Sometimes it can be extremely difficult for us critics to work out exactly what goes through the minds of car-company executives; what might seem obvious to you or me is obviously lost on the people who conceptualise, design and engineer new products. A case in point is McLaren. Just what is it that they hope to achieve with its "all-new" Sports Series?
Obviously the answer to that question is that it wants to increase its market share by poaching customers who might be seriously considering buying a Porsche 911 Turbo S, an Audi R8 V10 or even, perhaps, a Bentley Continental GT. And, on the face of it, McLaren’s new baby, the imaginatively monikered 570S, ticks all the right boxes when it comes to temptation, but that could be a problem for its maker – an “own goal”, if you like.
The Sports Series, on paper at least, is a truly brilliant piece of kit. I’m at the New York International Auto Show, on now until April 12, to see it unveiled to media for the first time. I was shown studio photographs of it one a week ago and was underwhelmed – it looked like another mishmash of the P1 hypercar – but in the metal, it’s utterly stunning. So why, when this new model will retail for approximately Dh300,000 less than the 650S, would anyone go for its bigger brother? The 570S will crack 330kph and hit 100kph in about three seconds – surely quick enough for all but the criminally insane; it’s better looking (by far, to these eyes); it’s formed using a carbon-fibre monocoque “tub” (although aluminium is used for the majority of the body panels); and it sounds better, too.
If I was fortunate enough to be in the position to drop the best part of Dh900,000 on any new car, from what I’ve so far seen, this would be odds-on favourite – and I haven’t even sat in it yet, never mind driven it. It’s being marketed as a sports car, yet I think this is little more than a cynical attempt to put some distance between it and the 650S, which McLaren refers to as part of its Super Series. The 570S is pure supercar material, and I doubt that anyone not employed by its maker would disagree, but Jolyon Nash, McLaren’s affable sales and marketing director, thinks differently. He would, though, wouldn’t he?
I tell him that, when I think “sports car”, I’m immediately calling to mind cars such as the Porsche Cayman or Boxster, the Lotus Exige or the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and he does agree that, in recent years, the dividing lines between the motoring genres have become rather blurred.
“For us,” he says, “it’s about bringing supercar characteristics into the sports-car market. What we would categorise [as sports cars] would be the Audi R8, AMG GT, 911 Turbo and Turbo S. The industry, though, categorises in many different ways.”
He’s right, because things have greatly changed in recent times. While supercars occupied the top of the automotive food chain 15 or 20 years ago, now we have hypercars and a whole host of other derivatives that offer performance that, back then, seemed impossible for production road cars.
The 570S weighs, in its lightest form, a smidgen more than 1,300 kilograms, so it should certainly offer a remarkable experience to its fortunate occupants, but Nash doesn’t think it will negatively impact on the more expensive and more technically advanced 650S, which replaced the MP4-12C a year ago. “That car offers active aero, a more sophisticated suspension system and chassis control – it’s the best you can get in that segment and that, for some, is what matters.”
Just a month from now, there will be another derivative joining the Sports Series: the 540C, which will offer slightly less power (540hp as opposed to 570hp, as the nomenclature suggests) and a lesser specification, along with a lower price point – again, opening up McLaren to a previously unreachable section of the marketplace.
Nash says that McLaren made it into the black last year, which is staggering for a company that only makes a relatively tiny number of expensive luxury cars. What, though, does he attribute this to? Is it the obvious connection to Formula One? “I think it’s fair to say that F1 opens the conversation with a lot of our customers,” he admits. “But actually driving the 650S seals the deal.”
Certainly the brand has enjoyed spectacular success in the UAE. Pay a visit to the McLaren showroom in Dubai, which is located across the road from the entrance to the Burj Khalifa’s Armani Hotel, and ordinarily you’ll find a collection of eight or nine cars, all with “sold” stickers on their windscreens. Get to experience the sheer power, turn of speed and usability of the 650S and its 12C forebear, and it isn’t difficult to understand why. They’re utterly brilliant pieces of automotive engineering and as exclusive as it gets.
