THE McLAREN 570S: AN ULTRA-SPORTS COUPE FOR THE MASSES

BY MATT SCANLON

It was launch time at last March’s New York Auto Show, and the crowd surrounding the spacious McLaren display and its 25-foot elevated platform was in a state of vintage Manhattan restlessness and agitation. It could have been the two leggy brunette models fetchingly _ ddling with the drape covering one of the new cars, or the swinging camera boom that narrowly avoided this reporter’s skull as he was taking advantage of all 6’4″ of his frame to crane for a view, but it was difficult to recall the release of a new model at any recent show that engendered such near-danger agitation. Our visual prey? An example of one of McLaren’s new “downscale” models— cars geometrically more affordable than the $1.15 million P1—specifically the 570S. Draped in bad-boy hot orange and with its stunning wedge design and gullwing doors, it was beautiful to be sure—but the more we learned about the 570S’s new components, the more we were convinced this was one of the most intelligent and winning combinations of race car performance and streetcar manners in many years.

Chief and most prominent among its racer qualities is the carbon fiber monocoque that surrounds driver and passenger—beamed inspirationally from Formula One. Instead of carbon fiber dominating the rest of the body panels, however, the 570S also throws in lightweight aluminum as well as a number of composites to achieve a remarkable 2,900 lb. curb weight.

Throwing all this brand-new design around town is 3.8- liter twin-turbo V8 delivering 562 horsepower, along with a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox (0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds). With an emphasis on what the company termed “day-to-day usability and drivability,” the suspension, while firm, is not spine crushing, nor unpleasant even on undulating surfaces.

The interior is, like the shell, wedgy, angular, and handsome, featuring a “floating” center console, seven-inch touchscreen, an advanced new TFT instrument display with crisp LCD graphics, and lovely hand-stitched leather hides. Satin-chrome highlights accentuate the exterior curves.

So what’s the price of “downscale” these days? A mere $185,000, but given the new lease option available this year, one is now able to re-imagine that as roughly $2,200 per month. Aimed squarely at a sector also inhabited by the M e r c e d e s A M G G T ($130,000), Audi R8 V10 ($165,000), and Porsche 911 Turbo S ($183,000), and you can see the supercar market logicat work here…and at play.

McLaren Bergen County
995 Route 17 South, Ramsey / 201.639.7750
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