RE: McLaren 650S Spider: Review

[Falsey]

Id have one of these over a 458 any day of the week. Metallic bright green please

[Gandahar]

julian64 said:

Streetrod said:

julian64 said:

MyCC said:

Here's a money shot from a 650S we tested up in Gods Own Country AKA Yorkshire:



It brought the local village to a standstill when we pulled over for some pictures.

Regards,

MyCC.

You see I hate that shot of the car. It tells me everything I want to know about why I would never order a sportscar as a spider.

Look at the small bit of car at the bottom meant to be controlling all the torsion of the car, just a bit of floorplan.
Now they could make that slither of floorplan out of unobtaineum, and I still wouldn't trust it to stop the car from twisting.
I want the roof to give struct integrity to that design.

The 12C/650s were designed as a Spyder from day one, therefore no torsional strength has been lost or weight added in its conversion to a Spyder. Unlike the 458 Spyder which is not only heavier than the coupe but a lot more bendy as well

Yep, I read that in their blurb, but its one of those moments when I nod while a politician is talking to me. I know he believes what he's saying but it flies in the face of everything I believe.

Perhaps I'll be more convinced when I see their le-mans car as a spider because of the weight saving from being a coup with no loss of torsional rigidity. After all the spider will be lighter because the weight saving from having no roof hasn't gone anywhere has it?

Well this is by the by in honesty because the FIA make then put a large heavy roll cage in there which incredibly is not made out of anything too exotic

For road and track days I am guessing you wouldn't notice too much of a difference, you might be being a bit luddite here, however I have never driven both back to back so could not tell.

The convertible seems to have better aural qualities though, so perhaps that may offset the odd shimmy making the middle aged owners toupe come adrift.

[mrloudly]

"on one occasion doing so over a speed bump with just 9mph showing on the digital speedo. The front lift system is essential enough to make the £3,640 charged for it seem mean, the fact it's hidden in a menu on the options stalk rather than an easily accessible button for those 'oh ... shiiiiii...' approaches to an obstacle even more frustrating"

If you push the lower left stalk up and hold, the car will raise without going into the menus Easy when you know how

[Sampaio]

frodo23 said:

This (in black or a dark purple colour) would absolutely form one-third of my Euromillions-winner car collection, along with a "full fat" Range Rover diesel and a Bentley Continental V8 S.

Footballer alert...

[mrloudly]

Gandahar said:

julian64 said:

Streetrod said:

julian64 said:

MyCC said:

Here's a money shot from a 650S we tested up in Gods Own Country AKA Yorkshire:



It brought the local village to a standstill when we pulled over for some pictures.

Regards,

MyCC.

You see I hate that shot of the car. It tells me everything I want to know about why I would never order a sportscar as a spider.

Look at the small bit of car at the bottom meant to be controlling all the torsion of the car, just a bit of floorplan.
Now they could make that slither of floorplan out of unobtaineum, and I still wouldn't trust it to stop the car from twisting.
I want the roof to give struct integrity to that design.

The 12C/650s were designed as a Spyder from day one, therefore no torsional strength has been lost or weight added in its conversion to a Spyder. Unlike the 458 Spyder which is not only heavier than the coupe but a lot more bendy as well

Yep, I read that in their blurb, but its one of those moments when I nod while a politician is talking to me. I know he believes what he's saying but it flies in the face of everything I believe.

Perhaps I'll be more convinced when I see their le-mans car as a spider because of the weight saving from being a coup with no loss of torsional rigidity. After all the spider will be lighter because the weight saving from having no roof hasn't gone anywhere has it?

Well this is by the by in honesty because the FIA make then put a large heavy roll cage in there which incredibly is not made out of anything too exotic

For road and track days I am guessing you wouldn't notice too much of a difference, you might be being a bit luddite here, however I have never driven both back to back so could not tell.

The convertible seems to have better aural qualities though, so perhaps that may offset the odd shimmy making the middle aged owners toupe come adrift.

The roof of the coupe is to keep the rain out not make it torsionally rigid. The Carbon Fibre tub provides the strength and it's identical in both cars.
Having owned a 12C Coupe and extensively driven the Spider there is no difference. Now the R8 was a different story

[mrclav]

Sampaio said:

frodo23 said:

This (in black or a dark purple colour) would absolutely form one-third of my Euromillions-winner car collection, along with a "full fat" Range Rover diesel and a Bentley Continental V8 S.

Footballer alert...

And you think that's a shameful thing?

[isaldiri]

Mogul said:

Frustrating that the lifting system is buried in a menu but I wonder if they have ever given any thought to installing a sensor that would trigger the lift if it senses that a speed bump is approaching?

Am constantly surprised there is this complaint about the lift being buried somewhere in a menu. If you simply push the menu stalk up (the one below the indicators and the one to access the on board computer menus etc), I am given to understand that this will trigger the lift system as a shortcut rather than having to flaff around into the menu.

Streetrod said:

The 12C/650s were designed as a Spyder from day one, therefore no torsional strength has been lost or weight added in its conversion to a Spyder. Unlike the 458 Spyder which is not only heavier than the coupe but a lot more bendy as well

The spider is heavier than the coupe. 40kg ish I believe.

Edited by isaldiri on Wednesday 21st January 18:46

[mrloudly]

isaldiri said:

Mogul said:

Frustrating that the lifting system is buried in a menu but I wonder if they have ever given any thought to installing a sensor that would trigger the lift if it senses that a speed bump is approaching?

Am constantly surprised there is this complaint about the lift being buried somewhere in a menu. If you simply push the menu stalk up (the one below the indicators and the one to access the on board computer menus etc), I am given to understand that this will trigger the lift system as a shortcut rather than having to flaff around into the menu.

