HIGH ROAD

HIGH ROAD Practical MAGIC

McLaren’s stunning new GT is the EVERYDAY SUPERCAR that can deliver you to the golf links at 203 mph

By Howard Walker

I love McLarens—with a passion. I love the rock-out-of-a-catapult acceleration, the spooked-squirrel handling, the mind-reading steering that can almost predict your intentions before you even nudge the wheel.

For me, these British-built projectiles are the very definition of the mystical term “supercar.” To drive one, to feel that 600-plus twin-turbo horsepower, is like downing a quadruple espresso after a lifetime of decaf.

But, they do come with the odd compromise or two. The endless drone from those monster tires at each corner is like driving with a leaf blower in the passenger seat. Hitting any kind of lump or bump is like colliding with a Florida sinkhole. As for carrying personal items aboard, if they won’t fit into a squashy gym bag, you’re going to need to call FedEx.

However, the new McLaren GT is a kinder, gentler McLaren with more refinement, comfort, and civility. Oh, and did I mention there’s space in the back for a golf bag?

Thank McLaren for listening to its customers—or its dealers, who likely moaned about losing another sale to more accommodating rivals, such as Bentley’s grand touring Continental GT or Aston Martin’s DB11.

What we have here is the first McLaren hatchback. One tap of the key fob and the huge rear tailgate pops open to reveal a long, wide luggage area. And although it is rather oddly shaped, it works. According to McLaren, it can accommodate 14.8 cubic feet of “stuff.” That total climbs to 20.8 when you factor in the small forward trunk.

While this new feature does transform the versatility of the GT, it too is not without its compromises—like having a heat-blasting 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 sitting beneath it. McLaren engineers had to develop a thermal heat shield to reduce temps from 900 degrees Fahrenheit around the engine to a still toasty 100. Stow that box of Godiva back there at your peril.

More worrisome is the fact that the luggage area is open to the cockpit. Yes, there are numerous tie-down rings, but that loose jar of Petrossian beluga caviar could become a high-speed projectile under heavy braking. And as with all McLarens, this GT can stop with the same immediacy as hitting a brick wall.

In keeping with the slightly more mellow image of this new GT, the design has also been softened. Unlike the angry-bird McLaren 720S on which it’s based, the GT sheds the track-focused rear wing, huge wheel-arch vents,

POWER FILE and air-gulping rear intakes. I think it’s the PRICE: $213,195/$263,265 AS best-looking McLaren in the lineup. It’s

TESTED ENGINE: 4.0-LITER

just sleeker and more stylish, enhanced by

TWIN-TURBO V-8 POWER:

lovely forged alloys at each corner, the big-

612 HP TORQUE: 465

gest ever fitted to a McLaren.

LB-FT TRANSMISSION:

Open the high-lifting scissor-like doors

7-SPEED AUTOMATIC

and inside, McLaren’s typical wafer-thin,

0-60: 3.1 SECONDS TOP

SPEED: 203 MPH LENGTH/ butt-numbing seats have been replaced WIDTH: 184/81 INCHES with wider, comfier, thicker-padded verWEIGHT: 3,384 POUNDS sions that are a delight. The cabin is now WHY WE LOVE IT: BECAUSE a sea of handbag-quality leather befitting IT ADDS ELEGANCE AND the grand tourer the GT is. VERSATILITY WITHOUT And boy, does this car tour grandly.

LOSING THAT WILD-CHILD

There’s less snap, crackle, and pop from

MCLAREN CHARACTER.

the exhaust compared to, say, the 720S. Less volume, too. And the suspension has been tuned to deliver a ride that is a tad smoother, less brittle, more forgiving, and has less tire roar.

But don’t for one second think McLaren has gone soft on performance. The GT’s 4.0-liter V-8 packs a 612-hp punch that can slingshot the car to 60 mph in a retina-blurring 3.1 seconds. This beast won’t call it quits until the speedo shows 203 mph.

Hustle the GT along a curvy two-laner and its race-bred heritage, along with perfect poise and balance, is there to thrill. Although it was developed for the track, on ordinary roads it goes precisely where you point it. Its handling is nothing less than stellar.

Pricing starts at around $213,000, though with a few options—the $6,000 electrochromic glass roof is a must-have, as is the $15,400 fourpiece set of custom luggage—reckon on closer to $260,000. But for me, «all that McLaren magic more than justifies the price tag.

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