not really concerned, it’s a six year-old car; if it was as good as new then it’d not have been selling for under £100k.

I also have to accept that without a reversing camera it’s quite likely to look much more used very soon.

[Kent Border Kenny]

Kananga said:

Congratulations! Looks like my old one, and I really miss it!

What did you replace it with?

The intention was to give this a try, and if I get one with it switch to a 720s next summer, but I think I’ll want to stick with those one for a while, I’m very happy with it.

[Kent Border Kenny]

Kananga said:

Tbh I found it just too fast for road use and too nice for track use!

Swamped for a manual R8 V10 manual, which provided similar thrills but with an incredible soundtrack (i had a switchable capristo system on it).

Then moved into a V6 Exige which is probably one of the best analogue drivers’ cars I’ve ever owned!

Still think the 650s is an amazing car. Enjoy in good health!

I went the other way, R8 Plus to the McLaren. I likely would have never changed if I’d had one with the variable suspension, but the Gen 1 Plus is fixed, at “very firm”.