This new supercar costs just a fraction as much as the cars it sits next to on the McLaren showroom floor. With a sticker price if just $187
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MotorTranscript
00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 This is the McLaren 570S.
00:08 It looks like all other McLarens,
00:10 which is to say that it was designed
00:11 by a bunch of lunatics on a particularly
00:13 powerful acid trip.
00:14 It's fast like other McLarens,
00:18 using the now familiar twin-turbo V8,
00:20 but it's not expensive like other McLarens.
00:22 No, this is the McLaren you're actually
00:24 going to see on the road.
00:26 (dramatic music)
00:29 (dramatic music)
00:31 The name McLaren is so powerful
00:49 that we tend to think of it as a real car company,
00:51 but it's not.
00:52 They made 60-something road-going cars
00:54 20-something years ago,
00:56 none of which were legal to drive in North America,
00:58 and yet the F1 was so good,
01:00 we just ignore that little bit of information.
01:03 The F1 went into production in 1992,
01:06 and McLaren didn't build another road car
01:08 until almost 20 years later.
01:10 That thing didn't have a name,
01:12 it had a part number, the MP4-12C.
01:15 Eventually, McLaren just started calling it the 12C,
01:18 then it made a bunch of improvements
01:20 and called it the 650S.
01:21 This car is still on sale today,
01:23 along with the new 675LT, or Longtail.
01:27 Those two cars comprise McLaren's Super Series.
01:30 These are the middle-of-the-road supercars
01:31 that cost a couple hundred thousand dollars.
01:33 Above them sits the P1 Hypercar in the Ultimate Series,
01:37 and below all of them, this new 570S.
01:40 Like the other McLaren S names,
01:42 the number stands for metric horsepower,
01:44 so the 570 has 570 of them,
01:47 or 562 North American horsepower.
01:50 Despite the dihedral doors,
01:53 getting in and out of this 570 is not exactly easy.
01:57 It is easier than previous McLarens
01:58 because this is a second-generation carbon tub,
02:01 and this sill is both a good bit narrower
02:03 and three inches lower than the previous cars.
02:06 Once you're in, though, there's a ton of room.
02:09 A lot of headroom, a lot of legroom,
02:11 and the driving position is absolutely perfect.
02:13 Almost everything is controlled by a screen,
02:15 and they're not exactly usable,
02:17 but at least they're beautiful,
02:18 and that brings me to the most important point
02:20 about this interior.
02:21 See, you get in an Audi R8,
02:23 and that's the most expensive car Audi sells,
02:26 and a lot of the switchgear is familiar
02:28 to what you'd see in like an A3.
02:30 That doesn't happen here.
02:31 This is the least expensive McLaren,
02:33 which means that everything you see here
02:36 you'd only see in million-dollar P1s.
02:38 This interior feels really special.
02:41 (upbeat music)
02:43 (engine revving)
02:50 (upbeat music)
02:53 The 570S shares more than just its naming scheme
02:59 with its siblings.
03:00 Most of this car is what I call carryover,
03:03 but that's not a bad thing
03:04 when you're talking about a McLaren.
03:06 The V8 comes from the more expensive cars, too.
03:08 It's that same old 3.8 liter flat-plane crank V8,
03:12 and even though McLaren says 30% of the parts are new,
03:15 the turbos carry over, and so does the port injection,
03:19 and that means every time you hit the gas,
03:21 the 1980s calls and asks for its turbo lag back.
03:26 Like its more expensive brothers,
03:29 the 570S's structure is made entirely out of carbon fiber.
03:33 Its body is made out of expensive aluminum
03:35 instead of outrageously expensive carbon,
03:38 and its suspension, whereas the more expensive McLarens
03:41 use a series of interlinked hydraulic lines,
03:44 this one is entirely conventional.
03:45 Double wishbones, adaptive dampers,
03:47 and good old-fashioned anti-roll bars.
03:49 And you notice that right away in the way this car rides.
03:53 Most McLarens ride like Rolls-Royces.
03:56 This thing is stiff, and not like pee blood
03:59 for a week stiff, but sports car stiff.
04:01 It rides like a sports car.
04:03 It steers like a sports car, too,
04:04 which is something that can't be said
04:06 about most of this car's competition.
04:08 I feel everything happening at the front wheel.
04:11 I feel that understeer before it even happens,
04:14 and that's something that can make this car fun
04:16 at like 30 miles an hour.
04:18 (engine revving)
04:21 Not that you should ever drive a McLaren
04:23 at 30 miles an hour.
04:24 (upbeat music)
04:27 And the reason for all of that steering goodness?
04:39 Well, it's in this little bottle.
04:40 See, that's power steering fluid.
04:42 The 570S has hydraulic power steering.
04:45 This is a dying technology, not because it's not good,
04:48 but because a couple of bean counters have figured out
04:50 that it's cheaper to tune electric power steering.
04:53 Too bad it ruins cars.
04:54 Porsche, I'm talking to you.
04:56 And speaking of Porsche, this carbon tub McLaren
05:02 weighs something like 300 pounds less
05:04 than a 911 Turbo S, and 420 pounds less than an Audi R8.
05:09 And where that lightweight really makes a difference
05:11 is when Randy Popes gets in
05:13 to set a hot lap on a racetrack.
05:15 (engine revving)
05:18 Wow, that thing sounds so much better than the 650.
05:40 McLaren says this has a different exhaust on it.
05:42 That's got to account for it 'cause it's the same engine,
05:44 but the 570 sounds so much more musical
05:46 than the other McLarens.
