Juts test drove a 570s today. Motor seemed much smoother and less laggy than the mp12. Much prefered the 570 suspesion which felt dialed in and planted whereas the mp12 always felt remote to me. Steering still felt light and missing in feel but if we are to believe the press its really good for a modern. All the little thing like paddles force etc have been worked over. Couldnt say one shift mode felt hugely different to the other, Suspension firm but compliant, different settings not a huge difference but noticeable. It was fun to drive, would make a comfortable daily, sounded fine but its no 458. Seemed a really nice car to me, like a mp12 that looked nice and had been significantly improved, there was no lack of power, so the hp drop is for any type of regular drivign irrelevant. Its more go than one can deploy on road.. Brakes as in the Mp12 felt great and really modualatable, this is a big contrast tot he 458 I tried. Now wouldl I take one over a new GT3, thats a difficult question, esp as have not driven the new GT3, but the Mclaren seemd well developed and all of a piece and smooth, plus its exotic in ways the porche is not. The car I drove stickered just over 200k. If I were to buy a modern, it would be either this or a Gt3, unless one was upping the ante all the way to a aventador.
Hey, we must have crossed! I did a test drive too today! what a blast. I did test last week in LI as well. The 570s is not only beautiful but very capable, Accelarations are insane. Like it better than the 650. I cant figure where the added 100hp are going. could not feel the 570 having less power
I have never been in one, but I saw one for the first time yesterday. Photos attached. I wouldn't have a white car, but overall I really liked the look of it. All the best, Andrew. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Its interesting at this power to weight level the cars are already way faster than is really useable on street. The 570 is pure exotic, more than fast enough and still useable, hard to say what more you might get in a "faster" car or why its worth spending an extra 150k on one.. As you can tell I really liked it, and I tend to be very hard on moderns. How did you enjoy the drive? My only critique of the 570s is steering feel, but that can be leveled at all moderns including the 458. The porche 997Gt3 is to me the (modern) steering benchmark all the others should shoot for.
I loved the car! You have to realize that most of the car i drive are of the last decade. Aston, Ferraris of the mid 2000, lambos and porsche of the late 80s.. so driving this is simply another world! I have never driven a 458 or 488 which is really what i would love comparing. I can only relate to a maser Gran turismo and the R8 v8. The maser is nice but the 570 is a rocket compared to it. the R8 feels as much on rail with outstanding steering but the power is nowhere close. the 570hp feel like much more. You are right that the car is way more that can be handled on the road. you actually feel frustrated not to be able to explore way further. that is a track car at the core. the steering felt very precise and clean to me but again, i typically drive heavier more demanding car. Finally the car is dead gorgeous. i usually dont like silver but on that car silver looks good. My body will get the volcano orange and that rocks!
I think McLaren finally have a real winner on their hands. Terrifically fast/fun, good looking, true DD, and at a price point that pulls in more buyers & shouldn't depreciate as badly as the 12c and the 650S. They should be able to sell the heck out of these so long as the economy cooperates in the next couple years.
It actually looks quite good in white to me, with the black accents. Saw one in orange the other day and was not impressed with it. Thought it looked very cartoonish.
My oh gripe against the car is the steering feel or lack thereof. The new mustang I rented today which has eps felt a bit better. No reason for an exotic not to be superlative here. Maybe mclaren will also figure out how the 488 sounds so nice, then it's be pretty much perfect
handicaped need not apply.... but frankly, if one cannot get in or out, one probably should not be driving it.
i have lotus and can get in/out pretty easily but its annoying since I like to daily drive sports cars. how does 570 compare to that or to 458 which is no problem
Different league or ease because the sills are lower and the roof higher, plus the doors make it easier. The 570 would make a pretty easy DD. I would say the whole car is narrower and smaller than a 458. Visibility all around is great. The tranny shifts easily and theire is plenty of power. a 911 variant might be easier to get in and out of, but its not a huge difference. If you want to compare steering to a lotus, its not even close. imo the 991 porche has better steering than the 570, although being eps it too is devoid of feedback. I think the Mckaren us still a hydraulic unit, so there really is no excuse, save for Mclaren still cant decide whther to build daily drivers for anyone, or drivers cars. Even then steering should be superlative. the 570 also has mandatory stop start. Mclaren as I said above is still slightly confused about who the exotic cuctomer base might be in the usa. To drive on road it seems every bit the equal of a 458 so it boils down to styling, exclusivity, and engine sound. The ferrari does have a more comprehensive styled interior, while the mclaren has an appealing minimalism. I think the 570 is great and a bargain too. Still I am going to say my impression(not having driven the porche) is that a GT3 is more of a serious drivers car and the 570 far more of an exotic. Some people have said elsewhere that the Mclarens dont hold up great on track compared to a porche or even ferrari, I have no informed opnion or data to back that up either way. Curiously while Mclaren offers sport seats there is no official provision for harnesses. From my perspective the ferrari is a bit to overworught and overdone, I prefer the elegance of simplicity and freshness in the mclaren concpet, and for the 120k lower price the two are close enough that its its no contest, at least for me..Fir others, the badge, the noise and flair make it ferrari. The Mcklaren strikes me as the modern rendition of whata 308 used to be in period.
This is the best car they've made so far when it comes to looks/ performance/ price / usability. I think the interior is perhaps the best looking of any exotic today BTW: The car is bigger than the 12c in every dimension. We have to thank McLaren for finally getting Ferrari to bring back Dino The only thing I don't like is you can't open the rear hatch. That to me seems to go against everything a true enthusiast would want in a car. Was it to save weight? For styling? If so, I think it was a mistake. Sealing the engine off from view seems like a step backwards. I can see someone taking this to Cars and Coffee and a guy says "Hey, let me see the engine!" The owner says "I can't. It's sealed". "WTF????" One question. Does the gearbox still "creep" at a stop? Its one thing that always bugged me with the 12c. Seems to feel too much like an automatic.
I think your coments are spot on. The car is part of aMclarten schitzophrenia. They want to make sportscars, but also everyday cars. They seem to forget that sportscars are about feedback and feel, aka steering, and that yes we love to look at the mtor on an exotic. And seriously why have stop start on an exotic, wtf. Perhaps they were going after proche where you cant see the motor. Its like thye are not sure what they want to be. As a basic platform the car is an exotic, 2 door cf tub groovy doors lots of hp. Maybe by reducing supension complexity they inadevertantly made a better drivers car than the 12c, they also improved their design language, but have missed on the steering, the noise and motor eye candy. Probably fixable for the 570 2.0 As earlier mentioned this car seems aimed at the "useable" Dd owner who may not know cars at all. But then it also has great compnants great exotic spec and looks so works as a driveable exotic. I didnt notice any creep, a little throttle got it moving and the shifts were both seamless and quick. Frankly i enjoyed driving it on the street more than the 458 and more than the Mp12. Its like they fixed a lot of things thta were just not quite there on the mp12/ i tend to think of this car as a way betetr styled Mp12, thta is dynamicaly imporved and has all the odd or not quite right bits sorted out, all for 30% less money. if you liked the idea behind the mp12, then this is a way betetr car for less money, on that basis hard to beat. Would be interesting to drive back to back against a 991 turbo and Gt3.
You can spec one out decently for around 200k, have not seen a 458 down there yet. On road it was more enjoyable than I remember the 458 Of course the 458 comes with more drama and probably better track performances, but frankly when the exhaust baffles opened the 458 sounded overdone to me, so do other parts of the car. I am guessing a 458 over time wont dlreaciate much below 130-150k before rising again. the 570 may well become just another used car and like modern astons go below 100k. In my case I have older cars for drama, a 570 seems to tick the modern exotic boxes in my brain, ie near unlimyed go, painless, great roadholding stereo ac etc for a price in dynamic feedback. Plus in my book if its going to be amodern might as well be new. its like this car is the 21st century esprit minus the crappy build and problems. Maybe if they get iot to steer like an evora, then from a drivers perspective would there be a better modern? Well they say there will be a more sporty 570 for those so inclined, maybe thats the one to wait for. Somehowi reall liked it. BTW they had a 4c spider at the dealer, looked great too, the words baby ferrari comes to mind. There was also a huraya and veyron in the showroom. While the veyron looked like a really expensive corprate vw car, the huraya was in a completly different league in terms of design, detail and build, there really is no comparison other than price. there was alsoa grey aventador and a Ct, in my book the avnetador had all the drama of the Ct. If you are going all out exotic the avantador takes the cake unless you have tripple the money for a huraya.
comparing the 458 and the 570 may not be fair, simply because they are not in the same price league. But the fact people do compare them is a positive for the 570. you would expect a more expensive car like the 458 to have the upper hand with no contest. Maybe i have not driven enough new exotics but the steering feel responsive to me. Or may be i am too used to the steering of earlier exotics. i'll tell you I dont feel on the edge driving at the limit of what i can do in the car in a given road. That is not always true of all cars.. Porsche are great cars but really un-inspiring compared to this. Saying its easy to get in/out is a stretch. This remain an exotic and you got to be flexible and in good shape. the sealed rear hatch is the only downer. why? But the car seems really easy to live with and nimble. simplicity is welcome too. that trait is what made the success of the Ford GT ?
If the rear hatch is sealed, how does an owner perform regular checks on things like coolant or oil levels? All the best, Andrew.
There's a little door that you can open to do this. Sort of like a flap for the gas cap. It's also in a really difficult place to peak into. I still say this is perhaps their best effort yet and they should sell a lot of them. Ferrari really missed the mark by not having the Dino ready for next year. It won't be available for probably 2 or 3. The 570s will hurt Porsche IMO but they sell so many it's hard to say how much. You could say it would be better to buy a used 458 for the same price but why not a used Mp4-12c at an even lower price? I think the cars are apples and oranges so there is a market for it. But having cheap 12c's on the dealer lots will be a temptation to anyone walking into a McLaren dealership. For a DD, I think this car does have a "cool factor" that a lot of people will like. But it's not a good "Doctor's car" over the 911 because it's too flashy. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The car could be great but to me, it just looks like bug like. I don't know if the styling would ever grow on me.
12C is the better overall car to me. Better ride in the street, vastly more power and much simpler and less cluttered cockpit. WTF is that shift lever doing in a GT3? Just blocks view of and access to other controls. I prefer the PDK-S as it mimics a manual better (no creep at idle). GT3 is better on track as it can be hammered at qualifying pace with no temp or brake issues. 12C can get hot and fade brakes. GT3 rides rougher and needs big, attention grabbing rpms to go fast. I keep telling myself to part with one and can't decide. They are both fantastic but the 12C is a bespoke carbon chassis mid engine supercar. GT3 is hotrodded 911 but brilliantly so, but still less special to me. 12C is such a silly bargain right now. Less expensive than GT3 used and I'd certainly pick 12C first unless I was tracking primarily and neither car is as good a choice as a real race car for serious track work.
