Here’s some blue-sky thinking... a new supercar that takes real life into account
What you want is a specialist. If a business has a focus, you trust it. Dine at a restaurant with a long rambling menu and you’re being a fool to yourself. Perhaps, somewhere in the world, the kitchen does exist that simultaneously excels at Napolese, Gascon, Sichuan, Bengali and Mexican cooking. But far more likely at a place with too many options, the arrival of your main course will be heralded by the ping of a microwave.
There are, metaphorically speaking, no microwaves at McLaren. (Only autoclaves.) McLaren’s specialism is the carbon-tubbed, V8-engined, two-seat supercar. It does it brilliantly. But does the world congratulate Woking for that strategy? No, it wants a one-stop-shop, endlessly pestering them for a front-engined car, or a four-seater, or a bloody SUV.
And, to be fair, you can get a little lost down the McLaren supercar rabbit-hole. So many variations, and not a vast difference between many of the sub-species. That happened with the 570GT, which was claimed to be a long-distance everyday-use version of the 570S, but was hardly any different beyond the more accessible boot. Basically you can have your McLaren hot (570/600 series), boiling (720) or plasma (Senna).
The Speedtail indicates the beginnings of diversity. Having not driven it, we don’t how the notion of a ‘hyper GT’ will actually feel in practice. But there’s real differentiation in the centre-driver three-seat package and in the styling – a very speedy tail indeed.
And now here’s another McLaren for a fresh purpose. A car to be used more often, or driven for longer distances. More convenient and comfortable than the others. The McLaren GT. Bet you didn’t see that name coming, did you?
This story is from the June 2019 edition of BBC TopGear India.
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This story is from the June 2019 edition of BBC TopGear India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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