05:48 (engine revving)
05:51 (engine revving)
05:53 (engine revving)
05:56 (engine revving)
05:59 (engine revving)
06:02 (engine revving)
06:04 (engine revving)
06:32 Oh, wheel spin over the crest.
06:35 He's gonna come in and complain about that.
06:37 (engine revving)
06:40 I don't know how he does 120 miles an hour
06:55 in the middle of that corner
06:55 on a car that loves to be sideways.
06:57 (engine revving)
07:00 Out, and in the dirt, of course.
07:04 (engine revving)
07:06 He's so fast, so fast.
07:09 Wow.
07:11 (engine revving)
07:14 (engine revving)
07:28 Woo, yeah.
07:30 - Fast, isn't it?
07:31 - That car is bloody fast.
07:33 - Bleeding fast.
07:34 - Bleeding fast and loose.
07:36 Fast and loose.
07:37 - Like your women.
07:38 - Reminds me of my younger years.
07:39 (laughing)
07:41 - No, but seriously, interesting observation.
07:45 I think the car is 180 degrees different on the track
07:47 compared to the street.
07:48 'Cause on the street, it understeered a bit.
07:51 It was so predictable.
07:52 It was so easy.
07:53 That steering made you trust it completely.
07:56 And then I got it out on track
07:57 and I didn't entirely trust it.
08:00 - Wow, Jason, when I was going into turn eight
08:02 at 140 miles an hour, I wanted my mommy.
08:05 (laughing)
08:07 The car has entry oversteer, entry oversteer.
08:09 The power settles it.
08:11 - Right, and I saw you having a bit of a hard time
08:14 and I thought, okay, good, it's not me.
08:16 This isn't typical McLaren, though.
08:17 - Well, it's the same personality as a 650
08:21 and even the MP4-12C, but more of it.
08:25 Way more, way more.
08:26 Those cars were more controllable.
08:28 This thing is more alive in the entry phase.
08:31 I'm constantly counter-steering
08:33 when I'm aiming for the apex.
08:34 - So I have a slight confession to make.
08:36 You know how Ferrari is always, don't test our cars,
08:38 don't track our cars, they're always scared about everything?
08:40 McLaren's the other way, they're just super cool.
08:42 So I got an email from them last week
08:44 and they're like, oh, by the way, this isn't a real car.
08:46 It's a validation prototype, blah, blah, blah.
08:48 And it's not finished
08:49 and we really don't think it's gonna be accurate.
08:52 So just don't jump it.
08:53 (laughing)
08:54 'Cause we're afraid it's gonna fall apart when it lands.
08:56 But they trust the car.
08:57 I'm not entirely convinced
08:58 this is the production representative, right?
09:01 I don't think it's gonna be quite that loose.
09:03 - Yeah, I tend to agree because it's a lot off power.
09:06 It's like two cars.
09:07 It's off power and kind of loose entering the corner.
09:10 When you go to throttle, it settles right down,
09:12 it'll even understeer.
09:14 - It was funny, I thought on the street drive,
09:16 okay, the brakes initial bite, not really all that good.
09:20 On track, the brakes were great.
09:21 Great, good initial bite, lot of effort, right?
09:24 - Takes a lot of effort, but I think on track,
09:25 I'm in that mode.
09:26 - Right, doesn't matter.
09:27 - Like full throttle, brake, you know?
09:30 It takes a lot of effort.
09:31 - And then I was also worried
09:32 how the steering is so super communicative on the road
09:35 that I thought maybe it's gonna be too much on the track
09:37 or maybe it'll fall apart.
09:39 Nope.
09:39 - No, the steering's wonderful.
09:41 And I think part of the reason
09:42 is that carbon fiber tub is so rigid.
09:45 It makes a great platform for good handling.
09:48 I love the steering.
09:49 - I love the steering.
09:49 It's my favorite part of the car.
09:51 I'm going back out, bye.
09:53 See you old man.
09:54 Toodles.
09:55 (car honks)
09:57 Mother.
09:58 (car engine roars)
10:01 No respect.
10:02 No respect at all.
10:04 (car engine roars)
10:07 (car wheels clatter)
10:10 (car engine roars)
10:17 This McLaren looks like a super car,
10:20 but it's actually a sports car.
10:22 The company wanted to make a car
10:24 that concentrates more on the driving experience.
10:26 I mean, 90 miles an hour in a straight line on track,
10:29 look at that steering wheel dance around.
10:31 It's actually automotive sign language for I love you.
10:35 And I love you.
10:37 I love sports cars.
10:38 Sports cars are there for the experience.
10:40 This car is so much fun below the limit,
10:43 on the road, sitting in traffic.
10:46 It's just an epic amount of smile.
10:48 And that's what ultimately is the most important thing
10:51 when you're spending $180,000 on a car.
10:54 Smile, smile.
10:56 Here, let's smile.
10:58 Woo!
10:58 (car engine roars)
11:00 Yeah, we're loose.
11:02 (laughs)
11:04 (car engine roars)
11:07 Forget about the lap times.
11:09 Forget about the zero to 60.
11:11 This is what it's all about.
11:13 (car engine roars)
11:16 (car engine roars)
11:21 (car engine roars)
11:24 There you are.
11:29 Oh, we missed you so much.
11:30 Say hi to the boys.
11:32 (car horn honks)
11:33 Don't do that again.
11:34 You scared me.
11:35 (car engine roars)
11:38 (upbeat music)
11:40 (upbeat music)
11:43 (upbeat music)
11:45 (upbeat music)
11:48 (upbeat music)
11:51 (upbeat music)
11:53 (upbeat music)
11:56 (upbeat music)
11:59 (upbeat music)
12:01 (upbeat music)
12:04 (gunshot)