‘The most road-biased McLaren yet’ is how the firm describes its latest offering, the 570GT.
It’s the third model to be announced in the entry-level Sports Series, sitting alongside the standard 570S and the 540C. While based on the former, it promises a series of small alterations to further refine it for road use and long-distance touring.
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To that end, it features the same suspension system as the 570S Coupe, its adaptive dampers offering Normal, Sport and Track settings. It features revised spring rates however, reduced in stiffness by 15 per cent at the front and 10 per cent astern.
Other changes include a revised electro-hydraulic steering rack, whose ratio is reduced by 2 per cent for a slightly less darty feeling at high cruising speeds. Brakes too are different, with iron discs (370mm up front and 350mm at the rear) rather than the 570S’s carbon ceramic rotors.
Engine output is unchanged: the 3.8-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 still develops 562bhp (or 570PS, from which the 570 gets its name) and 443lb ft of torque. It uses the same seven-speed dual-clutch transmission too, with normal, sport and track settings.
Where it differs marginally is the 0-62mph sprint, cleared in 3.4sec rather than 3.2, though the same 204mph top speed is quoted.
The slightly slower launch can be put down to the 570GT’s slightly weightier build, with a 1350kg dry weight to the 1313kg kerbweight claimed of the 570S. This in turn is due to the GT’s touring-orientated specification – a glass, tinted panoramic roof (similar to that of the P1) replaces the 570S’s panel, for a brighter cabin.
There’s more leather trim than can be found on the 570S too, along with electrically-adjustable heated seats, and a leather-lined luggage space beneath the new glass hatch – replacing the S's flying buttresses.
Parking sensors, an electric steering column, soft-close doors and an eight-speaker McLaren Audio Plus system are also standard-fit, with a 12-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system optionally available, tuned to the 570GT’s interior acoustics. You’ll hear it better regardless, since McLaren has also fitted a quieter exhaust system.
Getting in is made easier with greater range to the doors’ opening swing. Other exterior alterations include a fixed rear spoiler, and a new design of 15-spoke cast alloy wheels – 19in at the front and 20in on the rear axle.
Pricing for the new model starts at £154,000 – slightly above that of the £143,250 570S Coupe. Deliveries begin in late 2016.
