Is the new McLaren the King of the GTs?

 

 

First and foremost thank you to Mathew Chis and McLaren Newport Beach for the invite a few months back to be one of the first to get my butt in the hot seat of the new McLaren GT. 

Let’s be clear I initially hated the car. The front end is kind of bleh, and the color they had debuted the car with was kind of yugly. However, after spending some time behind the wheel my mind is changed. This is a spectacular car. It drives very comfortably and perfect for a daily driver, while having the grunt needed for the McLaren namesake and the occasional light to light thrill. 

As always as a dad, and realtor can I live with this car as a daily use and or continuous vehicle? In my mind yes. Sexy and sleek not too ostentatious, enough space to hold signs and snacks for those open houses whenever we can get back to our normal life. When the kiddo gets older I can pack her and all of her school gear with a little extra space for a pair of shoes or whatever else kids old enough to ride shotgun in an exotic carry with them. Perfect for date night with the wife when we need to get away from our little gang. The GT has enough space to house even her stuff for a weekend get away. Now with the large window and engine exhaust It might get quite hot back there so I’d ensure to put electronic in the frunk. However, McLaren says it won’t top 104° F. 

With plenty of noise it constantly reminds you that you’re in fact in a McLaren and not some dumbed down variant. The steering is one of the best I have driven liken to a Porsche GT car. The brakes is my only quibble for the sheer fact that I am not used to it on a street car. The braking is pressure sensitive which is great for spirited driving because you can feel what the car is doing in your hands and under your feet. The harder you push the brake the more they grip. It is very real and not manufactured like a lot of other cars. 

With a car starting at around $210k it has all the necessary specs for a competing car in that price range. Twin-turbocharged 4 liter V8 pumping out 612hp and 465 lbs of torque. All mated up to a 7 speed automatic pushing all of it’s glorious V8 power to the rear wheels sending you north to 60 in about 3.1 seconds. Which I have a feeling might be a tad conservative. With an estimated combined 18 MPG it gets the job done in style and fairly efficiently. 

While the car I was in was a pre-production demo-car, the infotainment was a little finicky which I was told would be settled for the production version. In my mind the biggest comparison is an Aston DB11 which is an overall more comfortable and potentially larger car. But, my money still goes to the McLaren. Because what they have done is pure bliss. 

Pics courtesy of McLaren Automotive

 

 

 

 

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