An Eruption of Imprudence - Volcano Orange McLaren 570GT
Discussion
I've always been into cars, both driving and reading about them. Since I started the latter when I was 11, I've long enjoyed reading about cars I can't afford - Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLaren F1, Lexus LFA, Carrera GT - unobtainable, but totally fascinating.
(Sorry, long post - skip to the end for photos)
In the real world my I had my RX-7 - beautiful, iconic (to this Initial D fanboy), quick and endlessly adjustable on the limit, I bought it in 2012 and didn't find anything I'd rather have instead, so it stayed. I never felt less than excited by driving it or less than fortunate to own it.
Then the start-up I work at was acquired, meaning a payout for us employees. Not millions, but enough to re-read old supercar road tests and ECOTYs in a different light.
At around the £100k mark, there was one car which stood head and shoulders above the others in critical opinion. The McLaren 570 combines a carbon tub (so light and stiff), a powerful twin-turbo V8, with a chassis by ex-Lotus engineers to make it not just ridiculously fast, but also fun and engaging. It's genuinely hard to find a journalist with anything less than wholehearted praise for the way these cars drive, and on paper it really did look like my perfect supercar - all the speed and drama of the real thing, but still reasonably compact, light and agile.
My quest stretched out for nine months, and although the identity of my 'grail' seemed clear from the start, I did consider lots of other options. I had a proper test drive in an A110 on good local roads. I like this car a lot in many ways and definitely rate it, but ultimately the EPAS steering lacked the weight and feel I want, coming from older cars like the RX-7. I scored a go in an E-Type thanks to a friendly Jag PR man. It's very cool to get to drive a historic machine like this... but as something to drive, I prefer my RX-7. I had a couple of quick goes in Caterhams on track at the Palmersport day, fun, but the basic balance and drive doesn't feel that much different from/ahead of... my RX-7. I also discarded many other options without trying them - Porsches don't excite me personally, 458s are a bit expensive, the C8 Vette seems a bit big and heavy, etc.
I then invested a bit of money to hire a 570S for a long weekend, on the basis that it would both help me make a good decision, and form a memorable experience either way. Jackpot! Finally a car that actually feels better to drive than my trusty rotary rocket - better steering weight and feel, as well as of course a bigger performance envelope. The concerns about it being too low and too wide to really get stuck in to a proper B-road also melted away with experience, you can place the car precisely with the steering and it's not that wide, 'only' 1.9m across the body.
It was indeed a memorable experience, especially belting up Sutton Bank and down Blakey Ridge near where my parents live. The memories sustained me through a frustrating process trying to get the RX-7 welded up and into a saleable condition, and then getting past the final hurdle, a garage door that was barely wide enough for the cars I had, and definitely too tight for a supercar. Bricks cut out and new power roller-door installed, I was ready to go shopping.
Having decided on a McLaren, I had a few more decisions to make. The 650S was tempting, they're a similar price to the Sports Series, the Spiders in particular are good value. However the extra complexity of the interlinked suspension, active aero and folding hardtop seemed a bit much to take on for my first supercar. Of the Sports Series, the 600LT was tempting but stretched the budget a bit far. 540Cs seemed to cost the same as the 570S but generally be all-round lower in spec. I was heading for a 570S, but ultimately my eyes fell for the sweeping fastback of the 570GT. They get a slightly softer suspension setup as standard, but as I was coming from a car that rolls a lot more anyway, I wasn't concerned - body roll isn't really a negative when you have proper double wishbones keeping the tyres perpendicular to the road, anyway. Conversely a little extra civility and luggage space might increase chances to tour with the car. I wanted the ceramic brakes, which meant a 2018-on car, but newer seemed worthwhile anyway. There's a general hope that McLaren quality improved through a build run, and also they only cover the common issue with paint corrosion for five years; so a car younger than that gives you a chance to see if any develops, get it resprayed for free at the five year mark, and then decide at that point if you want to keep the car or sell it on before it happens again.
Looking at the market, I noticed a preponderance of white cars, followed by other monochrome non-colours. I'd put up with three black cars in a row because they were old JDM models and you take what you can get, but this was a special purchase with no deadline, so no need to compromise. I assembled my own gallery of examples of different McLaren paint colours. For those who don't know, McLaren do an astonishing array of colours, something like half a dozen different oranges for example. Just when you think you've 'got them all' you discover something new - blues Curacao, Fistral, Mauvine, Cerulean, Vega, Paris and Ludus, just to name a few - and yes, there are Sports Series cars out there wearing all of those. Ron Dennis may have been known for insisting his Technical Centre was rendered in fifty shades of grey, but the Automotive side is much brighter. I decided on a shortlist of basically all the bright, metallic colours.
