McLaren to debut 570GT concept 17 | 08 | 2016

    McLAREN HAS RELEASED the first details of its one-off 570GT concept car which has been tweaked by its MSO division. The car will make its debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

    Ok, it doesn’t exactly have the most appealing names — officially it’s called the McLaren 570GT by MSO Concept — but it does boas a a number of significant improvements inside and out.

    Fitted with an MSO exhaust system for “an improved aural experience”, the 570GT — quite how close it sounds to the McLaren 570S GT4 driven by Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse young guns Sandy Mitchell and Ciaran Haggerty in the British GT Championship, we don’t know — but the pipework is made out of titanium, instead of normal stainless steel. That makes it 30% lighter than the standard car’s version.

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    According to McLaren, the exhaust is designed to give a “richer, more characterful tone”. Ah …. ok!

    The exhaust has also been fitted with heat shields finished in golden titanium nitride, which changes colour to blue and purple as the system heats up.

    As for performance, well that remains the same as the ‘standard’ 570GT: 562bhp from a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 and a 0-62mph time of 3.4 seconds.

    McLaren has given the Pebble Beach car a rather striking Elite Pearl White paint job, while the MSO Piano Black package means — and there’s no surprise here — the wheels, side vents and door sills are all finished in black.

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    Inside the cabin, the ‘By McLaren’  interior boasts a carbon fibre trim and a booming Bowers and Wilkins stereo. But the undoubted star of the show of the Electro-Chromic Roof.

    It’s all a bit James Bond villain-ish. The roof is basically a glass panel which has an interlayer designed to filter out the baking sun (well, as baking as it gets in California). But cleverly, it’s also fitted with a touch-sensitive panel in the headliner which lightens or darkens the filter as you desire.

    According to McLaren, the roof has five different levels of tint, stretching from clear to a “rich, dark tint”.

    “This is the second consecutive year that McLaren Special Operations has used the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to demonstrate our capabilities on Sports Series cars,” Paul Mackenzie, executive director of McLaren Special Operations, said.

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    “Last year, soon after the launch of the 570S, we showed the 570S ‘by MSO’ which featured the uniquely formulated Mauvine Blue paint finish coupled with a bespoke interior finished in Carbon Black leather with coordinating detailing, carried through from the exterior colour.

    “This year, closely following the reveal of the GT addition to the Sports Series family, we showcase the breadth of McLaren Special Operations personalisation work, this time focussing on bespoke engineering design and components.

    “With its Electro Chromic Roof especially, the McLaren 570GT by MSO Concept would be well suited to the needs and demands of customers in sunnier and warmer climates.”

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    Jim McGill

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