But what of the other worry being bandied about by the press after the 570S’s unveiling – that of its styling being too close for comfort to its big brother? Enter, stage left, Rob Melville, McLaren’s chief designer. Melville is a talkative Yorkshireman – and, at 37 years of age, is living what he calls a “dream”.
“As a kid, I used to draw all the time – anything from nature. I’d go down to the river and sit and sketch the things around about me: stones, water, things that were natural.” After spending many years studying design, he commenced his career at what’s now Jaguar Land Rover, before moving on to General Motors’ UK Advanced Design division.
“I started at McLaren in 2009,” he says, “and the first project I was involved with was the P1 [which was launched to universal praise a year ago and quickly sold out]. As you can imagine, for me, as someone who has been sketching since a very early age, this is a dream come true.”
He goes on to mention the importance of McLaren having what he calls “a family look”, and this is what I want to pick him up on, because, in the eyes of many people I’ve spoken to, the cars are too close in their designs, both inside and out. Isn’t there, I ask, a danger that we’ll get a bit bored? That we’ll all know what to expect?
“You have to remember that the laws of aerodynamics don’t change,” he offers by way of an excuse. “And the way the air flows over a car sets us up straight away for a certain look. I think what we’ve achieved with the 570S, though, is a decent evolution, and everything looks just that bit tighter thanks to the different ways this and the 650S are designed underneath. We had a bit more freedom with this car.”
It shows, too, and when I get to see the new model sharing stand space with its elder sibling, the differences between the two are more than obvious. With a more focused, slightly narrower nose section, the shape of the nose section around the headlamps is better resolved. With a completely different side design and a rear that’s reminiscent of the mighty P1, there probably are enough differences between the two models to satisfy the expectations of buyers of either.
From what, I ask, does he and his colleagues take inspiration from when it comes to design? Many companies now look to the worlds of fashion, aviation, architecture, entertainment and a whole host of other spheres that constantly change with the times. “For us,” he says, “it’s mostly nature. We’re bound by natural laws we cannot change, and we need to seek maximum efficiency by working within those laws. It’s a very technical approach.”
He goes on to point out the fundamental differences between “style” and “design”, particularly in relation to the way McLaren’s interior space is utilised. “It’s all about making the space more usable for the driver – design is about overcoming problems, working on solutions. Think about the [Lockheed] SR-71 plane – to me the most beautiful aircraft there ever has been. Every one of its perfect lines can justify its existence on a technical level, and our job is to get McLaren to that point, as closely as possible.”
I could sit and chat with this man about his work for hours, but he has other journalists to talk to and I have other cars to see. Heading through the single exhibition hall to check out what else is causing excitement, I discover a rather motley assortment, but there’s still some spectacular and very important new metal (as well as carbon fibre) on display.
On the Jaguar stand is its all-new XF – and very tasty it is, too. To its right is the newly announced Range Rover SV Autobiography, which is, to be honest, quite vulgar, and as Land Rover’s design chief Gerry McGovern, keeps reiterating, “rather expensive”. This is without a doubt part of a ploy to reposition Range Rover as a more premium product, before Bentley’s SUV comes along.
Porsche stunned everyone with its gorgeous Boxster Spyder, Lincoln got busy enraging Bentley with its “copycat” Continental (it’s rather splendid, but I can see Bentley’s point) and the track-only Aston Martin Vulcan, which looks utterly beguiling in real life, took centre stage on its maker’s stand.
But as I battle through the throngs of sweaty hacks, back towards the McLaren stand, it’s entirely obvious that the 570S is the star of the show. I’m a few minutes late for the press conference and official unveiling, and the stand is packed beyond capacity with journalists, film crews, photographers, bloggers and television presenters. Everyone seems to be in agreement: it has “winner” written all over it.
Despite the naysayers, McLaren looks like it’ll be here for a while yet; lest we forget, it’s still just getting into its stride. I can’t wait to see what it comes up with next.
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