I went to see a Vega Blue car on 31k miles, high for these cars. It was ok, but had a few issues, one being a cracked door hinge. I also decided the blue was a bit 'cold' for me, although that might just have been the January light! I then saw a Volcano Orange car at Romans St Albans, this was more like it, near perfect condition, and just loved the colour. I offered £102k against £105k asking, they said no, then called back the next evening and said actually yes. I got the car inspected at McLaren Hatfield, which I thought would basically ensure the car was all good and eliminate the risk of buying from an independent. In fact it wasn't quite as clear-cut as all that and they messed me around a bit. Fortunately Romans were helpful and pro-active in getting issues sorted, and the handful of points raised got ticked off one way and another.
Finally I picked the car up from St Albans on Wednesday. Driving straight back to Cambridge would take about an hour, but I decided it would be more fun to take a detour up the well-known B660. Now to be honest I think this route is over-rated, with more time trundling through villages than squirting between them, but it did give me a chance to enjoy just how cleanly and incisively the car slices through corners. It also showed that the car copes with B-roads fine, no grounding and not too wide.
Then last night I had to take the car out for a little drive to try to get the rear hatch to close properly, as it was refusing to latch. I got it shut after a couple of stops, and decided to continue on my regular local B-road loop, the same one I tried the Alpine on last year. It was dark, but that meant the roads were quiet and the McLaren has good headlights. Crucially I put the car into Sport handling and powertrain mode, and the gears to manual. Wow! I seem to have unlocked another level of performance from the car, well above what I experienced to date or in the hired car last summer. Picking a gear manually and riding the boost curve just feels crazy, hurtling towards the next bend while anxiously scanning for a bit of straight flat tarmac to use as a braking zone. I actually need to adapt, it's too easy to get behind the car mentally, my mind still exiting the last corner while the car's entering the next. I also need to adapt to the problem where you hit the brakes, shed 60mph, think you're doing walking pace and then realise the speedo's still reading 60!
It's not just the power, the chassis handles really bumpy roads well at speed, and the steering is brilliantly connected, you really feel the forces at the front wheels as the car dives straight for the apex. It seems to nail bends in one single smooth motion, rather than having an entry, apex and exit phase as the weight moves around.
This morning I was determined to take the car out in daylight and get some better photos. I pulled the car up in a layby just outside Cambridge, got out, took a few steps away and turned around to take photos, and just burst out giggling like a schoolboy at the sight of it, I can't quite believe I now own this crazy car.
Anyway, after pulling myself together I did get some pics, hopefully visible below. I really love the Volcano Orange, I think it's like 'flip' paint, but instead of contrasting colours like green and purple, it's a bunch of different oranges so it doesn't look as wild but still highlights the shape as the paint catches the light at different angles.
So I'm feeling very fortunate, I honestly never dreamed I'd actually own a 200mph supercar, and I can't quite believe I do.
The only problem is now, when I'm not driving the car I want to drive it, and when I am driving it, I want to drive it faster, chasing that feeling when it's really moving and flowing down the road. I told the insurance 4k miles a year...
(Sorry, long post - skip to the end for photos)
In the real world my I had my RX-7 - beautiful, iconic (to this Initial D fanboy), quick and endlessly adjustable on the limit, I bought it in 2012 and didn't find anything I'd rather have instead, so it stayed. I never felt less than excited by driving it or less than fortunate to own it.
Then the start-up I work at was acquired, meaning a payout for us employees. Not millions, but enough to re-read old supercar road tests and ECOTYs in a different light.
At around the £100k mark, there was one car which stood head and shoulders above the others in critical opinion. The McLaren 570 combines a carbon tub (so light and stiff), a powerful twin-turbo V8, with a chassis by ex-Lotus engineers to make it not just ridiculously fast, but also fun and engaging. It's genuinely hard to find a journalist with anything less than wholehearted praise for the way these cars drive, and on paper it really did look like my perfect supercar - all the speed and drama of the real thing, but still reasonably compact, light and agile.
