onetrackmind

When Ray mentioned in passing that he would have a  Mclaren P570S for a day and I should join him, I smiled nodded and thought “Ja Right!”. I remembered the days when South African (Durban) born, Gordon Murray, headed up Mclaren Road Cars and created the novel Mclaren F1 Road Car, 3 seater, with driver in the middle and a passenger either side.  Thats about as close as I am going to get to a Mclaren I thought. Until the WhatsApp came through from Ray, “At Mclaren, where are you?”

Greeted by the site of Ray’s gleaming Aston Martin Vanquish parked nonchalantly in the visitors parking, I noticed the sleek lines of the P570 filling the narrowing driveway. Modern day Super-cars are wide! Documenting this special moment was the last thing on my mind! In my haste, I had forgotten to bring my newly acquired GoPro.

Ray wrapped up some loose ends as I drooled over the sleek lines of the Mclaren. Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I instantly regretted not taking his offer more seriously, completely overwhelmed I had no idea what to expect.

The last time I paid any serious attention to any Super-Car was when I realised I would probably never afford one, so other than an admiring glance, I resigned myself to the performance of motorcycles. In those days Mid & Rear engine’d Super Cars were known to be difficult to drive and enjoyed nicknames like Widow Maker sporting only 330HP, whereas the Mclaren enjoys 570HP!!! My, how time has moved on…what have a got myself into!

After folding myself into the leather bucket seats and closing the scissor doors, I noticed the minimalist interior of the P570. Expecting to see a concoction of dials and buttons, the simple yet readable layout was a refreshing change. The V8 Twin Turbo barked to life and we effortlessly reversed the wide body out the narrow driveway.

In search of some space to unleash this beast, we sliced our way through the morning traffic conspicuously with millisecond gear changes and the gentle roar of the 3.8L V8 Twin Turbo to remind us that we were in fact driving something special, with PlayStation like Controls. Unlike most other SuperCars, the rocker-shift paddles are steering-wheel-mounted, opposed to fixed position, intended for driver convenience on track or race conditions.

As we turned off the N7, onto familiar territory, Ray planted his foot on the accelerator and all hell broke loose. Suddenly roads I thought I knew well were rushing by in a blur that I have never experienced before! Sucked back into the seat, the lack of a conventional passenger side grab handle left me clutching the air like a bungee jumper regretting his decision. I wanted to scream, not from fear but Pure Mclaren. Exhilaration! Never been so happy to see a truck, a moment to catch my breath and find something to hold onto.

We turned right onto our favorite stretch of fast flowing bends leading back into the suburbs. Bam, Bam, Bam, through the gears as we launched from 0-100kmh in 3.4s with no trucks to slow our progress as we headed flatout through the right hander leading into a long sweeping left hander. Not letting up. Again, I wanted to scream, this time from fear! Almost instinctively Ray stood on the brakes mid corner and brought the car to a stop with my head practically resting on the dashboard from G force generated! Photo time. I was satisfied, my legs were jelly, not responding. I needed a moment.

The Mclaren P570S has three suspension modes: Normal, Sport and Track. As it turns out we were still in Normal mode, which I was finding quite terrifying. But as protocol would have it, we had to do a run in Sport and then Track. Great!

After completing the sequence of corners (in Normal mode) at mind bending speeds, we returned to the start for another run in Sport Mode. As we entered the corner I hate (off camber downhill left hander) at an incomprehensible speed, Widow Maker came to mind! When the Mclaren bottomed out over the change of surface, I thought to myself, surely Ray will back off on the next run in Track mode. Not! In Track mode we found ourselves hurtling through the sequence of corners, somehow faster, with even less body roll soaking up the change of surface with no more than a little twitch from the rigid 75kg carbon fibre mono cell chassis.

For days after my mind kept fleeting back to various moments of that day, even keeping up at night. The mind boggling acceleration. The mind bending mid corner lateral forces. The incredible stopping power. The ease of use at low speeds, yet still retaining the tactile feel of a Supercar when pushed to the limit. The simplicity of the interior, yet still sophisticated. How the handling noticeably changed from one setting to another. How do they do it I keep asking myself. So I googled it and found this on Mclaren web site:

“Hand crafted in the state-of-the-art McLaren Production Centre in Woking, England, Sports Series models provide levels of exclusivity and personalisation that make each car an individual masterpiece.”