After getting lots of flak with the MP4-12C, McLaren took it to heart to reverse the consensus on its supercars.
Its first foray as a fully-fledged automaker wasn’t lacking in power or handling; it was simply too anodyne and failed to stir the emotions.
Right now, McLaren Automotive has three distinct series on offer, and although everyone is salivating over the 675 LT or the P1 GTR, its entry-level model, the 570S, is far from a pushover.
It’s probably hybris to question the credentials of a $200k supercar with 570 PS (562 HP), or it could be that with manufacturers going all out in the power race, even 1,000 PS hypercars like the GTR are a good 500 horses down on machines such as the Bugatti Chiron or the Koenigsegg Regera.
Whatever the case, Woking wants us to know that the 570S is game for pushing it right up to and beyond its limits – on a track, of course, for it would be unwise to try this on a public road.
Chief tester Chris Goodwin explains that, while it is most definitely docile when you want it to, it also allows its driver to have lots of fun and burn as many sets of rear tires as he wants when he so wishes. Just put everything on Track, deactivate the ESP and… off you go. Having sampled the 570GT, which is supposedly a bit softer (though, in our humble opinion, prettier), we have no reason to doubt him. We bet the S can put a wide smile on your face so, even though it’s billed as an entry-level, we wouldn’t call it “baby”.