McLaren 600LT Spider 2019 Review — International

“Oh, that’s an easy choice. I’d have the coupe.”

Not so fast, well-heeled supercar buyer. The long-held and, to many of us, unattainable dilemma over how you’d specify your brand-new six-figure whip – specifically, coupe or convertible – has turned a corner. Enter the new McLaren 600LT Spider.

Convertibles have never truly resonated with strictly performance-minded supercar followers in the past, simply because their open-top structures have imposed unequivocal weight and rigidity penalties.

However, the new 600LT Spider belies its wind-in-your-hair status for something altogether more meaningful. It is the fifth instalment of McLaren’s venerable Long Tail family, the one famously initiated by the pioneering McLaren F1 GTR Long Tail.

The Spider is also a close follow-up to the existing 600LT coupe, a car that has attracted its fair share of critical acclaim, not least after an extensive track test in Hungary last year.

The two have in common a light-weight carbon-fibre tub, the same 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine and the fixed carbon rear wing that is ceramic-coated to withstand heat from top-mounted dual exhaust outlets that reside underneath.

What separates coupe and Spider in weight is a mere 52kg, according to McLaren. However, the car-maker’s maths in arriving at this sum is dubious at best: you need to specify Titanium wheel bolts that stave off 420 grams worth of mass, along with deleting the radio, sat-nav and air-con, for example.

Nonetheless, the new McLaren 600LT Spider presents an entirely different perspective of the modern drop-top.

Using the McLaren 570S Spider as its base, the 600LT features 23 per cent new parts and a stretched front and rear (23mm and 47mm longer respectively).

Pure spring stiffness increases by 13 per cent in the front and 34 per cent in the rear, while roll bar stiffness increases 50 per cent in the front and 25 per cent in the rear.

Against the 570S Spider, the 600LT Spider sheds a claimed 100kg using the same weight-saving measures.

In the engine bay, the new McLaren 600LT Spider packs more punch from its 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged flat-plane crank petrol V8. Power is up 22kW to 441kW (600PS, hence the rounded-up badge) and torque now peaks at 620Nm.

Tellingly, McLaren initially cites the Ferrari 488 Pista Spider and Lamborghini Huracan Performante Spyder as the LT’s chief rivals.

“We beat Lamborghini and Ferrari on every single metric that matters,” says the car’s chief engineer.

Dig a little deeper and engineers concede the light-weight ethos of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS is in fact the car’s objective target.

Our experience with the McLaren 600LT Spider takes in a quintessential American road drive comprising long open highways and sparse backroads broken up by the occasional section of ribboning bitumen. Saguaro cactus dominates the landscape, which is surprisingly green and laden with wildflowers at this time of year.

The three-piece hard-top roof opens and retracts in 15 seconds at speeds of up to 40km/h, so we swiftly stow it and leave it down for most of the drive.

Starting with the bleeding obvious: the 600LT’s performance is immense. Its 2.9 second 0-100km/h time is no mere hyperbole; and working with 600 horsepower on public roads requires real restraint.

On the engine, it has an uncanny knack of building around-town speeds and impress-your-mates speed all at once. In the case of the former, dual turbochargers complement the seven-speed automatic, developing smooth and seamless thrust in daily conveyance.

Top gear is reached from only 50km/h, for example, albeit with some harsh vibration permeating the cabin. The closely-set exhaust outlets tend to drone at highway speed, when the engine purrs at less than 2000rpm.

The ride is less forgiving than other Spider models – the beguiling 720S Spider immediately springs to mind – and the brakes initially feel sensitive to driver inputs.

The inherent chassis stiffness stems partially from more rigid engine and transmission mounts, which elicit improved driver feel but relay more fidgeting over small amplitude bumps.

Withstanding that, the McLaren 600LT Spider resists much-maligned scuttleshake (excessive windscreen/A-pillar vibration) and doesn’t flex or wobble through Arizona’s extensive network of deserted roads and highways.

In fact, any perception of scuttleshake is only picked up by staring at the rear-view mirror, which vibrates over coarse-chip sections. However, McLaren engineers insist the mirror’s fixing to the windscreen is inadequate, and they are currently resolving a fix.

Elsewhere, the 600LT feels right up to the cut and thrust of touring, so long as you don’t mind your supercar convertible with a sporty edge.

At highway speed, the cabin is subject to some wind turbulence (relatively speaking), and there is noticeable road noise entering the cabin on coarse-chip surfaces – meaning you’ll have to raise your voice in conversation. Lowering the adjustable glass panel at the rear abates the external interference ever so slightly.

There’s also a sensitivity to the steering that requires adjustment; creating a feeling that the car is wandering ever-so-slightly at highway speed.
Pick up the pace, so to speak, and the 600LT Spider responds emphatically.

This is a machine whose limits simply cannot be tested on the road – unless you’re willing to do jail time. It is simply unfazed by road driving.

Higher cornering speeds merely cause the car to breathe and become more comfortable. The sudden urgency of the key controls begin to make more sense and the engine continues to dole out the ponies. As an insight, peak power is at 7500rpm with top torque achieved between 5500-6500rpm.

The McLaren 600LT Spider is extremely proficient on a circuit, to say the least. There are no usual concessions for its convertible stature, it’s just straight out fast.

In fact, we’d go as far as saying it’s the closest thing we’d imagine to a roofless Porsche 911 GT2 RS during heady proceedings. Visceral, alive and tantalisingly inviting with the electronic aids switched on (or partially switched off), this is a car that coaxes its driver.

Initial laps are spent in Sport mode, where the LT’s easy track placement, mid-corner rotation (via steer-by-brake technology), and rich mid-range surge are the major highlights.

Then, the car is turned to Track mode where it takes on added verve and character. The acutely-tuned hydraulic steering feeds the driver’s hands with feedback, while rich in weighting and response, and the car’s neutral balance is easily exploited with predictable movements.

None of that truly prepares you for ESC Dynamic mode within the electronic control suite, which is said to loosen the reigns by about 30 per cent.

Doing so invokes a further degree of playfulness, to the point where the McLaren 600LT Spider is dancing its way, sideways, into corners while it negotiations the Arizona circuit’s braking bumps, or performing lurid oversteer on exit.

The readability of the chassis is such that this 600hp supercar never feels unwieldy. Instead, it inspires confidence.

Feeding the full complement of power inspires a more vigorous exhaust note which takes on added purpose from about 2500rpm. The Pirelli Trofeo R rubber is now up to heat and the 600LT doles out playfulness and precision in equal measure.

It is at this point, the tachometer raging towards its 8500rpm cut-out, the 600LT Spider really makes its mark, arriving at its lofty crescendo. The steering wheel is almost maniacal with its feedback, the 600LT Spider is dancing around and I can hardly wipe the smile from my face.

Undoubtedly, the McLaren 600LT Spider is the convertible, re-imagined.

How much does the 2019 McLaren 600LT Spider cost?
Price: $496,000 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo petrol V8
Output: 441kW/620Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 12.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 276g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested