Ferocious Pace, Sharp handling, F1 racing pedigree
Poor Infotainment system, Limited Cabin Utility
When I was handed the keys to this striking silver arrow in Dubai, the only question I wanted to answer was, has McLaren delivered a truly a new approach to a road-trippin’ gran tourer or whether it’s ‘just’ another McLaren supercar draped in marketing spin. Could it be a new unique take than the established Aston Martin and Bentley Grand Tourers, or just a more bum-corseting supercar?
The McLaren GT faces off against the Bentley Continental GT, the Aston Martin DB11 and the Ferrari Roma, all of which are more spacious, luxurious and importantly front engine rear wheel drive packaging designs, that allows for more versatility demanded by a GT concept. Compared to its own specialised McLaren stablemates, the McLaren GT is an easier-to-live-with supercar designed for crossing continents in comfort, a more jack-of-all-trades.
But with its mid-engined layout, the cabin is too cramped, not so much for people but for objects. And the load space, although big and spread out, demands you pack it thoughtfully. In the end then this is a compromised GT. But so are its immediate rivals and that’s why rich people are choosing Super SUV’s today for cross country hauls with their increased space and practicality.
But the McLaren GT does tick a lot of boxes. It’s seriously fast, comfortable, relatively quiet at speed and practical enough. The handling prowess will put some supercars to shame and even out on track it excels with thrills thanks to its rear wheel rear engine combination. We just wish McLaren had done more to distinguish the GT from the rest of the range. It’s a great car, but it could have been a bit more special.
