Woking’s new grand tourer has the tub from a 570S, a detuned 720S engine and a whopping 570 litres of luggage space
Here it is, ladies and gents, the latest car in a relentless wave of new products from McLaren. It’s called simply the GT, and it does what it says on the tin: it’s for grand touring.
This is something it should be rather good at. It doesn’t have the same fancy hydraulically-linked adaptive damper setup as the 720S, but it does use a new version of its bigger brother’s Proactive Damping Control software.
It uses sensors to read the road ahead, preparing the suspension as necessary in two milliseconds. As for the hardware, the GT gets adaptive dampers, and aluminium double wishbones front and rear. There’s also a hydraulic lift mode, which increases the ground clearance at the front from 110 to 130mm.
Although it’s based around a development of the carbonfibre tub used in the 570S (dubbed ‘MonoCell II-T’, the T standing for ‘touring’), the engine is lifted from the 720S. The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 has been detuned, although it’s still good for 612bhp and 465lb ft of torque.
Peak power arrives at 7500rpm, 500rpm later than it does in the 720S iteration of the engine, while peak torque arrives at the same 5500rpm mark. The McLaren GT can do 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds (an identical figure to the 570S) and 0-124mph in nine seconds dead. Keep going for long enough, and you’ll be able to hit 203mph.
Where it gets really interesting is the luggage space. No, really: the GT provides 570 litres of room for carrying whatever it is McLaren owners want to carry long distances, which for a mid-engined car is incredible.
The shape of the MonoCell I-T structure means it’s been possible to sit a 420-litre boot on top of the GT’s engine and under a glass tailgate. McLaren says it’s big enough for a golf bag or two pairs of skis and boots. If you’ve filled it up, you also have the option of using the 150 litre frunk.
The doors are – you’ll be pleased to hear – still of the dihedral variety. Lift one up, and you’ll find a more luxurious space than seen in other McLaren products, centred around a pair of heated, electrically-adjustable seats that have been designed especially for the car.
Want one? It’s available to order now for £163,000 before options. The first cars will be in the hands of owners towards the end of the year.