Topic: Test Drive: 2016 McLaren 570S

[evil_twin]

If I was shopping in this range I'd probably already have a stick-shift 911 GTS so the Turbo would be a bit superfluous.

Well this is also true.  I can't really imagine buying anything beyond a 911 GTS either.   And maybe that's the point.  If you're actually intent on dropping $250k on a modern sports car, the 'racecar-ness' of the McLaren is maybe the ticket.

When my yet-to-be-started start-up goes public and I bank $300M on the IPO, I'll be spending my pennies on a Singer Porsche over any of these machines.

If you stopped spending all your money on armor stone perhaps you'd be able to upgrade to that GT350 rather than the GT.

There's a story here somewhere.

We're doing a fairly extensive landscape job at my house involving a comical amount of armor stone.   Paying for it will keep me in my WRX for 10 more years!

And yes, my parging needs some touching up!

[Fobroader]

If I was shopping in this range I'd probably already have a stick-shift 911 GTS so the Turbo would be a bit superfluous.

Well this is also true.  I can't really imagine buying anything beyond a 911 GTS either.   And maybe that's the point.  If you're actually intent on dropping $250k on a modern sports car, the 'racecar-ness' of the McLaren is maybe the ticket.

When my yet-to-be-started start-up goes public and I bank $300M on the IPO, I'll be spending my pennies on a Singer Porsche over any of these machines.

If you stopped spending all your money on armor stone perhaps you'd be able to upgrade to that GT350 rather than the GT.

There's a story here somewhere.

We're doing a fairly extensive landscape job at my house involving a comical amount of armor stone.   Paying for it will keep me in my WRX for 10 more years!

And yes, my parging needs some touching up!

[lebowski]

Peter, lol, you must have felt like such a rock star pulling your amp out of the McLaren's boot in front of that crowd - that would've been the highlight for me anyway - great pic, and serious power-move 

The MP4-12C was rather awkward looking but everything since - P1, 650, 675, 570 - looks awesome.

Personally I'd go for the slightly less hardcore 570GT model.

Beautiful spec  - that'd do it for me too. But realistically, if this were an "everyday" supercar that would only occasionally see track use, i'd need something with AWD, because i'm a civilian with no skills, and also because I'd like the greater anonymity, per Fob's post. 911 Turbo for me please...or 911 GTS 4 and some sweet Euro Delivery vacation time and driving events

[Brig]

Does it get better fuel economy than a Grand Caravan?

[valuator]

If it doesn't come equipped with Hercules tires, I don't want it.

[johngenx]

If I was one of the people that was buying one of the cars in this snack-bracket that isn't super-wealthy (like many owners around my parts) I'd opt for the 911 Turbo S ahead of the 570 100 times out of 100.  As much as I love the outrageous looks of the McLaren, the Porsche is just so much more car - it's faster, it's better at everything, it has real dealer support, and the build quality is fantastic. Porsche is one of the German companies were you actually do get more for your money as you go up in models in terms of quality.  The 911 Turbos are unburstable machines that can be driven at 10/10 and never break.

The 911 can drive in and out of most parking lots.  It can be driven on regular roads.  Only cars costing a million bucks or more are faster, and even at that, the difference is slight.

To me, the 570 screams "I have a really outrageous car and I'm rich and I'm wearing large-frame white sunglasses and a snap-back."  The 911 is "I'm the fastest kid on the block so I don't need to show off my muscle..."

[micha]

Add me to the list of "I'd rather a 911 Turbo S" at least as a daily.. if it's a fun/weekend car, I'd go GT3 all the way.

[ltruong]

Nice enough car and all, but at this price range, the 911 Turbo S would be my first choice, its a little more subdued......of course if I did hit the $60 mil, chrome wrapped Huracan with a MVEPSNT licence plate [emoji14] [emoji12]

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

If I  hit the $60 Mil,  I;d just buy all 3 and make sure I have enough hours in all of them to conclude my statement. a

[Jaeger]

^^^ This. I'm totally lolling at the notion that the buyers if such vehicles are constrained to a single car daily driver.

Is the Porsche a better daily driver? Almost certainly. Is that rather missing the point of an exotic sports car? Most definitely.  If a 911 were rolling to my left and a Maclaren were rolling to my right, I know which way my head would snap. Not left.

[johngenx]

I know a few people with cars in this bracket - and they're well off people, but not so rich that they just buy all that they want.  It's their one very, very expensive car purchase.  And like me, they want a "real" car that can handle being driven on real roads, maybe go on a cool summer road trip through the mountains, and can be driven out for dinner.  I wouldn't call it "daily driven" but "able to be used."

I love the McLaren.  Would I want one?  YES YES YES.  But, given the constraint of having to pick one car in the segment, for me, it would be the Porsche.

[Noto]

I'm just happy to live in a world where a great writer gives me something free to read on my bus ride to work, and then gives me a nostalgia moment in the last line.

[Jaeger]

I know a few people with cars in this bracket - and they're well off people, but not so rich that they just buy all that they want.  It's their one very, very expensive car purchase.  And like me, they want a "real" car that can handle being driven on real roads, maybe go on a cool summer road trip through the mountains, and can be driven out for dinner.  I wouldn't call it "daily driven" but "able to be used."

I love the McLaren.  Would I want one?  YES YES YES.  But, given the constraint of having to pick one car in the segment, for me, it would be the Porsche.

Let's leave our personal hypothetical choices aside for a moment - at least for me, both the Porsche and the McLaren are well beyond my means.

Can we agree on this:  if you can afford to buy a car that costs more than a quarter millon dollars, you can be described in unqualified terms as "rich"?  And you can probably also afford a very, very, VERY nice second or third car to meet any mundane "daily driver" duties, even if that second car doesn't also cost a quarter of a million dollars and possess the ability to tear the very fabric of time and space?

Of course some people - many people - will choose the Porsche.  Many are fans of the brand, grow up dreaming of owning one and would consider nothing else when they finally have the means.  The practical considerations you mentioned earlier regarding an established dealer network are also valid.  But I just don't accept that the thought process in this category and at this price point consistently runs to "I want a super-exotic hyper-performance sports car but I want it to be as practical as possible in performing daily driver chores."  Do you think all the Lamborghini drivers out there wish their cars were more practical as grocery getters and more accommodating on road trips?  I don't.  It's not why they bought the cars in the first place.  It's not why they wanted the cars in the first place.  I suspect the same holds true for those who crave a McLaren and can actually afford to buy one.

[OliverD]

^^^ This. I'm totally lolling at the notion that the buyers if such vehicles are constrained to a single car daily driver.

They may not be constrained from a financial standpoint but they could be constrained by practical factors like storage space.

[ChaosphereIX]

anyone buying in this segment is really well heeled, and this would not be their only car...but one of 3 or four.

So issues about living with every day etc. do not enter into the equation. They will have the RR or the Cayenne Turbo for that.

I echo Jaeger's sentiment: people get the Porsche because they want one, but by no means - at least to the couple of owners I know - do everyday usability and practicality enter into the equation. That is what the other 3 cars are for. The Mac is for fun, and driving to an expensive brunch with the wife on the weekend. Not for getting the groceries or pootling around in traffic on the daily commute 5 days a week.