RiZ3R! Posted October 8, 2019 Posted October 8, 2019 This is no bad thing, of course, and there are many out there who will revel in a car that serves up 95% of a 720S’s searing straight-line pace and wrist-flick agility but is also relatively easy to live with. Yet for all that, our only test of the GT has been on the launch event in the south of France, which concentrated its driving route on the serpentine roads that wriggle their way through the hills above St Tropez. To truly judge a GT you need a sterner challenge, such as driving the length of France and then onto the UK, where its ride comfort in particular would be sorely tested. Which is exactly what we did next. Before that, it’s probably worth a quick recap. McLaren says the GT is a stand-alone model but, in terms of price and performance, it fits somewhere between a 570GT and a 720S. Around two-thirds of the car is new, with much of the changes being found in the virtually all-new sheet metal (and carbonfibre) body. Until the Speedtail arrives, the GT is the longest car the brand makes, while the extended glasshouse, powered rear hatch and long nose all hint at the GT’s more practical and usable remit. Find an Autocar car review Driven this week Audi Q3 Sportback 2019 UK first drive review - hero front 8 OCTOBER 2019 FIRST DRIVE Audi Q3 Sportback 2019 UK review Audi thinks the world needs a Q3 with a lower roofline and slightly less rear... McLaren GT 2019 UK first drive review - hero front 8 OCTOBER 2019 FIRST DRIVE McLaren GT 2019 UK review How does the McLaren GT shape up on a proper cross-continent journey and on... BMW 3 Series Touring 330d 2019 UK first drive review - hero front 7 OCTOBER 2019 FIRST DRIVE BMW 3 Series Touring 330d xDrive 2019 UK review BMW staple trades some handling precision in the transition from saloon to... The interior is an exercise in contemporary luxury, all beautifully stitched leather and varying types of real metal finish - the knurled infotainment knob and perforated Bowers & Wilkins speaker grilles are particular highlights. There’s also that large 420-litre luggage compartment at the rear, complete with its hard-wearing, Nasa-specification lining. McLaren channels air from the side pods under the boot floor to keep it cool (no more than 40deg C, they say, which is hardly cool), but on hot days and in slow-moving traffic, any items stored at the very rear over the exhausts do get a trifle warm. Under the sleek and elongated body is a new version of the familiar carbonfibre tub, while slung between the axles is a 4.0-litre V8 that features bespoke pistons, a higher compression ratio and smaller, quicker-acting turbos. Added together, it results in 612bhp at 7500rpm and 465lb ft at a heady 5500rpm - although much of the muscle is available from around 2000rpm. There’s an adaptive sports exhaust that aims to be less bombastic on start-up, while extra sound-deadening promises to soften the edges of the flat-plane crank’s occasionally industrial overtures. Much of the suspension hardware is familiar, but with softened spring rates and the first stand-alone use of the firm’s algorithmically orchestrated adaptive dampers - we’ve seen them on the 720S, where they work in combination with the interconnected suspension. There’s more soundproofing here, while the steering has been tuned to sacrifice some shimmy and chatter in the name of refinement. If you love driving above all else, then this is the GT for you. No matter which way you slice it, as a device to pick apart rolling and twisting roads, the McLaren leaves its heavier and more traditionally engineered rivals looking like drunks with two left feet. In terms of grip, balance, poise and agility, the GT takes some beating. Yes, the steering is calmer, but it’s still quick and full of feel, while the rest of the car appears to rotate around your hips in precise relation to the amount of lock you wind on. Better still, the slightly softer suspension (in Comfort and Sport, at least; Track is still too firm for the road) and less aggressive turbo lag allow you to start maniting your line through a corner, both on and off the throttle. However, this is all expected of a McLaren, as is the searing performance, but what about its GT credentials? On the long drag back to the UK, it proves more relaxing than you’d expect. No, it’s not nearly as supple and soothing as a Bentley Continental GT, but it’s more effortless than you’d expect, especially for a car that’s so sharp in the mountains. On the smoothly surfaced French autoroutes there’s decent suppleness, while the Pirelli P Zeros seem not to get overly vocal, even over coarser surfaces.
Recommended Posts