This Is The Most Important McLaren In Decades

This is the McLaren 570S, and despite the smaller number in the name, it's largely more important than the 650S and the nearly 1,000 hp P1 hybrid. You see, unlike those (justly) revered supercars, the 570S is priced down in a (more) affordable range, to compete directly with the likes of Porsche. 

McLaren has accomplished a ton of amazing things over the years, but you'd have to go all the way back to the McLaren F1—the first McLaren supercar—to find a road-going McLaren as utterly important to the company's future as this.

Why's the 570S smiling so much? For starters, "570" represents the car's power in European (it translates to 562 hp), which isn't exactly shabby, especially when the rival Porsche 911 Turbo's putting down a mere 520 hp.

The car is anchored around a carbon fiber tub that's supremely rigid and light enough to be carried by one person. Under that is the now familiar twin-turbo V8 that McLaren developed entirely in-house.

Although this is a brand-new car, it does share quite a few design elements with its much more expensive McLaren siblings. But that goofy grin is all its own.

The suspension is something to write home about. Each corner of the car is pneumatically adjusted every couple thousandths of a second to ensure the best possible grip.

Inside, it's a significantly less-carbonized version of the 650S, but one that'll make the car better to live with on a daily basis than nearly any other supercar out there. Not only is the seven speed dual clutch transmission from the 650S standard, but the McLaren familial lines ensure outstanding visibility; something you definitely want in a six-figure car.

The 570S is the final piece of a three-part plan that McLaren's implementing to compete at all levels of the supercar spectrum. While the P1 and its derivatives sit at the top alongside the LaFerraris and Porsche 918s of the world, and the 650S lineup goes toe-to-toe with the likes of the Ferrari 488 GTB, the 570S slots in closer to $185,000, which isn't cheap but is certainly on point in the most bang for your buck game.

McLaren's planning to ramp up its production efforts pretty heavily, finally fulfilling the promise of the state-of-the-art production center it built. Assuming the company is able to meet demand, this car represents its first realistic chance at evolving from a boutique car company to a legitimately big-time supercar manufacturer on a scale approaching Ferrari.

In other words, it's game on.


Aaron Miller is the Rides editor for Supercompressor, and can be found on Twitter. He absolutely cannot wait to drive the 570S.