With the launch of the new McLaren Senna(A tribute to the great Ayrton Senna)McLaren seems to be invincible at the moment. Any doubts about their position as a sports car power house were dispelled by the launch of the fabled McLaren P1 and the Senna just cements their reputation as industry heavy weights.
2017 was a rather successful year financially for the small British car manufacturer. Their success was heavily driven by the Sports Series tier of their model line up which in the recent past has opened up the company’s offerings to a much wider audience. Unlike other major super car manufacturers McLaren has reiterated that they will not be building a cash cow in the form of an SUV.
When McLaren introduced the Sports Series, they were effectively expanding their horizon. The lower costs of the car meant lower maintenance & ownership costs for their customers. The title of sports car meant that McLaren was pitching the 570 family to a clientele that wasn’t as interested in exclusivity as it was in driving dynamics and praticality. The gestation period it took for McLaren to launch the Sports Series meant that a lot of input had gone into righting past wrongs and addressing issues leveled at their cars by critics and fans alike.
The latest model to join the family is the 570S spider. McLaren have worked their magic again. While the Senna is maniacal in its design and the 720S a tad too aggressive in its styling the 570 series seems to be the sweet spot in McLaren’s entire range. Its looks are rather sedated compared to the other offerings from the company. It is almost Lotus Evora-like in its design language. It looks like a super car but isn’t outlandish. There is a maturity in its lines and the various shapes sculpted into the body work.
Like all other McLarens the 570s spider has been built around a carbon fibre tub dubbed Monocell 2 and thus maintains the structural rigidity of the coupé. It suffers a weight penalty for the retractable hard top of 46kg over the coupé. The roof can be finished in either the car’s body colour or dark palladium gray and will open or close in 15 seconds upto speeds of 40kph.
Power is derived from McLaren’s 3.8 litre twin turbo V8 which churns out 570hp(419kw)and 600Nm of torque. This is then sent to the rear wheels through McLaren’s seamless shift seven speed gearbox or SSG in short. This is exactly the same output as the coupé and the 570 GT. The top speed is identical to the coupé at 328kph(204mph) with the roof in place and 315kph with the roof lowered.
The biggest difference, apart from the mechanical differences and the new engine installed in the 720s, between the sport series and the super series is the interior. McLaren has a way with simplicity. A craft that McLaren has clearly mastered. The cockpit is as driver focused as a car can be. The seating position is perfect and the steering wheel unfettered by buttons. The paddles are just the right length as are the stalks that house the indicators, cruise control and other axilliary functions. The instrument binnacle is all digital but I’ll admit that the central rev counter from the 12c and 650s is sorely missed.
The sport series has done what the 12c originally did with McLaren as a car company. It has reintroduced the brand to the world, a much wider audience and thanks to its improvements over its predecessors it has given us a reason to fall in love with McLaren again. Now all we are waiting for is a drive in the recently updated 570GT with the sport pack to seal this engagement.
The 570s spider is available to purchase from McLaren in South Africa. Pictures taken on location at the McLaren dealership at the Waterfront, in Cape Town, South Africa.
