McLaren GT Launched |'Practically' The Best
Say "hello" to the McLaren GT, the brand's most practical car to date. Their second model to be branded like this, the GT aims to set a new standard.
Let's get this straight from the start: the McLaren GT is in no way a rebadged 720S. Well for 35% these two models do share genes, but the remaining 65% dips deep into the GT-gene-pool. So deep that talking about the technical aspects is equally interesting as talking about what the brand wants you to do with this car (stuff it and drive across the country). I'm not sure where we'll end up though, I'm not into golf clubs.
There's a certain irony to the way a performance brand portraits practicality for some models, where big volume brands portrait sportiness for some of theirs. But you could also see this as that portraying both practically and performance is a winner. And it is a segment that spreads across a whole range of cars. Cars also involving the Porsche 911 Turbo S and the Aston Martin DB11, the McLaren GT's main rivals in fact.
So how does the McLaren GT ward off competition? They're claiming, of course, that the car is the most stuff-able and the most sporty out there. So look through the hazey mist marketing creates and you'll find facts. Facts that show us that the 620 HP V8 is placed 12 centimeters lower to create space for the vast golf club holder that measures 420 liters. They also tell us that the GT gets the first ever optional power assisted tailgate. Such practical.
For performance the McLaren GT uses a reworked version of the 4-liter V8, it now offers 620 horsepower and 630 NM. Offering 0-200 in 9.5 seconds and a Vmax of 326 KPH. It has different turbos to that of its bigger brother, as these now build torque far smoother as it peaks at 3500 revs. Lower power and a more even distribution of that power along the rev range offer less rattling of the golf clubs, as does the Proactive Chassis Control II, reworked steering and braking.
