Review: the 562bhp McLaren 570GT

Another one, so soon?

Yup, McLaren is spitting out new cars, and especially limited-run new cars, at a fair lick these days. But the 570GT isn't a sold-out edition, it's a full production car.

And its point is?

To be the most practical, most comfortable, most refined McLaren of all. The long-distance car. The gran turismo.

How does that happen?

It's not an afterthought. It was designed at the same time as the 570S, and indeed next year's 570 Spider. The upper superstructure is different aft of the doors. The GT has a flowing fastback instead of a vertical rear screen.

The S's separated flying buttresses are gone, their anti-lift properties compensated for by the GT's bigger ducktail at the back. The side profiles of the fastback sweep down to gentle valleys, and outboard of those the contours of the rear wings rise again. Like the soft folds of the English wolds. It really is very pretty.

Enough soppy pastoral references. Why the new backside?

Luggage space. The rear screen is hinged along its right-hand edge (reversed for wrong-hand-drive countries). It opens to let you drop in two airline bags, and a couple of satchels. They strap down securely onto a leather-covered deck. You can still see out the back, and over your shoulders.

So you can carry enough baggage for a road trip. Would you want to do one?

It's a bit softer-sprung and more refined than the 570S. McLaren says it's better for a long journey, more relaxed and quieter on a motorway. Some extra insulation has been put into the cabin, partly because the rear deck area is a bit of an echo chamber if it isn't full of soft cargo. So the GT is a little heavier than the S. A standard full-glass roof adds airiness but also, again, weight.

Not sure I like the sound of a slower, heavier and soggier McLaren.

Fair point. The 570S is brilliant, and it beat the 911 Turbo and Audi R8 Plus when we stacked them up against each other. But my first drive of the GT felt uncannily like my memory of S. So I took the chance to jump into an S straight after the GT and to be honest you really do need a direct Pepsi Challenge to spot the difference.

The GT has very slightly less direct steering, and marginally gentler springing. The tyres are less aggressive too, but they're the same sizes in both cars so you could swap them out. I've no doubt the S would be the sharper tool on a quick track, and it's faster in a straight line too (3.2sec to 62mph versus the GT's 3.4sec). But they're both ruddy fast.

Anyway, as a road car the GT really wouldn't leave you feeling deprived. Plus its ride filters away road harshness better.

So, it's a fun drive then?

There's magic here. It's a marvellously engaging thing. The cornering is connected and confident, happy to give you options. The steering is all feel but little corruption. As ever in a McLaren, the carbon tub has a stiffness and integrity you can always sense.

The engine might not be the best-sounding V8 in the world but it chases to 8000-plus like it's running away from a volcano. (It was, where we drove it, albeit a dormant one.) The gearshift is alert, the ratios well-chosen.

So it's properly fast, yet not intimidating. Everything just gels.

This or a 570S then?

I'd have this. Not just for the usefulness. I happen to prefer the looks – it isn't trying so hard to make an impression. Who wants to look like they're a race refugee when they're only turning up at the pub? The GT is elegant and understated. But there's nothing understated about the way it lights your fire when you point it down a cursive road.