2017 McLaren 570GT Test Drive

Before you say it, as a matter of fact, somebody DOES have to do it.  I’m talking about driving and reviewing cars like this 2017 McLaren 570GT.  I’ve been blessed to have 3 Supercars in the past couple of years, the Audi R8, the 2017 Aston Martin DB11, and now this drop dead gorgeous 570GT.

Let’s talk about what sits smack in the middle of the car, which is a 3.8-liter V8 with twin-turbos.  It is putting out 562-horses and 443-pound feet of torque.  It will take you to 60 miles per hour in 3.3 seconds, and if you keep accelerating, the 570GT will take you up to 204 miles per hour.

Adding to the performance is a 7-speed seamless shift dual-clutch transmission.  The shifting up or down is instantaneous.  In fact, the transmission shifts quicker than you can hit the shift paddles on the steering wheel.

On the center console, you have three modes that control the suspension/damping system, and on a separate switch there are three modes for engine performance.  You can mix and match both controls and choose: normal, sport, or track. You can essentially have three different cars.  The modes change when you push the active button.  For me, I like both set in sport mode while driving in town, but sport on the dampers and track on the engine when on the open highway.  After you play with the controls for a while, the default normal setting in both modes is just a little too boring.

Here’s the deal with this car…its big sister the 570S is sportier and has a tighter suspension and steering, but the GT is more of a daily driver that exudes confidence.  Normally I recommend cars like this as weekend drivers, but this is one you could actually drive all the time, it’s that good.  That is what is so important about the damping and engine settings.

The 570GT weighs in at just 3296 pounds, about the weight of a Ford Focus.  Much of the reason for the lack of weight is the 570 has a carbon fiber chassis, and uses mostly aluminum for the body.  All the outer panels channel air through the car for aerodynamics, engine cooling, and for downward force on the rear end.

Outwardly, this is just a beautiful car with 19” front wheels and 20” rear wheels. There is 5.3 cubic feet of storage in the front, and another 7.8 cubic feet behind the front seats. That entire area is covered in rich leather and looks amazing. You can access this area from the right side of the back glass, which makes putting things back there really easy. A little trivia for you, if you are in England where the car is handmade, the glass opens from the left side in case you are on the side of the road. Overall, you have 13.1 cubic feet of storage, making this McLaren a car you can actually travel in. It’ll hold a set of golf clubs if you pull the woods out and lay them long ways. 

The 570GT absolutely stops traffic when you open the dihedral doors that open straight up and operate very easily.  They are also soft close, which means you barely latch them and they’ll close themselves.  The doors are incredibly lightweight and easy to open and close.

Moving to the inside of this car, it hits you immediately that not only is the car fast, it is also luxurious.  The sumptuous leather seats hug you snugly for those tight corners.  When you look up, you’ll see a fixed panoramic glass roof, which is one of the few issues with this car.  In hot weather states, like Texas, that roof causes a lot of interior heat.  McLaren is going to have to come up with some sort of shade.

In the center console, besides where you change the driving dynamics, you’ll find the engine start button, launch control, the door locks, buttons to open the front hatch and rear glass, and three buttons to shift from drive, to neutral, to reverse.  When you hit the button to turn the car off, it puts the car in park.  To the left of the power tilt steering wheel, is an electronic parking brake if needed.  Oh, and I can’t forget the wonderful start/stop system.  On the plus side, it hasn’t kicked on a single time yet.

Also mounted to the left of the steering wheel is a lever to raise and lower the car, which is really handy for steep driveways and speed bumps.  The car lowers itself back down when you reach 38 miles per hour.

The gauge cluster is simple, colorful, and changes as you go to the different drive modes.  It is easy to read and understand.

In the middle of the dash, you’ll find the IRIS 7” touchscreen that operates the Bowles and Wilkins audio, the navigation system, Bluetooth, Apple integration and rearview camera.  The system is easy to operate, and if there is one thing that could improve on in this car, it operates slowly.  A tweeter sitting on top of the dash is the cherry on the cake.

One surprise was the fuel economy this car gets when driven gingerly, although that is not easy to do.  It is rated at 16 miles per gallon in town, 23 on the highway and 19 combined.

As you would expect, this car comes very nicely equipped with everything you could ask for.  My tester has $15,000 in options, primarily interior upgrades, the sport exhaust, the color, and the 15 spoke wheels.

MSRP on this one is as equipped is $216,420.

In summary, this car has unbelievable power and handling, and with many sports cars, you have to choose.  It is great no matter the road surface, and it would be an amazing car on a track.  The exhaust sound is incredible, and it is an outstanding combination of everything you could want.  It is a cruiser that goes over 200 miles per hour.

One thing I will tell you, be sure your hair is fixed if you drive this car, EVERYBODY wants a picture.  I was filmed by cell phones going down the freeway more times than I can count.

Special thanks to Malcolm Gage and Christopher Blank at Park Place Premier Collection in Dallas for their help in making this possible.  www.ParkPlace.com

Photo Credit: McLaren