New York show: McLaren 570S revealed

BRITISH sportscar-maker McLaren has finally unveiled the first of its long-teased entry-level range ahead of the New York motor show, premiering the 570S at a pre-show event in the Big Apple.

The Sports Series nomenclature complements the Super and Ultimate Series machines from the Woking-based manufacturer. Other cars in the range include the Super Series 650S Coupe and Spider, the recently unveiled 675LT and the Ultimate Series P1 supercar.

While McLaren’s more expensive models go up against established supercar brands such as Lamborghini and Ferrari, the 570S will take the fight to more mainstream sports car names like Audi with its R8, Porsche with the 911 and Mercedes-AMG’s GT.

"There are a number of cars in the sportscar segment,” McLaren’s sales and marketing executive director Joylon Nash told GoAuto at the 570S’s launch event in New York. “You have 911 Turbo, Turbo S, Audi R8, a couple of Aston Martins, Mercedes-AMG GT S.

“(The 570S) by far the lightest car. Nought to 100km/h and nought to 200km/h, it the fastest and the fastest around a track, too.

“We expect that from the word go it will do well."McLaren has previously indicated that the 570S will be offered through McLaren’s two Australian dealers and it is expected to arrive early next year. It has priced the car in the United States market at US$185,000, and its range in Australia starts at $441,500, plus on-roads, for the 650S.

In comparison, Porsche’s similarly powerful 911 Carrera Turbo starts at $366,500, while Audi’s R8 5.2 FSI V10-powered coupe comes in at $366,900. All prices are exclusive of on-road costs.

Based on the 650S, the 1313kg 570S is a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sportster. Based on an 80kg carbon-fibre monocoque chassis and aluminium exterior panels, it stands 4530mm long, 2095mm wide and 1202mm high.

It eschews the pop-up wing of its more expensive stablemate but retains its signature half-scissor doors, and it uses a detuned version of the 650S’s 3.8-litre V8 twin turbo engine, known as the M838TE, with 30 per cent of the engine’s parts unique to the 570S.

The 570S produces 570PS (or 419kW) at 7,400 rpm, and 600Nm of torque at 5,000-6,500 rpm the 650PS, by comparison, produces 478kW and 678Nm. Power is delivered through a seven-speed SSG transmission to the rear wheels.

It’s capable of doing 0-100km/h in 3.2 seconds, 0-200km/h in 9.5secs, and zip to a top speed of 328km/h. McLaren claims the 570S will return a fuel figure of 9.2 litres per 100 kilometres on a European combined-cycle test.

Carbon-ceramic brakes come standard, while the suspension set-up is unique to the 570S. In place of the 650S’s ‘active’ dampers that did away for the need for anti-roll bars, the 570S uses a simpler, more traditional damper/anti-rollbar arrangement front and rear to suspend the dual-wishbone layout. The three-mode dampers can be changed from within the cabin to suit driving conditions.

The new alloys are staggered in size from front to rear on the 570S, and come fitted with Pirelli P Zero Corsa 225/35/R19 tyres on the front and 285/35/R20s on the rear.

The interior of the 570S sees leather seats fitted as standard, while the dash and steering wheel are also hide-covered. A seven-inch TFT touschscreen infotainment system combines with digital radio, Bluetooth, satellite navigation and climate controls to simplify the dash, while the McLaren Audio stereo only comprises four speakers to save weight.