Woking progress
The recent Pure McLaren Sepang 2016 track day was a tasting menu of the latest cars from the British supercar manufacturer and the brand’s largest track programme ever staged in the region.
A newcomer to the delightful shopping experience that is buying your first McLaren should ideally start with the Sports Series, which is where my driving for the day began. The 570S is a neutral beginner’s McLaren, fairly well-behaved while still perfectly capable to hone your edge at McLaren coaching events or private track days.
The first lap in the 570S began in Normal modes for both suspension and transmission; adjusting these independently is a massive boon for daily driving. While a satisfying hairy experience was to be found in Sport and Track modes – the 570S is the lightest car in its class by 150kg and leads in power-to-weight – the tractability under normal driving inputs is quite surprising.
If the 570S is indicative of current and future products it would be fair to conclude that the McLaren of today is quite the civilised beast, if one can become accustomed to typical supercar ingress and egress issues through the butterfly doors.
Then, the 540C. A simple proposition, taking the 570S and making it slightly more livable with fewer expensive and irreparable pieces of carbon fibre trim dotting the exterior. Tweaked towards comfort is the suspension, while as the name suggests there are 30 fewer horses to be found under the hood. It would be ludicrous to suggest however that the 540C couldn’t cut it on the track, but perhaps it would be the choice for those looking more at urban cruising and less at events such as this.
For frequent long-legged journeys, the 570GT would be the most appropriate choice with 220 litres more storage space accessible through a special side-hinged glass hatch at the rear and a panoramic roof. It was part of the drool-worthy line-up, but wheel time would have been redundant having driven the 570S. I moved on to the main course.
If the 570S was the reference point, from which proceedings took a turn for the softer with the 540C, the 675LT which came next spiked the graph in tremendous fashion. The 675LT is part of the Super Series, with a decidedly heavier firepower skew than the former two.
Proportionally, the 675LT is a thing of beauty. Lengthening the rear end – LT stands for Longtail – bestows upon it an aggressive wedge of a profile, punctuated by exhaust pipes placed in between the taillight clusters.
In one turn, the LT had delivered on a promise made by its form. Seemingly endless grip had me rocketing out of Turn 15 and down the main pit straight, hitting circa-280km/h before having to brake for Turn 1. Each gearshift was accompanied by a rifle bolt crack coming from the rear, followed seamlessly by another bout of manic acceleration. Nothing less was expected of course, this is a machine that dispatches 0-200km/h in a scant 7.9 seconds, a figure most cars would be proud of for just the century sprint.
The limits necessary to be observed in the Sports Series duo are decimated by the LT, so significant is the difference in series hierarchy. Under heavy braking, the sort where it seemed likely my foot would go through the floor, the LT hunkers down and holds the line with minimal adjustment, lap after flying lap. The parameters of what it can muster seem predictable, such that with each passing minute you can gradually approach the borders of your comfort level knowing that the LT will be able to curb your enthusiasm gently rather than with a snap reaction.
In Sport and Track modes, an Airbrake deploys at the rear to increase downforce when it is required which automatically disappears under hard acceleration to minimise drag. It is a combination of this and the trick stability control – with a “reduced support” mode that allows for light sideways action – that contributes to the LT’s phenomenal roadholding.
One telltale indication as to how much of a bullseye product the LT is that one of only 500 coupes produced belongs to McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt.
At the end of the day and what was definitely a satisfactory McLaren experience, the only other automotive manufacturer in mind that comes close to McLaren is Lotus, not in the performance sense but in similar brand ethos. Lightness and engineering excellence above all else, flash and embellishment be damned. Perhaps also why there are numerous Elans in the Flewitt garage.
Despite its ever-growing model range and accompanying sales figures, McLaren still views itself as a small company, I was told. One where customer feedback from the track is instantly relayed to the right engineer in the right department via text messaging. No superfluous chain of communication or red tape to interfere with continuous improvement of what are already some of the best driver’s cars in the world.
The name of the event is Pure McLaren, and there is no better way to describe the brand or the cars it makes.
