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(https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/mclaren/gt/first-drives/mclaren-gt-2019-uk-review)
In fact, as we’ve already found out, it’s quite a bit different from the time-honoured template of a continent-crossing, leather-clad cruise missile. With its mid-engined layout, extremely quick-witted handling and shattering performance, the GT is more supercar with extra spoonfuls of civility than the more typical sybarite with sporting pretentions.
This is no bad thing, of course, and there are many out there who will revel in a car that serves up 95% of a 720S’s searing straight-line pace and wrist-flick agility but is also relatively easy to live with. Yet for all that, our only test of the GT has been on the launch event in the south of France, which concentrated its driving route on the serpentine roads that wriggle their way through the hills above St Tropez. To truly judge a GT you need a sterner challenge, such as driving the length of France and then onto the UK, where its ride comfort in particular would be sorely tested. Which is exactly what we did next.
Before that, it’s probably worth a quick recap. McLaren says the GT is a stand-alone model but, in terms of price and performance, it fits somewhere between a 570GT and a 720S. Around two-thirds of the car is new, with much of the changes being found in the virtually all-new sheet metal (and carbonfibre) body. Until the Speedtail arrives, the GT is the longest car the brand makes, while the extended glasshouse, powered rear hatch and long nose all hint at the GT’s more practical and usable remit.
There’s no doubt that, judged by some traditional GT standards, the McLaren falls short, particularly in respect of its occasionally brittle ride and the noises that accompany it, particularly on poorly surfaced motorways.
Yet in most circumstances and on most surfaces it can do the long-distance thing in surprising comfort and refinement, while the extra versatility of that large rear boot means you can carry more than many rivals, as long as you’re not planning on carrying frozen goods any great distance. It feels good inside, McLaren’s take on luxury being to give the interior a real sense of occasion.
So how to class the GT? Well, for a McLaren it’s as refined and usable as they get, and for many this will be enough. But there is enough genuine civility on display here to make this a surprisingly easy companion to live with day to day for those who would normally give the firm’s cars a wide berth.
While there’s certainly a shortfall in comfort and refinement compared with true GTs, it’s nowhere near as big as the vast gulf between these slightly cumbersome machines and the scalpel-sharp and invigorating McLaren when the road gets interesting. I guess it all depends on your priorities.
McLaren GT specification
Where Hertfordshire, UK, and France Price £163,000 On sale Now Engine V8, 3994cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol Power 612bhp at 7500rpm Torque 465lb ft at 5500rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic Kerb weight 1530kg Top speed 203mph 0-62mph 3.2sec Fuel economy 23.7mpg CO2 270g/km Rivals Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin DB11