Anyone have an outlook for old Sports Series range?

[Gibbo205]

TheStig44 said:

How does the 600 compare to the 458? I wonder if the more conventional suspension on the sports series fixes the odd feeling you experienced with the 12C?

The 600 is far more my type out of car and I’d say out of the entire McLaren lineup for me it’s the best car coming and owning cars like 458, GT3, Exige, Caterham etc as I’m far less interested in numbers and far more how a car feels to drive aka natural which some cars manage to pull off even with fancy electrics and some fail, perfect example is the 458 has perfect balance and will happily drift and slide for days and handle exactly as you’d expect whereas a 12C never had for me that natural balance.

The 600 is far better but the 458 is king when it comes to entertaining at lower speeds as the nature of the instant NA throttle response results in perfect control over the cars chassis for ability to put it into a slide and then hold that slide and for a mid engine supercar the 458 is surprisingly good at it, aka M3 good. Of course none of them come remotely close to a Caterham for such thrills especially at low speeds.

458 - huge frunk, amazing NA engine, amazing chassis and amazing electronics with E diff etc. weaknesses hyper steering can be dialled out with less toe and weak brakes again can be sorted with steels for Surface Transforms. Still quick ish and more than quick enough for road but is still a lot of fun at legal speeds due to very short gearing.

600 LT - great sounding due to exhaust placement and Spider version having drop back window or roof down. No negative with Spider due to carbon tub whereas a 458 Spider on poorer roads really suffers from scuttle shake. The faster car and a lot more composed and planted, meaning it is less fun at low speeds but more capable at higher speeds. The chassis is good but the very boosty nature of the engine makes it far harder to prat around unless you’re a pro. Great economy on a long run, easily does 30+, slightly more comfier but 458 cabin is better quality but 600 infotainment is better. 600 LT suffers bump steer in some situations.


All in all for me a 458 Italia and 600 LT Spider are an absolute perfect pair for supercar owners more interested in how a car feels and drives with a more natural handling balance. If one’s budget allows then get the Speciale but the 458 is really a superb car out the box as is the 600 LT.

I’d only argue if your the kind of driver less interested in a drivers car and would never consider cars like a GT3, Exige or Caterham and will be daily your supercar then in that case a McLaren 12C, 650S and 720S is the better daily, great ride quality and ballistic performance that is easily extractable but for me on the road a 720S did nothing for me, just all to easy and even the 600 LT suffers this but it is the more exciting car for me and is more useable than 458 due to roof down action but if I want to go on a wet drive out I’ll generally pick the 458 as it’s much fun.

[Streetbeat]

Gibbo205 said:

I’ve driven a couple of MP4-12C and apart from their straight line performance I really disliked the cars, they just drove odd to me but I really love a true drivers car and now owning a 458 I’d easily pay double for a 458 over a 12C it is simply a far better drivers car and the styling is also timeless. 458 is a masterpiece!

I own a 600 LT too so not McLaren hating but I think McLaren were far to interested in playing numbers games with the 12C instead of focusing on what matters most and that is how it feels to drive and to be frank it does not deliver there as a drivers car.

Plus the whole NA thing pushing values up as 458’s are now worth more than their equivalent age/mile/spec 488 counterparts.

I dont think the 12c is any less of a drivers car, it just does it in a different way with its carbon tub and cross linked suspension, obviously the tradional suspension of the sports series suits you better, but that is only your perception of a drivers car, a tradionalist wouldnt accept a a twin turbo, double clutch car with paddles is a true drivers car.

Manual, rwd and naturally aspirated is the "definition", i.e Elise which i think you had/have.

[Gibbo205]

Streetbeat said:

I dont think the 12c is any less of a drivers car, it just does it in a different way with its carbon tub and cross linked suspension, obviously the tradional suspension of the sports series suits you better, but that is only your perception of a drivers car, a tradionalist wouldnt accept a a twin turbo, double clutch car with paddles is a true drivers car.

Manual, rwd and naturally aspirated is the "definition", i.e Elise which i think you had/have.

Depends really we all love a manual but a good sequential / paddles have always been present in track and motorsport stuff. Hard to get away from it now as so few manual cars exist and practically none in supercars.

My Caterham is the best by miles for pure fun but it is essentially a toy car extremely impractical and tiring to drive.

[12pack]

Streetbeat said:

I dont think the 12c is any less of a drivers car, it just does it in a different way with its carbon tub and cross linked suspension, obviously the tradional suspension of the sports series suits you better, but that is only your perception of a drivers car, a tradionalist wouldnt accept a a twin turbo, double clutch car with paddles is a true drivers car.

Manual, rwd and naturally aspirated is the "definition", i.e Elise which i think you had/have.

+1.

The 12C suspension (or 650 spider in my case) in my view filters out the noise and gives you a true signal of the four corners, while keeping them planted. And the DCT means I can left foot brake. The 458 I drove just reinforced my feeling formed by my previous F355 - that it was deliberately (under)engineered for a “raw feel” but is just a twitchy mess. Same as my V12 Vantage. It’s a manual, NA, RWD - nice to double de-clutch on downshifts but much less of a driver’s car.