My quest stretched out for nine months, and although the identity of my 'grail' seemed clear from the start, I did consider lots of other options. I had a proper test drive in an A110 on good local roads. I like this car a lot in many ways and definitely rate it, but ultimately the EPAS steering lacked the weight and feel I want, coming from older cars like the RX-7. I scored a go in an E-Type thanks to a friendly Jag PR man. It's very cool to get to drive a historic machine like this... but as something to drive, I prefer my RX-7. I had a couple of quick goes in Caterhams on track at the Palmersport day, fun, but the basic balance and drive doesn't feel that much different from/ahead of... my RX-7. I also discarded many other options without trying them - Porsches don't excite me personally, 458s are a bit expensive, the C8 Vette seems a bit big and heavy, etc.
I then invested a bit of money to hire a 570S for a long weekend, on the basis that it would both help me make a good decision, and form a memorable experience either way. Jackpot! Finally a car that actually feels better to drive than my trusty rotary rocket - better steering weight and feel, as well as of course a bigger performance envelope. The concerns about it being too low and too wide to really get stuck in to a proper B-road also melted away with experience, you can place the car precisely with the steering and it's not that wide, 'only' 1.9m across the body.
It was indeed a memorable experience, especially belting up Sutton Bank and down Blakey Ridge near where my parents live. The memories sustained me through a frustrating process trying to get the RX-7 welded up and into a saleable condition, and then getting past the final hurdle, a garage door that was barely wide enough for the cars I had, and definitely too tight for a supercar. Bricks cut out and new power roller-door installed, I was ready to go shopping.
Having decided on a McLaren, I had a few more decisions to make. The 650S was tempting, they're a similar price to the Sports Series, the Spiders in particular are good value. However the extra complexity of the interlinked suspension, active aero and folding hardtop seemed a bit much to take on for my first supercar. Of the Sports Series, the 600LT was tempting but stretched the budget a bit far. 540Cs seemed to cost the same as the 570S but generally be all-round lower in spec. I was heading for a 570S, but ultimately my eyes fell for the sweeping fastback of the 570GT. They get a slightly softer suspension setup as standard, but as I was coming from a car that rolls a lot more anyway, I wasn't concerned - body roll isn't really a negative when you have proper double wishbones keeping the tyres perpendicular to the road, anyway. Conversely a little extra civility and luggage space might increase chances to tour with the car. I wanted the ceramic brakes, which meant a 2018-on car, but newer seemed worthwhile anyway. There's a general hope that McLaren quality improved through a build run, and also they only cover the common issue with paint corrosion for five years; so a car younger than that gives you a chance to see if any develops, get it resprayed for free at the five year mark, and then decide at that point if you want to keep the car or sell it on before it happens again.
Looking at the market, I noticed a preponderance of white cars, followed by other monochrome non-colours. I'd put up with three black cars in a row because they were old JDM models and you take what you can get, but this was a special purchase with no deadline, so no need to compromise. I assembled my own gallery of examples of different McLaren paint colours. For those who don't know, McLaren do an astonishing array of colours, something like half a dozen different oranges for example. Just when you think you've 'got them all' you discover something new - blues Curacao, Fistral, Mauvine, Cerulean, Vega, Paris and Ludus, just to name a few - and yes, there are Sports Series cars out there wearing all of those. Ron Dennis may have been known for insisting his Technical Centre was rendered in fifty shades of grey, but the Automotive side is much brighter. I decided on a shortlist of basically all the bright, metallic colours.
I went to see a Vega Blue car on 31k miles, high for these cars. It was ok, but had a few issues, one being a cracked door hinge. I also decided the blue was a bit 'cold' for me, although that might just have been the January light! I then saw a Volcano Orange car at Romans St Albans, this was more like it, near perfect condition, and just loved the colour. I offered £102k against £105k asking, they said no, then called back the next evening and said actually yes. I got the car inspected at McLaren Hatfield, which I thought would basically ensure the car was all good and eliminate the risk of buying from an independent. In fact it wasn't quite as clear-cut as all that and they messed me around a bit. Fortunately Romans were helpful and pro-active in getting issues sorted, and the handful of points raised got ticked off one way and another.
