INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH:
McLaren 570S: A topless wonder a superhero of the road
The McLaren 570S has all the speed of the coupe with better cafe cruising, writes Michael Taylor
Most cars pile on the kilos in convertible form, and not just because of folding roof systems. McLaren doesn’t, with the new Spider barely heavier than the successful 570S coupe and barely slower. If you’re looking for a megafast, strong, comfortable convertible, look no further. There was a time when a convertible in this rarefied air meant either a 911 Turbo, or a junior Ferrari, with an Aston Martin on the periphery. Now it’s getting crowded. Unusually, every major aspect of the winning 570S coupe is transferred to the Spider. There’s not a trace of additional bracing beneath the body to keep it stiff in corners and over bumps and that means it’s probably the lightest step-change from a coupe to a convertible in recent memory. Going topless has only cost the 570S 46kg of additional mass. It’s not just that the folding bits, storage engineering and powered systems that drive the 15-second electric roof are light, but they are light where it counts for a sports car. Sports car engi...
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