McLaren 570GT 2017 Review

McLaren 570GT


Road Test

Ever fancied the McLaren 570S in a softer touring veneer? The British manufacturer has seemingly answered the call with the introduction of the 570GT. As the name suggests, this Grand Tourer takes away some of the supercar idiosyncrasies of the S, bundling in new elements to make it a purportedly more practical and liveable ‘everyday’ supercar.

In years gone by, if one was in the market for a particular model and they didn’t like certain elements of the package, they’d simply put up with the pain or take their money elsewhere.

But in today’s age, car makers are building countless options and derivatives in their range to appease the fussiest of clientele.

It is in this vein that McLaren’s new 570GT lands in Australia. Heavily based on the 570S supercar, the GT is marketed as the softer Grand Touring variant of the 570 range – for when Sir would like to take a weekend away, in relative comfort.

The new model is on sale in Australia priced from a cool $406,800 (plus on-road costs), a circa $27,000 hike over the regular S.

For that you get the same 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine, producing an identical 419kW and 600Nm, sending drive through the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch transmission.

Differentiating itself from the S, the GT features a hatch in the rear window that includes 220 litres worth of luggage space behind the seats. The hatch opens from the passenger side of the vehicle allowing access to the so-called touring deck. It is big enough for a small overnight bag and is fully insulated and leather-lined, ensuring contents aren’t cooked by the mid-mounted engine.

More than that, there have been some significant changes to the underbody for the GT. The suspension is 15 per cent softer at the front, and 10 per cent softer at the rear. The steering ratio has been wound off by two per cent to make the car less darty. The sports exhaust has been deleted in order to eliminate typical drone at highway speeds and the carbon ceramic brakes have been eschewed for regular road-going units.

The underbody changes are wrapped by the same carbon fibre monococque chassis, completed by dihedral scissor doors and high-set door sills. Tipping the scales at just 1400kg dry, the GT is some 56kg heavier than the S.

Subjectively, the GT makes more compelling use of its rear profile and makes it one of the most head-turning cars on the road. Its raked rear window and sculpted tail make for one of the most potent looks of any supercar on the modern market, and to this writer’s eyes, more cohesive than the S.

Is it really an everyday supercar?
In something of a dichotomy, McLaren claims the GT is the marque’s very first everyday supercar.

The truth is that only a marginal percentage of buyers would ever drive one daily, partly from fear of depreciation but also because it is still inherently a supercar – and in short, living with a supercar is a little like (one could imagine) living with a supermodel: hard work.

Firstly, the car’s carry-over dihedral doors and high-set door sills make ingress and egress much fussier than the likes of Porsche’s 911, the sort of car your nanna could drive to the shops.

Another hindrance is the McLaren’s fiddly infotainment system. Granted, you would get used to it eventually, but the sat-nav is finicky to operate and the switchgear and respective digital displays do not interact as effectively as other units on the market.

Far and away the McLaren’s biggest ergonomic bugbear, though, is its lack of rear vision. The rear hatch arrangement limits vision, providing only a high-angle view of what’s behind, and the rear mirrors are narrow in their outlook. A reversing camera is also optional.

In addition, the GT’s bonnet also tapers off sharply from the driver’s line of sight, a slightly disconcerting factor when first navigating speed humps. But this discomfort soon eases with some more kilometres at the wheel, especially if the front hydraulic lifting kit (which operates at speeds of up to 50km/h) has been optioned.

McLaren has endowed the GT with some semblance of everyday amenity. It has a vanity mirror (a brand first), a lone centre cup-holder and compartments in both door sleeves. But an everyday supercar? That might be stretching the marketing rhetoric a bit too much.

The car is generally a lot more forgiving than its sibling on Australian roads. Everyday road imperfections bring no unwanted jolting or crashing through the cabin, the steering is light enough for around-town manoeuvres and the quieter exhaust makes for a much more liveable proposition in daily conveyance.

Similarly, the engine and gearbox combination is pleasantly docile, resisting the usual temptation to lurch at low speed. Low speed throttle calibration is well metered, while the gearbox happily pushes for higher gears at low speeds; at one point, we sat in fifth gear doing 40km/h.

At highway speeds, the GT nudges 2000rpm, teaming with a idle-stop feature in order to achieve something approaching its 10.7L/100km fuel claim.

Road noise is generally well suppressed for a supercar, with one exception: uncannily, every time we hit a cat’s eye, it sounded like a box of bolts is bouncing around in the back.

Push of a button

Wind the 570GT’s driving mode dials (one for engine, one for handling) to Sport or Track, and McLaren starts to loosen the electric reins.

The car’s suspension firms and the engine becomes more resolute during meaningful stabs of the accelerator. The gearbox is also sharper in its shifts, without matching the outright precision of Porsche’s PDK ‘box or the blinding speed of the Audi R8’s new seven-speed unit.

Officially, zero to 100km/h takes 3.4sec in the GT, against 3.1sec in the S. In isolation, you’d hardly know you were missing out, but there’s no doubting there is more left in the 3.8-litre bent-eight.

With the car set to track mode, the GT endures a hint of turbo lag before its big turbos spool up and kick it ahead. The forced induction bodes nicely in the car’s mid-range, providing an exciting and useable transition to the 8200rpm cut-out.

Even with the most aggressive parameters in place, the GT gives the driver very little in the way of lateral latitude. For example, the stability control function makes constant but benign interventions, and while that limits the car’s behaviour, it provides a reassuring safety net on public roads.

Speaking of which, the GT handles superbly on smooth bitumen in and around the South Coast of NSW. The steering is exemplary, with excellent weighting and feedback, while the body feels well controlled and poised despite its softer tune.

Short, sharp changes in direction are dispatched admirably by the McLaren, while faster apexes are managed with equal efficacy. It possesses the same telepathic but visceral feel of a supercar, and leaves little to the imagination on a decent bit of road.

Where the GT tends to fall short is in its brakes. The standard iron discs cannot emulate the same stopping power of a full-blown supercar, and aren’t modulated through the pedal as well as they could be.

McLaren will sell you optional carbon-ceramics that are standard on the S. We’re still awaiting a price.

The only other factor missing from this equation is the usual howl of the McLaren’s 3.8-litre V8 during high-speed pursuits, thanks to the fitment of a quieter exhaust. Granted, it is much more liveable in everyday conveyance.

The verdict

The GT makes a compelling proposition – but it is still inherently a supercar, and contextually against the 570S, an expensive one at that.

If you could cherry pick certain elements of both cars, it’d be nice to have the GT with the S’ brakes and engine capability. A GTS ‘goldilocks’ of sorts.

If enough customers speak up, guaranteed those resourceful boffins over at McLaren are sure to listen.

2017 McLaren 570GT pricing and specifications:
Price: $406,800 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.8-litre eight-cylinder twin-turbo-petrol
Output: 419kW/600Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 10.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 249g/km (ADR Combined)

Safety Rating: N/A

Also consider:

>> Porsche 911 Turbo (from $384,600 plus ORCs)
>> Audi R8 V10 (from $354,616 plus ORCs)
>> Lamborghini Huracan (from $378,900 plus ORCs)