It does, front and rear of the car, it's like a 200mph Range Rover

[D.no]

Visually, the 12C has never done anything for me in the slightest. Removing the roof hasn't helped. The basic proportions, wheel to body relationship, and stance are unacceptably mediocre. The supercar equivalent of a Mondeo...

[Gorbyrev]

julian64 said:

MyCC said:

Here's a money shot from a 650S we tested up in Gods Own Country AKA Yorkshire:



It brought the local village to a standstill when we pulled over for some pictures.

Regards,

MyCC.

You see I hate that shot of the car. It tells me everything I want to know about why I would never order a sportscar as a spider.

Look at the small bit of car at the bottom meant to be controlling all the torsion of the car, just a bit of floorplan.
Now they could make that slither of floorplan out of unobtaineum, and I still wouldn't trust it to stop the car from twisting.
I want the roof to give struct integrity to that design.

The torsional rigidity of a carbon tub is so strong (we are talking 10s of 1000s of Newton per metre IIRC) that adding a roof makes little or no difference. Have a look on the McLaren forums and you will find people who own both and say there is zero difference.

[Sampaio]

mrclav said:

nd you think that's a shameful thing?

I think their taste usually is.

[GRBF430F1]

Drove all the competition supercars and the 650S spider simply blows them all away.
The car is a massive improvement on the 12C both objectively and subjectively IMHO.
Better more aggressive looks with the new P1 front end and 12C GT look rear end
Better steering weight and feel
25 bhp and 78NM more torque and you really notice the torque right across the rev band
Fantastic carbon ceramic brakes with real feel as standard
A far better sound from the sports exhaust with pops and bangs on gear change and overrun
Broader range of abilities with the normal, sport and track settings being more extreme

Brilliant brilliant car, in fact the best supercar in the world in its class.

But some say I'm biased now but I wasn't when I was buying and had longed for a 458 spider until I drove the 650S spider



Well done to McLaren. Putting the GREAT back into Britain and we should be proud of it
What they have done in such a short space of time is nothing short of amazing.
The MP4 -12C got slated but over 3 years the 12C became a well sorted car that never really got the credit it deserved.

The 650S hits the nail on the head from day 1, big styleee

[Mermaid]

GRBF430F1 said:

Well done to McLaren. Putting the GREAT back into Britain and we should be proud of it
What they have done in such a short space of time is nothing short of amazing.
The MP4 -12C got slated but over 3 years the 12C became a well sorted car that never really got the credit it deserved.

The 650S hits the nail on the head big styleee

[mrloudly]

GRBF430F1 said:

Drove all the competition supercars and the 650S spider simply blows them all away.
The car is a massive improvement on the 12C both objectively and subjectively IMHO.
Better more aggressive looks with the new P1 front end and 12C GT look rear end
Better steering weight and feel
25 bhp and 78NM more torque and you really notice the torque right across the rev band
Fantastic carbon ceramic brakes with real feel as standard
A far better sound from the sports exhaust with pops and bangs on gear change and overrun
Broader range of abilities with the normal, sport and track settings being more extreme

Brilliant brilliant car, in fact the best supercar in the world in its class.

But some say I'm biased now but I wasn't when I was buying and had longed for a 458 spider until I drove the 650S spider



Well done to McLaren. Putting the GREAT back into Britain and we should be proud of it
What they have done in such a short space of time is nothing short of amazing.
The MP4 -12C got slated but over 3 years the 12C became a well sorted car that never really got the credit it deserved.

The 650S hits the nail on the head from day 1, big styleee

"Mondeo" PMSL...

[mybrainhurts]

dlockhart said:

black painted brake calipers £910 ?? REALLY?

The technical term is taking the piss.

From the We Saw You Coming school of marketing....

[Axionknight]

gregf40 said:

I really don't agree - I think the new one will age whilst the original won't. I loved mine when I had it - fantastic cars - and no doubt the 650S is even better to drive.

Edited by gregf40 on Wednesday 21st January 11:45

I'm guessing that was yours? It looks superb, a great colour choice.

[Vee12V]

chelme said:

gregf40 said:

Tuvra said:

The face lifted cars look so much better than the originals

I really don't agree - I think the new one will age whilst the original won't. I loved mine when I had it - fantastic cars - and no doubt the 650S is even better to drive.

Edited by gregf40 on Wednesday 21st January 11:45

Have to agree with gregF40, there is a cohesiveness to the 12C, the 650S just doesn't have. The new front end design of the 650S shows no relation to the 12C rear, for example. Its F*gly.

Also have to agree. First gen looks a lot better.

[Axionknight]

[Rumblestripe]

They've never really bothered me before, but I REALLY hate those doors.

Love the rest of it, but even if the lotto drops tomorrow, I couldn't live with those doors!

Shallow, I know.

[redroadster]

GRBF430F1 said:

Drove all the competition supercars and the 650S spider simply blows them all away.
The car is a massive improvement on the 12C both objectively and subjectively IMHO.
Better more aggressive looks with the new P1 front end and 12C GT look rear end
Better steering weight and feel
25 bhp and 78NM more torque and you really notice the torque right across the rev band
Fantastic carbon ceramic brakes with real feel as standard
A far better sound from the sports exhaust with pops and bangs on gear change and overrun
Broader range of abilities with the normal, sport and track settings being more extreme

Brilliant brilliant car, in fact the best supercar in the world in its class.

But some say I'm biased now but I wasn't when I was buying and had longed for a 458 spider until I drove the 650S spider



Well done to McLaren. Putting the GREAT back into Britain and we should be proud of it
What they have done in such a short space of time is nothing short of amazing.
The MP4 -12C got slated but over 3 years the 12C became a well sorted car that never really got the credit it deserved.

The 650S hits the nail on the head from day 1, big styleee

Looks stunning in that colour yes we should be proud of British manufacturing .