The Practical Supercar: A Review of the McLaren 570 GT

When it comes to supercars, most people think of sleek, high-performance vehicles that are designed for speed and agility on the track. However, what if I told you that there's a supercar that defies convention and is actually practical enough to be considered a daily driver? Enter the McLaren 570 GT, which is exactly that - a car that checks all the boxes of a supercar but also offers the comfort and practicality of a hatchback.

The name "practical supercar" might sound like an oxymoron, but trust me when I say that the 570 GT walks the fine line between these two concepts with ease. This car is technically a hatchback, with a leather-lined storage area behind the driver's seat and a glass hatch that opens at about 45 degrees. While this might not appeal to everyone who thinks of supercars as sleek, muscular vehicles, it actually adds to the practicality of this car. With its spacious interior and versatile cargo area, you can easily imagine yourself using the 570 GT for daily errands or road trips.

But what really sets the 570 GT apart is its incredible performance. Under the hood lies a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine that produces an impressive 562 horsepower - similar to the one found in the McLaren P1, but detuned slightly. This powerplant propels the car from zero to 60 in just 3.4 seconds and enables it to reach a top speed of 204 mph. The transmission is also highly responsive, with three different settings that allow you to dial in the level of aggression to your liking. Whether you're cruising around town or tearing up the track, the 570 GT's performance is always on point.

One of the things that really impressed me about this car was its handling and chassis dynamics. The 570 GT has a very sharp, neutral character that makes it an absolute blast to drive on the track - it's almost as if you're driving a purpose-built racing machine. However, I also appreciated the refined and comfortable nature of the car when cruising around town or carrying passengers. It's clear that McLaren has aimed to balance the two extremes, creating a supercar that's both agile and civilized.

As you'd expect from a McLaren, the 570 GT is also a stunner on the outside. The sleek, aerodynamic design features prominent rear air intakes that cool the engine and brakes, as well as a distinctive styling element that runs from the front wheel to the side of the car. When you open up the doors, you're greeted by carbon-fiber accents and other premium materials that give the interior a high-end feel.

The interior itself is also worth noting - it's spacious, well-appointed, and features a range of niceties such as an eight-speaker Bowers & Wilkins stereo system. One notable omission, however, is the infotainment system, which feels a bit bare-bones compared to some other supercars on the market. Additionally, you can opt for a panoramic glass roof that lets in plenty of natural light and adds a sense of airiness to the cabin.

As I spent more time with the 570 GT, it became clear that this car is very much about finding a balance between performance and practicality. It's not just a high-performance machine for track days; it's also a daily driver that can handle everything from commuting to road trips with ease. Of course, this means that it's not quite as visceral or thrilling as some other supercars - there's no exhaust popping in your ears, no tire squeal, and so on. But at the same time, I think this lack of drama is actually part of its appeal.

In terms of comparison to other cars like the Audi R8, which also tries to offer a balance between performance and practicality, the 570 GT seems a bit more successful in this regard. The Audi has more technologies that allow you to switch from comfort mode to track mode, while the McLaren is more straightforward - but ultimately, I think both approaches have their merits.

