Discussion
cypriot said:
I think Mcl really really missed a trick here. They should have created a front-mid engined GT car (like the rest of its competitors), but used its engineering prowess to really keep the weight down, and the packaging really good. Thankfully Mcl already has a really good damping setup, so it is already comfortable, and its steering is also class leading. Then, being a front engined car, it doesn't need to be the fastest car around track, so Mcl could afford to put a bespoke engine in, focussed on character rather than performance. A GT car needs a characterful engine. Basically a Mcl 812, but more comfortable, better steering, and better packaged. They won't sell many of this new GT....
Yep... basically what I've thought for a while... certainly nothing like a Bentley.cypriot said:
I think Mcl really really missed a trick here. They should have created a front-mid engined GT car (like the rest of its competitors), but used its engineering prowess to really keep the weight down, and the packaging really good. Thankfully Mcl already has a really good damping setup, so it is already comfortable, and its steering is also class leading. Then, being a front engined car, it doesn't need to be the fastest car around track, so Mcl could afford to put a bespoke engine in, focussed on character rather than performance. A GT car needs a characterful engine. Basically a Mcl 812, but more comfortable, better steering, and better packaged. They won't sell many of this new GT....
Which could then lead on to the McLaren SUV... The problem is that investing in a new drivetrain for a few hundred units becomes very expensive. cypriot said:
I think Mcl really really missed a trick here. They should have created a front-mid engined GT car (like the rest of its competitors), but used its engineering prowess to really keep the weight down, and the packaging really good. Thankfully Mcl already has a really good damping setup, so it is already comfortable, and its steering is also class leading. Then, being a front engined car, it doesn't need to be the fastest car around track, so Mcl could afford to put a bespoke engine in, focussed on character rather than performance. A GT car needs a characterful engine. Basically a Mcl 812, but more comfortable, better steering, and better packaged. They won't sell many of this new GT....
It sounds good on paper, but that would be a massive change in direction for McLaren, and a huge investment at a time when the whole market is volatile. They have effectively re-engineered existing concepts to produce a GT version of a McLaren rather than a McLaren GT, and for me it more of an exercise to correct the short-falls of the 570GT rather than anything more significant.There was a really good YouTube video a few years ago by AutoTrader (I think) where they took a DB11, a Conti GT and a 570GT on a decent tour upto Scotland. The 570GT proved that it was already a decent proposition as a long distance tourer, but then so is the standard 570s.. The 570GT wasn't different enough to the rest of the Sports Series for it to be seen a separate more expensive model, people only preferred it to the 's' based upon looks rather than any real dynamic differences and consequentially the 570GT was a sales flop. All IMHO of course.
I'm totally unconvinced that a GT has to follow any traditional 'rules' about where the engine is placed, whether it has pointless rear seats, what it should sound like, and on that front I don't see any problem with the new GT. What I do find very short-sighted is that they haven't used the cross-linked suspension off the Super Series cars for this GT.
The 'magic carpet' ride of the 650 / 720 cars has always been universally praised for it's 'S-Class' type ride, so why not use a version of that on their separate Grand Tourer, it should (IMHO) be a cheaper / slower / softer / more practical version of the 720s rather than a faster version of the old 570GT
Larry5.2 said:
Which could then lead on to the McLaren SUV... The problem is that investing in a new drivetrain for a few hundred units becomes very expensive.
They could use the drivetrain in other, new products. you would end up with 2 engines - the fast, brutally effective one to put in your lap time setting cars, and another slower but more exciting one for your GT or other models... You have to invest somewhere! and right now one of the biggest complaint against McLarens is the "sameness" of their cars and bland character of the engine... so start fixing those issues!David W. said:
He gives it a fair assessment. Like him, once you start adding extras on the list price I think it becomes far too expensive, it's just not a £225k car. It also seams that the carbon brakes weren't working very well on that particular car either.
One thing Harry did get wrong as he praised the remarkable ride of the GT was that he said it was the cross-linked suspension as first seen on the 12C and later on the 720s. The GT uses the Sports Series traditional springs and dampers which makes the high praise for the ride even more creditable.
Overall it's a very positive review.
The Surveyor said:
One thing Harry did get wrong as he praised the remarkable ride of the GT was that he said it was the cross-linked suspension as first seen on the 12C and later on the 720s. The GT uses the Sports Series traditional springs and dampers which makes the high praise for the ride even more creditable.
It doesn't use traditional springs and dampers. It uses a cut down version of the super series suspension, but you are correct in that it does not have cross-linking. It has a roll bar like Sports Series. So it's part way between the two McLaren systems.LotusJas said:
The Surveyor said:
One thing Harry did get wrong as he praised the remarkable ride of the GT was that he said it was the cross-linked suspension as first seen on the 12C and later on the 720s. The GT uses the Sports Series traditional springs and dampers which makes the high praise for the ride even more creditable.
It doesn't use traditional springs and dampers. It uses a cut down version of the super series suspension, but you are correct in that it does not have cross-linking. It has a roll bar like Sports Series. So it's part way between the two McLaren systems."Bespoke cutting edge Proactive Damping Control suspension delivers a ride and handling balance that has to be experienced. While lightweight aluminium components and electronically controlled twin-valve dampers provide individual compression and rebound performance that’s in a class of one"
LotusJas said:
The Surveyor said:
One thing Harry did get wrong as he praised the remarkable ride of the GT was that he said it was the cross-linked suspension as first seen on the 12C and later on the 720s. The GT uses the Sports Series traditional springs and dampers which makes the high praise for the ride even more creditable.
It doesn't use traditional springs and dampers. It uses a cut down version of the super series suspension, but you are correct in that it does not have cross-linking. It has a roll bar like Sports Series. So it's part way between the two McLaren systems.isaldiri said:
If it's not cross linked it's not the tenneco hydraulic suspension as used in the 12c/720 but the conventional spring/damper setup on the 570 as per what the surveyor said previously.
A senior development engineer at McLaren himself told me it has hydraulic suspension.I've not physically checked a GT myself though
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