McLaren 600LT touches down in Australia

McLaren’s newest Sports Series creation, the 600LT, has officially launched in Australia priced from $455,000 plus on-road costs.

Essentially a lighter, more powerful version of the existing 570S, McLaren’s LT badge (or Longtail) is traditionally bestowed on the British car-maker’s most potent offerings. And the 600LT doesn’t disappoint.

First, the 600LT underwent a significant weight transformation, engineers stripping a total 100kg from the 570S with lighter brakes and custom wheels wrapped in Pirelli Trofeo rubber, carbon-fibre inlays and front splitter, thinner glass, lightweight seats and a shorter exhaust system which now exits at the top of the engine bay behind the cabin.

All told, the newcomer tips the scales at 1274kg dry.

Moreover, the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine has been retuned to offer 441kW and 620Nm – or 600 horsepower in the old money. That’s an increase of 22kW and 20Nm over the 570S, endowing the LT with a 0-100km/h time of 2.9 seconds (against 3.2 seconds) and, perhaps more tellingly, a 0-200km/h time of 8.2 seconds.

McLaren says it’s the second time that’s more reflective of the dry sump engine’s performance; a time that outruns that of Ferrari’s 488 GTB and Lamborghini’s Huracan Performante. The Ferrari 488 Pista has its measure, however.

The 600LT will arrive in Australian showrooms from late this year, stakeholders say. There will be no production ceiling, as such, only a limited build duration.

“Apart from the ultimate driving engagement this car is only going to be available to order for 12 months,” explained McLaren’s Asia Pacific Sales manager Peter Sell.

“It had to deliver the ultimate driving feel… One thing you can’t see is the dynamics, how the car drives: we’ve got a completely different suspension set-up, different geometry, the track is wider, the car is lower, it’s stiffer. In addition to that we’ve reduced the unsprung mass; these are the lightest wheels we’ve ever had.

“You’ll feel more communication through the road and more vibration through the car, it feels alive. The mounts to the engine have completely changed to stop any lateral movement  and … the exhausts are quite close to your ears now. It is quite a different experience.

“Less weight, more grip, better dynamics and a lot more drama.”

The $455,000 price tag wedges the 600LT firmly in the mid-range of McLaren’s Australian portfolio, namely between the 570S ($435,750) and 720S ($489,900).

It is the fourth Longtail model produced by the British car-maker.

Check out our first impression of the 600LT from the international launch in Europe next week.