• The McLaren GT is the latest model in the British automaker’s local portfolio.
• The car ranks between the well-respected 570s and 720S.
• The car is powered by a 456 kW V8 petrol engine.
• You can find more car stories on Wheels24
A unique interpretation of a modern grand tourer: one that challenges the conventions of the category with great design, high-quality materials, supercar performance and exceptional driving dynamics. This is how McLaren Automotive described the new GT when it was launched around the world two years ago.
According to Woking executives, the superlight new GT combined the level of performance of the competition with the ability to cross the continent. It’s designed for distance, with the comfort and space you’d expect from a GT, but with a superior level of agility. It is unique in the portfolio of the Surrey-based manufacturer and offers, in addition to the families of the Sport, Super and Ultimate series, an exciting alternative to its existing product range.
In developing the GT, the design team turned to the visual history of Grand Touring cars. Its outlines are engineered according to the aero principles that define every McLaren, but at nearly four feet, it is longer than any of its Sport or Super Series relatives.
McLaren Automotive calls it the brand’s first true grand tourer. This may be technically correct, but no reference is made to the car and it is recognized to be its spiritual ancestor (and all McLaren street cars) – the 1970 prototype M6 GT.
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2021 McLaren GT
The first GT; 50 years ago
The original intention with the M6 GT was to drive it at Le Mans, but after Bruce McLaren, founder of McLaren Motor Racing encountered numerous homologation issues, he made it a road vehicle project. His ambition has always been to build the fastest GT car if his company’s racing program was successful.
The prototype of the M6 GT was designed and built in a workshop in Colnbrook by McLaren, his chief designer Gordon Coppuck and his colleague Eoin Young. The car was completed in early 1970 and two more chassis were prepared. Unfortunately, the project came to an untimely end with McLaren’s untimely death that same year. While not specifically mentioned, it is clear that the new Grand Tourer shares much of its design philosophy with the first McLaren for the road. Visual cues are the teardrop shape of the cabin, which extends rearward to encompass the rear luggage compartment, V-shaped doors and the full-length, hinged, glazed tailgate.
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Compared to the low and almost square front section of the M6 GT, the face of the new model is emphasized by a characteristic “hammerhead line” running horizontally over the nose, muscular rear fenders for the side radiators and an integrated fixed rear wing in the rear. A large rear diffuser and huge tailpipes are visibly reminiscent of its super sports car performance.
Back then, aluminum and fiberglass were the preferred manufacturing materials and, according to designer Coppuck, the M6 GT weighs as much as a Mini, but was ten times as powerful! The new GT is also exceptionally light, with a strong and stiff carbon fiber structure and MonoCell II-T monocoque. Its curb weight of 1,530 kg is over 130 kg lighter than that of its closest competitor.
McLaren M6B GT
More spacious cabin
According to all reports, getting in and out of the low-slung M6 GT via the wide side tanks wasn’t easy (planned to be overhauled, but it never happened). With lower sills than some other McLaren models, getting in and out of the new GT is a bit easier, but by no means comfortable. While still a pure two-seater, the cabin is more spacious than that of its siblings and deserves the GT name thanks to the luggage space between the glass hatch and the SuperFabric woven material that covers the engine, combined with 150 liters of storage space for a total of 570 liters of cargo space.
The rear storage space is not very practical, as only long, thin items such as skis or polo equipment fit into it. But for a meager R220 000, you can get the McLaren Special Operations (MSO) luggage collection, which consists of a clothing case, weekend bag, carry-on bag, and a full-size golf bag that is tailored to fit your GT.
READ: Potent McLaren 570s Spider and monstrous Mercedes-AMG GT C driven in SA
With a small (by modern standards) centrally positioned infotainment screen, the GT’s cockpit design is a bit restrained and yet attractive. The layout takes getting used to, however, because there is no gear lever, only buttons on the center console for driving, neutral and reverse, and the mode selection is confusing. A rotary knob on the left in the center console switches through the various modes (Comfort, Sport and Track), the right rotary knob for the engine and transmission. The dials also have their own inset buttons; an ESC button manipulates the stability control, and the M button on the right enables manual paddle shifters.