When it comes down to it, if you're looking for a daily driver supercar that can also handle serious performance, the 570 GT is definitely worth considering. It's not perfect, of course - there are some areas where it feels less refined or comfortable than other cars in its class. But overall, I think McLaren has struck gold with this model, and it's a car that will appeal to anyone who wants a supercar that can also handle everyday driving duties.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ennot all supercars are the same McLaren calls this car the 570 GT the practical supercar but how practical kind of supercar really be technically this car is a hatchback there's a leather line storage area right behind me with a glass hatch that opens at about 45 degrees so if your wife or your girlfriend asks you to go out and buy a practical hatchback and you show up in this thing technically you're not going to be live if you look at MacLaren's website and you hear what they're saying about entry-level and practical and you get in this car and you've done it all that stuff goes out the window because this is 100% a supercar first despite the hatch despite the softer suspension despite the noise isolation this is definitely a suit you sitting behind me right now is a 3.8 liter twin turbo v8 it's a very similar engine to the one you'll find in the McLaren p1 only it's been detuned slightly and there aren't any electric motors helping it out we still get 562 horsepower which is a lot it takes a hair - come on Gus the turbos but as you can see it's still plenty potent your zero to 60 time is three point four seconds and that's a hair slower than the 570s which does in at about 3.1 0 to 124 is less than 10 seconds and your top speed is 204 five seventy GT has three different settings there's normal there sport and there's track and what those settings do is they change the stiffness of the dampers they change the steering quickness they change how aggressive the transmission is when you're really getting on it so as you dial up the settings and you can dial the engine and transmission separately from the suspension you're going to get a more hardcore supercar experience when I first got this car outside of our office people just came out of the woodwork to look at it because this is clearly a very striking beautiful vehicle if you look on the outside you have the rear air intakes that are cooling down the engine and brakes and they start from the very front wheel and they just peel all the way down to the side of the car and the design on the outside is really just fantastic and it carries over into the interior as well we have a couple options in this car you'll see the carbon-fiber accents on the steering wheel on the infotainment system and around the gear selectors and the doors as well speaking of the infotainment system it has a nice look to it it does leave a little bit to be desired there's not a whole lot going on here this car also has the optional eight speaker Bowers and Wilkins stereo one other difference between the 570 and this is this has this panoramic glass roof which is very nice let's in a lot of light compared to other supercars I've driven and the performance of this car is without a doubt near the top of the heap I mean entry-level definitely does not describe the performance of the 570 GT especially when you look at the specs of the acceleration the braking and things like that it's very sharp it's very neutral it's very tail happy which people definitely like but it's not quite as visceral as some of the others you know there's no there's no exhaust popping in your ears there's not a lot of tire squeal it's very refined and I guess that really comes in line with the character but this car is supposed to be it's supposed to be the practical daily driver option if you know you're looking for a daily driver supercar this car kind of blurs the lines or at least it tries to blur the lines between supercar and GT car I mean the name tells you that right there but it's probably 70/30 supercar 30 grand tour and I'm being pretty generous there it's probably closer to 8020 I look at cars like the Audi r8 and I think they do the duality a little bit better they have they have more technologies that allow you to switch from a true comfort mode to a true track mode where this car is basically like three track modes one of them is just softer than the other and then there's one in the middle that being said if you were to put this up against an Audi r8 on a race track I would definitely put my money on this car it just feels more nimble it feels lighter and has that classic rear drive character to it we can really flip the back end out whereas the Audi is definitely more comfortable I think this this car is more linear and it just feels start work McLaren understands that most people don't drive supercars to work every day but with the 570 GT you actually can it has all the performance of an entry-level supercar that you would possibly want yet it remains refined and civil enough to use it in any conditionnot all supercars are the same McLaren calls this car the 570 GT the practical supercar but how practical kind of supercar really be technically this car is a hatchback there's a leather line storage area right behind me with a glass hatch that opens at about 45 degrees so if your wife or your girlfriend asks you to go out and buy a practical hatchback and you show up in this thing technically you're not going to be live if you look at MacLaren's website and you hear what they're saying about entry-level and practical and you get in this car and you've done it all that stuff goes out the window because this is 100% a supercar first despite the hatch despite the softer suspension despite the noise isolation this is definitely a suit you sitting behind me right now is a 3.8 liter twin turbo v8 it's a very similar engine to the one you'll find in the McLaren p1 only it's been detuned slightly and there aren't any electric motors helping it out we still get 562 horsepower which is a lot it takes a hair - come on Gus the turbos but as you can see it's still plenty potent your zero to 60 time is three point four seconds and that's a hair slower than the 570s which does in at about 3.1 0 to 124 is less than 10 seconds and your top speed is 204 five seventy GT has three different settings there's normal there sport and there's track and what those settings do is they change the stiffness of the dampers they change the steering quickness they change how aggressive the transmission is when you're really getting on it so as you dial up the settings and you can dial the engine and transmission separately from the suspension you're going to get a more hardcore supercar experience when I first got this car outside of our office people just came out of the woodwork to look at it because this is clearly a very striking beautiful vehicle if you look on the outside you have the rear air intakes that are cooling down the engine and brakes and they start from the very front wheel and they just peel all the way down to the side of the car and the design on the outside is really just fantastic and it carries over into the interior as well we have a couple options in this car you'll see the carbon-fiber accents on the steering wheel on the infotainment system and around the gear selectors and the doors as well speaking of the infotainment system it has a nice look to it it does leave a little bit to be desired there's not a whole lot going on here this car also has the optional eight speaker Bowers and Wilkins stereo one other difference between the 570 and this is this has this panoramic glass roof which is very nice let's in a lot of light compared to other supercars I've driven and the performance of this car is without a doubt near the top of the heap I mean entry-level definitely does not describe the performance of the 570 GT especially when you look at the specs of the acceleration the braking and things like that it's very sharp it's very neutral it's very tail happy which people definitely like but it's not quite as visceral as some of the others you know there's no there's no exhaust popping in your ears there's not a lot of tire squeal it's very refined and I guess that really comes in line with the character but this car is supposed to be it's supposed to be the practical daily driver option if you know you're looking for a daily driver supercar this car kind of blurs the lines or at least it tries to blur the lines between supercar and GT car I mean the name tells you that right there but it's probably 70/30 supercar 30 grand tour and I'm being pretty generous there it's probably closer to 8020 I look at cars like the Audi r8 and I think they do the duality a little bit better they have they have more technologies that allow you to switch from a true comfort mode to a true track mode where this car is basically like three track modes one of them is just softer than the other and then there's one in the middle that being said if you were to put this up against an Audi r8 on a race track I would definitely put my money on this car it just feels more nimble it feels lighter and has that classic rear drive character to it we can really flip the back end out whereas the Audi is definitely more comfortable I think this this car is more linear and it just feels start work McLaren understands that most people don't drive supercars to work every day but with the 570 GT you actually can it has all the performance of an entry-level supercar that you would possibly want yet it remains refined and civil enough to use it in any condition\n"