McLaren takes GT4 race car on the road

McLAREN has dished up a road-legal version of its McLaren 570S GT4 race car, but with one major difference: the road version has 45 per cent more power than its track sibling.

This is because of the vagaries of GT4 racing that restrict the race car power to about 313kW.

But unencumbered by such wet-blanket homologation rules, the road-going version – dubbed 620R – lets rip with 456kW of power and 620Nm of torque from its twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8, making it the most powerful member of McLaren’s Sports Series.

Only the flagship 720S with its 4.0-litre V8 has more power and torque in the regular range, at 537kW and 770Nm, but both fall well short of McLaren’s previous limited-edition car, the 588kW/800Nm Senna supercar.

McLaren plans to make 350 hand-built 620Rs at its Woking plant in the United Kingdom, with deliveries starting in February 2020.

Like the race car, the 620R is stripped of niceties such as carpets, audio system, sat-nav, glovebox and air-conditioning – although you can have them put back if you want – to pull the kerb weight back to 1386kg.

Carbon fibre racing seats are standard. To meet the requirements of both road and track, two sets of seatbelts are fitted: six-point racing harnesses and three-point road seat belts.

The doors have pull straps to help shut the doors when the driver is strapped in the race seat.

While McLaren says laps times are more important than straight-line speed in this car, it claims the 620R can bolt to 100km/h in 2.9 seconds and on to 200km/h in 8.1s. Top speed is 322km/h.

The 620R shares the GT4’s aerodynamic aids, including the huge rear wing that helps to generate 185kg of downforce at 250km/h. The wing gets a high-mounted brake light to make it legal.

The front fascia gets various aero devices such as splitters, blades and planes, along with twin nostrils in the bonnet to improve air flow through the front of the car and over the roof.

The car sits lower to the road than other Sports Series McLarens and rides on race-style, light-weight coil-over dampers with 32 clicks of adjustment for track or road use.

McLaren claims the 620S can be switched from road-legal Pirelli Trofeo R semi-slick tyres to a specially developed Pirelli race slick for track work, with adjustment of the suspension.

The wheels – 19 inches at the front and 20 inches at the back – have race-style central locking nuts.

Stiffer anti-roll bars and stainless steel top mounts in place of the regular rubber mounts complete the chassis modifications.

Brakes have been upgraded the carbon ceramic discs (390mm front, 380mm rear) with six-pot forged aluminium brake callipers at the front.

A McLaren track telemetry system is displayed on a centre-mounted 7.0-inch touchscreen.

McLaren Automotive chief executive officer Mike Flewitt said the 570S GT4 had won races in every championship it had competed in since its first appearance in 2017.

“Now, in response to repeated customer requests, we have homologated that class-leading package for the road in the new McLaren 620R, a limited-edition, 620PS (456kW) superlight coupe that is the perfect choice for an enthusiast wanting an authentic motorsport driving sensation – and performance to match – on both track and road,” he said.

The 620R comes standard in a choice of three McLaren racing colours – range, white and black – all with GT4 race livery.

If the customer prefers, they can order the McLaren Senna GTR-inspired livery as an extra-cost option.