By IOL Motoring Staff
Woking, Surrey - This, ladies and gentlemen of the cybergarage, is your sneak preview of the McLaren 570GT by MSO concept that will debut this weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
It's especially significant because this is the first example of McLaren's grand tourer to receive a makeover from the McLaren Special Operations custom workshop, and it showcases a number of new features developed by MSO for this model - all of which are now available to 570GT buyers through the MSO Defined portfolio.
They include a new sports exhaust system that's 30 percent lighter than the standard stainless-steel plumbing because it's made entirely from titanium, with revised baffling and blow-by valve timing, derived from the 675LT system, to give it a richer, deeper sound as the revs rise.
Even the heat shields (which you can see through the rear air ducts) are finished in titanium nitride, giving them a natural gold tint when new that gradually tempers to a striking purplish blue - and the only way to get them like that is to drive the car, which is a striking commentary from McLaren on how it feels about the investors who buy exotic cars, seal them in nitrogen-filled plastic bubbles and wait for their value to go up.
‘Gansta black’
It also has a new version of the standard laminated glass roof, with an additional electro-chromic tinted interlayer that works on the same principle as a welder's face-shield. By simply stroking the touch-sensitive headlining, you can vary the tint through five levels from almost clear to 'gangsta black'.
The concept is finished in pearl white with gloss black wheels, side skirt, door inserts, and front and rear trim elements, while the door sills have full length clear-lacquered carbon fibre inserts.
The interior is fitted out in tan leather with gloss clear-lacquered carbon-fibre trim, including the interior door inserts and the sides of the transmission tunnel, and features a 12-speaker Bowers and Wilkins audio system.
Mechanically the concept is box stock, its 3.8-litre biturbo V8 rated at 419kW and 600Nm, and thanks to its lightweight exhaust plumbing, weighs in at only 1350kg dry, giving it quoted performance figures of 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds, 0-200km/h in 9.8 seconds and a top speed of 328km/h.