However, you won’t be able to get them working unless you clicked the Active button first. I don’t understand why this is necessary, but (as I quickly found out) when it is not activated the car will not change modes other than accepting manual changes when you pull the big paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.
2021 McLaren GT
Tailor-made drive
As soon as you are immersed in the exclusively for the GT, electrically adjustable and heated Napa leather seats with cashmere inserts, press the centrally placed red starter button and the bespoke M480TE 4.0 liter V8 engine with twin turbocharging wakes up with a throaty roar to live. With a whopping 456 kW at 5,500 rpm and a torque of 630 Nm between 5,500 rpm and 6,500 rpm, it is loud and rough when you hear it from the outside. From inside the cabin it varies from a hum, similar to a four-cylinder, to a howl with a noticeable turbo Swoosh at speed.
Even in comfort mode, the sound of the twin turbo engine is clear and the supersport roots of this grand tourer cannot be hidden in any mode. Even when moving leisurely in city traffic, it feels like you’re pulling on a leash. And when you let go, the response is instant.
The thrust of the recoil force is relentless up to the redline of 8,500 rpm, with the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission rushing through the gears smoothly and quickly. Switching to sport and track mode brings even more anger, and the slightest step on the gas pedal turns the passing landscape into a blur. What amazed me was how easy it has become to get that power and performance out of a supercar. There is no drama, no smoky freaking out or missed aisles. No. Simply take your foot off the brake, put your right foot on and the car will do the rest. And for a constant 0-100 km / h drag in 3.2 seconds there is Launch Control.
Positioned above the 570S and below the 720S, the GT has softer spring and damper rates than its supercar siblings and goes a little higher (up to 130mm with a jack). But its ride quality is still stiff and rough over sharp bumps and ruts. It is in its element on smooth asphalt, but on any other surface, even the Comfort mode cannot compensate for the bumps and jerks that come from the stiff chassis.
2021 McLaren GT
Razor-sharp handling
The handling of the GT is razor-sharp, more like a super sports car than a cruiser. Due to its low mass, the longer wheelbase and the precise, hydraulically assisted power steering, it enchants with its immediate reactions. The turn-in at the front end is razor-sharp, and the Pirelli tires cut a precise arc through the corners. Rolling motion is virtually non-existent, and even in Comfort mode the car can handle far greater cornering forces than most drivers would dare.
This is where the catch lies, however, because the GT is deceptively fast and yet easy to drive, which can lure the inattentive into a situation in which even the best safety systems cannot overcome the forces of nature. Fortunately, the huge brakes with four-piston calipers are pretty powerful (and carbon-ceramic discs with forged aluminum calipers are optional). The new GT is the ultimate realization of the dream and vision Bruce McLaren had for his company over fifty years ago when the M6 GT was designed. It keeps the promise of its nickname (with a supercar edge) and, more importantly, it lives up to the legacy of that first McLaren GT car.
Bruce would have agreed. And if he were still alive today, the new GT would likely have been his road transport of choice, following the McLaren F1 team around the racetracks of Europe.
Specifications: 2021 McLaren GT
Engine: 3,994 cc, M840TE V8 biturbo petrol engine
Drive: Longitudinal, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Maximum Performance: 456 kW at 7,500 rpm
maximum torque: 630 Nm at 5 500 – 6500 rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed SSG (comfort, sport, track modes)
Acceleration (0-100km / h): 3.2 seconds
Acceleration (0-200km / h): 9.0 seconds
Maximum speed: 326km / h
Braking (100-0km / h): 32 meters
Suspension: Double wishbones, proactive damping control.
Brakes: 367 mm at the front; 354 mm rear,) 4-piston brake calipers
Wheels (front, rear): 8J x 20 | 10.5 J x 21 inches
Tires (front, rear): Pirelli P Zero, 225/35 / R20 front | 295/30 / R21 rear
Empty weight: 1 530 kg
Fuel tank capacity: 72 liters
Luggage capacity: 570 liters (150 front; 420 rear)
Fuel consumption: 11.9 liters / 100km
CO2 emissions: 270g / km
Price: R4 500,000