Finally I picked the car up from St Albans on Wednesday. Driving straight back to Cambridge would take about an hour, but I decided it would be more fun to take a detour up the well-known B660. Now to be honest I think this route is over-rated, with more time trundling through villages than squirting between them, but it did give me a chance to enjoy just how cleanly and incisively the car slices through corners. It also showed that the car copes with B-roads fine, no grounding and not too wide.
Then last night I had to take the car out for a little drive to try to get the rear hatch to close properly, as it was refusing to latch. I got it shut after a couple of stops, and decided to continue on my regular local B-road loop, the same one I tried the Alpine on last year. It was dark, but that meant the roads were quiet and the McLaren has good headlights. Crucially I put the car into Sport handling and powertrain mode, and the gears to manual. Wow! I seem to have unlocked another level of performance from the car, well above what I experienced to date or in the hired car last summer. Picking a gear manually and riding the boost curve just feels crazy, hurtling towards the next bend while anxiously scanning for a bit of straight flat tarmac to use as a braking zone. I actually need to adapt, it's too easy to get behind the car mentally, my mind still exiting the last corner while the car's entering the next. I also need to adapt to the problem where you hit the brakes, shed 60mph, think you're doing walking pace and then realise the speedo's still reading 60!
It's not just the power, the chassis handles really bumpy roads well at speed, and the steering is brilliantly connected, you really feel the forces at the front wheels as the car dives straight for the apex. It seems to nail bends in one single smooth motion, rather than having an entry, apex and exit phase as the weight moves around.
This morning I was determined to take the car out in daylight and get some better photos. I pulled the car up in a layby just outside Cambridge, got out, took a few steps away and turned around to take photos, and just burst out giggling like a schoolboy at the sight of it, I can't quite believe I now own this crazy car.
Anyway, after pulling myself together I did get some pics, hopefully visible below. I really love the Volcano Orange, I think it's like 'flip' paint, but instead of contrasting colours like green and purple, it's a bunch of different oranges so it doesn't look as wild but still highlights the shape as the paint catches the light at different angles.
So I'm feeling very fortunate, I honestly never dreamed I'd actually own a 200mph supercar, and I can't quite believe I do.
The only problem is now, when I'm not driving the car I want to drive it, and when I am driving it, I want to drive it faster, chasing that feeling when it's really moving and flowing down the road. I told the insurance 4k miles a year...
samoht said:
So I'm feeling very fortunate, I honestly never dreamed I'd actually own a 200mph supercar, and I can't quite believe I do.
Love that. And I admire the patience within yourself to not just grab the first one that appealed to you! Great wee read that and look forward to more updates.
ChocolateFrog said:
Much more of a bronze orange than I was expecting and looks all the better for it.
Yeah, quite a bronze/copper colour. This is an obscurity, but the colour reminds me a bit of the Dodge Copperhead concept from the 90s, a 'junior Viper' which went into the first two Gran Turismo games. The 1:18 scale Maisto version I still have isn't quite the same but is close to my car, although I don't really know how close the model's paint is to the actual concept.Saying that, it was cloudy/showery yesterday when I got those pics, I think it can look quite different in direct sun.
stuthe
said:
said: So long as we’re all agreed the rx7, whilst not the better car, is definitely the cooler one, then we’re all good!
Space only really allows me one 'fun' car at a time, and I'd had the RX-7 for just shy of a decade. My thinking was, if I don't move on now then when would I ever, I'd be buried in that car. I'd made quite a few memories with it, and felt it was time to move on and have new experiences while I can.stuthe said:
said: I prefer the lines of the gt to s, slinky!
Yeah, I've always liked glass fastbacks (had a 180SX before), and I love the continuous glass strip from windscreen, through the glass roof and into the hatch. It really smooths out the shape, making it a bit less fussy. I think because all the strength is in the carbon tub and alloy panels don't need the same tooling investment as steel, it was fairly easy for McLaren to create both variants. I don't think the extra luggage capacity is meaningful - the space between the hatch and the top of the engine is vanishingly shallow and the main useful capacity is directly behind the seats same as the S, so it's mainly the looks, the glass roof, and a little extra comfort that the GT gives.Without a doubt the lines of the GT appeal to me also, it just has that supercar shape the normal car doesn't.
I understand why the wheels are black to match in with the other parts but I still think they would look better in silver but that's just personal preference-it's such a good looking car in that colour.
I understand why the wheels are black to match in with the other parts but I still think they would look better in silver but that's just personal preference-it's such a good looking car in that colour.
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