Meet the rivals: the sports cars McLaren's 570S must beat

We have driven the new McLaren 570S, and it's, well, good. The 570S and its 540C sibling are the first cars to appear from McLaren's ‘Sport Series’, don't forget.
 
A £126,000 540C comes with 533bhp, a 3.5sec 0-62mph time and a 199mph top speed. Upgrade to the £143,250 570S and you’ll have 562bhp, a 3.2sec 0-62mph time and a 204mph top speed.
 
So they are more attainable than the McLarens that have gone before them. Yet both still possess a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine – just like you’ll find in the 675LT and mighty P1 – and both still have McLaren’s carbon monocell as their core.
 
Despite their high levels of tech and hypercar heritage, though, they enter a far tougher market than their bigger brothers. Click through to compare the little Macs to the cars they must beat.

£142,120, 552bhp, 3.1sec, 198mph
 
The top-rung 911 is the natural rival for both versions of McLaren’s Sports Series: a 513bhp 911 Turbo is priced against the 540C, while this more potent Turbo S is ready and waiting for the 570S.
 
Both 911s are scintillatingly fast – you’ll be on a big track or infringing numerous laws if you can really decipher the power difference between the two – and with all-wheel drive, they’re a genuine doddle to drive and ought to be quicker than those McLarens in the wet.
 
A pair of rear seats for the little ‘uns could complete the deal for some. But surely a carbon-tub sports car with dihedral doors beats even the fastest 911 on drama?

£134,500, 602bhp, 3.2secs, 205mph
 
Another German rival, and another two-pronged attack on the boys from Woking. The second-gen R8 range kicks off with a 533bhp version for a whisker under £120,000, but a modest price upgrade (modest in this market, anyhow) gets you into a V10 Plus, its 602bhp engine rather similar to the one you’ll find in a Lamborghini Huracan.
 
This is proper mid-engined exotica, too, even if those side blades aren’t the attention-stealing headline feature they quite used to be. Another AWD rival, though one likely to be a little more flamboyant than the Porsche should you provoke it. McLaren’s most natural foe.

£110,500, 503bhp, 3.8secs, 193mph
 
Not unlike a 911 in looks, but quite unlike a 911 in its V8 bark and nonchalant approach to rear tyre life. If the wee McLarens are precision scalpels like their siblings, this is a ruddy great sledgehammer.
 
It can do the comfy GT stuff, though – so long as you can tolerate a firm ride – and if you used to buy into McLaren for the F1 heritage, this AMG GT is clearly the more contemporary choice given Merc’s motorsport winning streak.

£91,660, 542bhp, 4.1secs, 186mph
 
We’ll acknowledge this could be a little tenuous – the R is the uppermost version of a car that starts at little over £50,000, therefore not a clear rival for an entry point of a range that culminates with a £866,000 hybrid hypercar.
 
But on numbers alone, the F-Type R holds its own. It’s a little more powerful than the 540C, while its 502lb ft of torque hammers the McLaren’s 398lb ft. The result is a negligible different in outright performance, while you’ve a choice of rear- or all-wheel drive. And the Jag is arguably as good a choice for the patriotic among you.

£138,000, 565bhp, 3.9secs, 205mph
 
Another one for the patriotic, and one with a far stronger punch than either of those McLarens. With a stocky 1665kg to shift, however, it’ll be at least half a second behind them in a drag race.
 
But then it makes a wonderful noise, being the only car among this sub-£150,000 set with 12 cylinders. You can also get a DB9 for less money, but the V12 Vantage S is Aston at its mini muscle car best.

£104,540, 357bhp, 4.4secs, 155mph
 
A hybrid car with a three-cylinder petrol engine should not be a rival for a McLaren. But the i8 really is no ordinary hybrid. TG’s 2014 Car of the Year has 357bhp and wild supercar looks, while its carbon construction and flippy-up doors ought to grab those addicted to Woking’s cars.
 
The i8 is genuinely beguiling to look at and sit in, never mind actually drive. And if you’re purely hung up on numbers, its 420lb ft of torque betters the 540C. Not a conventional rival, but a truly talented one.

£110,745, 454bhp, 4.5secs, 188mph
 
We’re not for one second expecting anyone to be sat over their cheque book debating whether to address it to McLaren or Maserati. Who the heck still uses cheques?
 
The Maser GranTurismo is a forgotten car in this corner of the market, though. It’s essentially eight years old, for starters (how old do you feel now?), while its dynamics have never been quite as sharp or satisfying as its foes.
 
But crikey, does it make one hell of a noise. The MC Stradale is the best to drive of the lot, and despite its aerodynamic accoutrements, it remains a lovely thing to look at. It’s left of field, and all the more appealing for it.