2020 McLaren GT revealed

McLaren has released full details of a new grand tourer that will join its line-up at year’s end – aptly named the McLaren GT.

Promising to combine “competition levels of performance and continent-crossing capability”, the newly-devised Grand Tourer will sit alongside McLaren’s existing Sports, Super and Ultimate Series models. It is the fourth variant in the British car-maker’s highly touted Track25 business plan.

The GT’s 4.7-metre body wraps around a familiar carbon-fibre monocoque chassis, but differentiating it are unique engine mounts that offer half the stiffness of the car-maker’s track-focussed 600LT, along with longer front and rear overhangs.

Bolstering its everyday amenity, the GT’s 10-degree front approach and 13-degree rear departure angles are said to be more amenable to driveway entrances than most McLarens, as is its 110mm ground clearance (130mm with vehicle lift).

The GT’s on-road skillset is owed to a new suspension system that uses sensors to ‘read’ the road ahead. The lightweight aluminium, double wishbone design is paired with hydraulic dampers to deliver Proactive Damping Control across three set parameters – Comfort, Sport and Track.

Elsewhere, the GT employs McLaren’s hydraulic steering system. McLaren says engineers were able to develop a single software map across the different driving modes.

The newcomer promises some semblance of practicality courtesy of a 150-litre front storage area and 420-litre luggage space below a front-hinged, full-length glazed tailgate at the rear.

Some would say the GT tones down the styling of recent McLarens, even though it maintains dihederal doors and a classic sillouette.

“The teardrop shape of the cabin, which stretches back to encompass the rear luggage area, follows the aerodynamic principles inherent in all McLarens, while the muscular rear fenders that form the side intakes for the high-temperature radiators are an example of how we merge both beauty and functionality to create breath-taking authentic designs,” said design director Rob Melville.

At the GT’s heart is McLaren’s ubiquitous 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, promising 456kW and 603Nm, mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission.

Apportioning drive solely to the rear wheels, the GT offers a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.2 seconds, 0-200km/h in 9.0 seconds and top speed of 326km/h. It also promises “superior exhaust sound quality … true of Grand Tourer”.

There's no mention from McLaren of the hybrid drivetrain originally speculated.

Inside, the two-seater GT is replete with Nappa leather as standard throughout, and features McLaren’s most sophisticated infotainment system to-date. A seven-inch touchscreen houses climate control functions, sat-nav, Bluetooth, media streaming and voice activation.

Mated to the central screen is a 12.3-inch TFT digital display in the instrument cluster.

Sales of the McLaren GT will commence internationally from later this year.

Australia-specific pricing and specification are not yet available.