MSO to showcase GT options at Pebble Beach
McLaren's new Grand Tourer needs to attract a different type of buyer. MSO's attentions ought to help...
McLaren Special Operations will showcase a unique variant of the all-new GT model at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this weekend. The car will appear on the so-called Concept Car Lawn, and is intended to demonstrate the extensive range of personalisation options available for the forthcoming Grand Tourer.
In keeping with McLaren's ambitions for the new model (namely that it will attract buyers not previously interested in its supercar lineup) much of the work has been done on the inside, where the firm has already indicated that it will substantially up its game.
MSO is particularly proud of its Bespoke Geoform Stitching, inspired by the striking canopy of the British Museum. This is applied to the seat backs, sun visor, door cards and armrest, and complements the Flux White Leather (said to have a subtle metallic sheen) and contrast Satin Graphite Leather.
Elsewhere the MSO logo appears on the headrests and leather sills, alongside Bespoke Silver Infused Carbon Fibre on the gear shift paddles and steering wheel clasp. The point of all this is to highlight the fact that McLaren's expertise now extends well beyond engineering and development, and that it has the craftsmanship to give a Bentley-made interior a considerable run for its money.
"We believe that the McLaren GT has class leading elegance and sophistication, and is the perfect car to further personalise, whether it be through an MSO Defined or MSO Bespoke option, or alternatively, a unique, customer inspired design that MSO delivers a stunning interpretation of," explained Ansar Ali, the Managing Director of McLaren Special Operations.
Of course the exterior hasn't been completely ignored. The show car gets a newly developed exterior paint colour, MSO Defined Flux Silver, which is contrasted with the Satin Graphite shade applied to the door skirts, front splitter, wing mirrors, rear bumper and diffuser. An MSO Bright Pack, featuring a chrome upper window surround, polished titanium exhaust finisher and Gloss Black Diamond Cut wheels finishes the job off.
not sure who is going to buy this. any owner will have several cars i guess already , so this might fill a niche.
i am sure a few readers on here do buy this kind of metal , so be interesting to see what they think.
also the launch colour of this car is horrid. insipid gold.
A Mclaren V12 with bigger body that seats 4 or 2+2 as a GT would certainly get a lot of sales and be more comparable to Aston, Ferrari, Bentley etc.
A Mclaren V12 with bigger body that seats 4 or 2+2 as a GT would certainly get a lot of sales and be more comparable to Aston, Ferrari, Bentley etc.
Re would there be buyers for the GT. Most cars they've built have been greeted with what's that, looks exactly the same as everything else and of course no one will buy it. And yet they sell.
If I had the funds I'd have a Mac over a Ferrari, I'd want a car I can drive regularly and not worry about the miles. Put big miles on a Fez and I'd drop plenty of money and probably struggle to sell it. Same difference. I don't like big car so a GT Aston, Merc, Bentley etc. would be out. A Mac GT as something fast but more relaxed could be just the ticket (if I had the wedge). There will be customers who feel the same.
What McLaren are offering is not a direct competitor.
It’s more a GT lite.
It’s aimed at people who want something more nimble than a 2 tonne Bentley but more accommodating than the current crop of supercars.
Think of it as an off-shoot of the GT category.
It is clearly not a direct rival for the Bentley nor is it positioned as such.
You might as well compare it to a Range Rover.
Whether it’s successful remains to be seen.
But as a big fan of McLaren and a glass half full kind of guy you are clearly routing for it to be another British success.
- the cost of ownership is beyond Ferrari V12 money because of McLaren's strategy (or lack thereof?), and why would you choose this over a 4 year old F12 that leaves you with 3 more years of warranty? Or a GTC.
- Warranty extension was pretty much what I would have paid for a F12 warranty extension (except that they come with 7 years already).
- I'm willing and able to shoulder some depreciation, but it was much worse than an F12 in that respect, and this is back to the McLaren strategy of pushing out too many cars and not taking care of the secondary market. If you offer a good car to a Ferrari dealer, they either give you a decent price (less their margin, of course), or professionally sell the car for you. McLaren: neither, at least where I live. Also, everything that can brake is ridiculously expensive. The door patches you push to open the door in mine where worn out (yes, I used the car), and the McLaren dealer said they would not replace it because they come with the whole door opening mechanism only, and McLaren would not accept that as the door still worked. Excuse me, for a 300k car under factory warranty???
- This is just not as usable as a GT or AMG Coupe. Putting golf clubs behind your head in the cabin as in the first press pictures, really?
- It was super-comfortable and super fast. But not super-exciting, and due to the layout just not super-usable. Usability was no concern for me since I had it as a 4th car, but the same applies to this one.
- Build quality was s
tty and is stty, in that respect they can't keep up with Bentley, Rolls and AMG who have large manufacturers behind them.- Looks: will look dated soon.
- New Rulebook: Really? It's the same thing they have been doing over and over again, same engine and recipe for nearly 10 years now.
Sorry for rambling on here, my point is: If you put many miles on the car, you want the warranty, service and dealers to work, also to limit depreciation to something supercar-reasonable (i.e. Ferrari-like). If you don't do many miles, you still want all this to work. In both cases, you don't want it to look bland. And for me it does look bland, even prefer the Corvette...
A Mclaren V12 with bigger body that seats 4 or 2+2 as a GT would certainly get a lot of sales and be more comparable to Aston, Ferrari, Bentley etc.
That said its never hurt Lotus or Aston who have bother relied on the same tub and engines for well over a decade until recently.
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