62 MAY 2020 ~ CAR AND DRIVER
Maybe you’d argue for the F1, the street-legal V- 1 2-powered beast of the
1990 s that anyone with more than a quarter brain knows is the best road
PNRcRObVYa.[QV[PVQR[aNYYfV[4A?S_ZaUR3 a\X¼_a\cR_NYYV[ the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. Problem is, even you, a mere millionaire, PN[μaNß\_QN[f\SaU\RZNaR_]VRPR
Nope, you’re left picking from McLaren’s current lineup, although
that doesn’t make the dilemma much easier to sort. McLaren is a small
enterprise, so its roadgoing gene pool is shallow. Every car it’s built since
± &QVßR_R[aZ\QRY±PN[ORQRPVORQNN]_a`PNb]R_PN_ or hypercar. Track capability is a given. And with just one transmission, \[RR[TV[RSNZVYfN[QNSRdcN_VNaV\[[VaPN_O\[¼OR_abO:P9N_R[ has produced a clan of near identical siblings. Even the spec sheets look similar between the $ 195 , 00 570S and the $1.7 million Elva. As quiet acknowledgment that they can build only so many perform- ance cars, the Brits in Woking have broken form with their new GT. Those two letters tell the story. This grand tourer is meant to be a softer, more liv- able McLaren. Its sleek, slightly antiseptic styling suggests that sometimes it’s enough to speak P\[¼QR[aYf_NaUR_aUN[U\ba
To see if this highly technical,
racing-obsessed brand could suc-
cessfully transition to something
more mellow, we took the GT for a
test drive with one of the compa-
ny’s hardcore LT track cars in tow.
The 600 LT, all crazy wing
N[Q½NZO\fN[aNR_\S\VYUN_R a lot of its DNA with the GT. The same control-arm suspension geometry is used on both vehicles. The windshield and the thick A-pillars are common, too. The door skins are QVßR_R[aObaaURQ\\_]R[dVaUaURNZR_RNPUS\_ aURXf`aR[aNaV\b[R`` 6[VQR RNPU PN_f\bμYY ¼[Q N
seven-speed dual-clutch automatic that doesn’t have a
P on the push-button shifter. And both are rear-drive,
because all-wheel drive is for those timid dilettantes
who buy Lamborghinis and Audis.
IT’S A DILEMMA.
THE TRULY DESIRABLE McLAREN
IS THE M8B THAT BRUCE McLAREN
HIMSELF USED IN 1969 TO SLAUGHTER
THAT YEAR’S CAN-AM SEASON.
OR IT’S THE MP4/4 IN WHICH AYRTON
SENNA EARNED HIS FIRST FORMULA 1
CHAMPIONSHIP, IN 1988.
The GT looks about as
subtle as a mid-engine
car can. Below: The
600LT can flame-
broil its own wing.
The GT can bake up
to 15 cubic feet of
Ferragamo loafers.Also, these two McLarens are priced
within a Honda Accord EX-L of each
other. The 2019 600 LT coupe starts at
$2 4 2, 500 and the 2020 GT, at $2 13 , 19 5.
Extravagant options, including $ 1 8, 310
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a $ 6000 electrochromic glass roof on
the GT, pushed our as-driven prices to
$2 7 9,2 70 and $2 56 , 12 5.
Here’s where things get a little sticky.
The 600 LT that joined a select group
of Car and Driver hangers-on for this
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a 2019 coupe. We enjoyed driving it, but
we couldn’t test it. So we’re using the
numbers we generated in the roughly
100 -pound-heavier Spider we drove last
year. Blame the logistics. We tested the 2020 GT this time.
There’s nothing civilized about the 600 LT. It doesn’t so
much start as erupt. The exhaust exits from the top of the
R[TV[RP\cR_V[S_\[a\SaUR¼eRQdV[TN[QV`U\aR[\bTUa\
create visible distortion waves in the air. It’s as if the car were
powered by an active volcano.
The boiling magma of this strained metaphor is produced
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