I’m sitting in a McLaren 720S in Gulf blue with the same oil company’s trademark orange used for stitching inside the cabin. It is the best-looking McLaren I’ve ever seen.
This is how I see McLaren’s cars: the thinking man’s saloon is a Saab, his luxury car a Bristol and his supercar a McLaren. It is a wonderfully bull-free brand and that’s reflected in the car itself. No knobs and buttons on the steering wheel – the component is simply there to guide the car through probably the best steering system in any sports car made today. And McLaren calls the people who buy its cars customers, not clients.
I collected the car from the Autocar road testers’ secret bunker in Feltham. I drove the new McLaren GT a few weeks ago at its launch in St Tropez and it was much the same as the 720S: a comfortable ride, fantastic steering and a lot of power. Though not of course as much as the 720S. It’s always exciting to step into cars like these.
Ten minutes later, I’m on the M3 and that initial excitement has been replaced by frustration and the same thought that I have these days when I’m behind the wheel of any outrageously fast car. They are completely pointless, utterly out of touch with modern driving conditions and enforcement of the rules of the road. Cars like the 720S are, of course, still excellent for posing, but that’s no good to me because I love driving, not thrashing up and down outside Harrods in first gear.
But more than that, I love the feeling that I am using a machine to the outer edges of its abilities. Using as much of its power, grip and dynamic prowess as possible. You may remember that I built an aeroplane in my garden shed. It’s been flying for six years and much of the joy has been using it right to the edge of its performance envelope whenever I want to. It will fly at 200mph and, if I’m willing to pay for the large amount of fuel it uses while doing so, then that’s what I can do. It’s legal. And so is doing a loop or a roll. In other words, I’m getting 100% value from my efforts in building it and the cost of owning and running it.
Join the debate
Ofir
Last true sports car
The Mazda is both manual and naturally aspirated and in absolute terms lighter than the Mclaren so ignoring outright speed it has to be more satisfying if only because of the challenge of making progress. And anyway it is faster than say a nineties hot hatch which is enough for me. Less is more and the fact that it costs tenth of the 720s price magnifies that.
Boris9119
Agreed
Agree with all that Ofir, but can we honestly say that given the opportnity to run either car free for a year we would take the Mazda and say no to the Mclaren?
Paul Dalgarno
Utterly pointless
It doesn't take an Enstein to knkow the results beforehand does it. Is throttle opening a measure of fun? Steering feel, accuracy, how it deals with bumps, how it hunts the apex, how soon you can get back on the power. All way more relevant to fun. No wonder you can afford a plane if you get paid for writing pointless guff.
Next week an in-depth study of how air vent angle affects the flow of air to your face.
bol
You’re so right
I agree and put my money where my mouth is by swapping a succession of new lease cars for a 23 year old supercharged MX-5 as my daily driver. It's fun pretty much everywhere other than over speed bumps and makes me smile year round. With no assistance other than power steering, it takes some concentration in the wet but that's part of the fun. What's more it cost less in total than a year's lease costs on a fast Golf. We should make the most of this sort of car before they're no longer socially acceptable.
Peter Cavellini
Old Chestnut?
If you put these two cars on a tight, twisty, short straight up and down road the Mazda would drive away from the McLaren, the McLaren can't use its superior horsepower, grip and brakes, on any other roads if would in most cases be a different story, I seem to remember a story like this between a Focus RS and a GTR.....?
jason_recliner
Peter Cavellini wrote:
This has been proven false again and again and again.
si73
As you can see from the graph
A not very surprising outcome, I've always considered less to be more, especially on the UK's roads, and I reckon the same applies to a warm hatch over a super hot one, something like an up GTi is probably a lot more fun than a golf R. The only time this changes is when you can actually exploit the performance which will probably only be on a track.
Of course owning and driving the faster car is still bound to be fun even at a 10th of its potential, I'd certainly love to be able to find out.
JMax18
Despite it being more
Despite it being more expensive, less powerful and less practical, for a weekend fun car, i'd get a caterham every time.
beechie
For Pete's sake
What a stupid, hackneyed thing to say.
Motoring writers are embarrassing.
Please, for once, try to write something unexpected.
bol
Have the roads got wider where you live beechie?
On the country roads I drive on I'd be happier if the MX-5 was narrower.
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