My Atom splits the two - not as fast as the 650, but hard to match the adrenaline rush of it on track.

Edited by 12pack on Tuesday 28th February 11:09

[TBCTBC]

Davyt said:

There’s been talk of some of the Mcfranchise dealers ( McBrum in particular)offering reduced rates on service and parts for cars 4 years +, not sure if anyone’s looked into it ??

Interesting. A certain well known McLaren indie had a fairly public "discussion" on FB recently when an official Mac dealer (take a guess who) managed to overfill a Mac with oil during a service. It ended up at said indie to sort out.

Wonder if this is a response to that?

[Penrhyn]

Jay Leno Artura drive
https://youtu.be/F7kXR3urROA
And also by MR SSO
https://karenable.com/mclaren-artura/

Enjoy

[RSbandit]

Finally collecting the Spider tomorrow starting to get excited! I've a very early start as need to train it up to Manchester. Weather looks ok but probably on the chilly side for top down driving but will defo be making use of the back window... Will post some pics over the weekend.

[akadk]

RSbandit said:

Finally collecting the Spider tomorrow starting to get excited! I've a very early start as need to train it up to Manchester. Weather looks ok but probably on the chilly side for top down driving but will defo be making use of the back window... Will post some pics over the weekend.

great stuff

lots of pics required

[Sarnie]

RSbandit said:

Finally collecting the Spider tomorrow starting to get excited! I've a very early start as need to train it up to Manchester. Weather looks ok but probably on the chilly side for top down driving but will defo be making use of the back window... Will post some pics over the weekend.

Top down, heaters up

[BobM]

RSbandit said:

Finally collecting the Spider tomorrow starting to get excited! I've a very early start as need to train it up to Manchester. Weather looks ok but probably on the chilly side for top down driving but will defo be making use of the back window... Will post some pics over the weekend.

Excellent! In aural terms I can confirm that back window down is as good as top down, and deffo the way to go when it's cold. Hope you get some sleep, I'm sure you're going to love it!

[Streetbeat]

RSbandit said:

Finally collecting the Spider tomorrow starting to get excited! I've a very early start as need to train it up to Manchester. Weather looks ok but probably on the chilly side for top down driving but will defo be making use of the back window... Will post some pics over the weekend.

Safe trip back

[mOrtt]

BobM said:

Excellent! In aural terms I can confirm that back window down is as good as top down, and deffo the way to go when it's cold. Hope you get some sleep, I'm sure you're going to love it!

The back window goes up and down?! Mine's been permanently open since I got it! Worth the extra money alone over the coupe.

[Davyt]

Steady as she goes buddy, more power than what your used to ,, enjoy ,,;)

[Crazy4557]

Enjoy your first decent drive, I remember mine vividly, never will forget the ear to ear grin, still wearing it today🤪
I have the same colour and despite the critics of monochrome colours still love it after 3+ years.
You’re in for a real treat this summer.

[akadk]

This one seems a great buy ?

Tiny mileage
Great colour
McWarranty
Spider

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302174...

[justin220]

akadk said:

This one seems a great buy ?

Tiny mileage
Great colour
McWarranty
Spider

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302174...

Lovely colour. But why has it done such little miles? That's about 200 a year.. I think that has a premium for the low miles but you'll take a hit if you want to use it and add mileage onto it

[justin220]

RSbandit said:

Finally collecting the Spider tomorrow starting to get excited! I've a very early start as need to train it up to Manchester. Weather looks ok but probably on the chilly side for top down driving but will defo be making use of the back window... Will post some pics over the weekend.

Superb! Enjoy the day and hopefully the weather holds out for you

[BobM]

justin220 said:

Lovely colour. But why has it done such little miles? That's about 200 a year.. I think that has a premium for the low miles but you'll take a hit if you want to use it and add mileage onto it

Some folks just don't use these cars much. Yes, you'll take a hit if you use it, but it's not THAT much more expensive than a higher mileage car and you're getting a car that will look and feel like new. Just run in ready to be driven properly

[justin220]

BobM said:

Some folks just don't use these cars much. Yes, you'll take a hit if you use it, but it's not THAT much more expensive than a higher mileage car and you're getting a car that will look and feel like new. Just run in ready to be driven properly

Thats a good way of looking at it actually. I'd just be a bit cautious of it being sat around for long periods for the last 5 years.

On a similar note, I plugged my details into Motorway this week. 2017 540C, 15k miles. The initial 'reserve price' or valuation was £78k which I thought was pretty reasonable and decided to progress through the whole motion of submitting photos, service history etc. My highest bidder was £72k which I guess being unseen was not unexpected, but almost 10% lower than Motorway had predicted.

I'd imagine a dealer would advertise it for around £85k looking at the spread on autotrader.

[12pack]

RSbandit said:

Finally collecting the Spider tomorrow starting to get excited! I've a very early start as need to train it up to Manchester. Weather looks ok but probably on the chilly side for top down driving but will defo be making use of the back window... Will post some pics over the weekend.

Top down in the 650 on the A34 behind McManchester early AM today. Bring a hat and you’ll be fine .