McLaren 620R: A Road-Legal Version Of The 570S GT4
McLaren has been churning out car after car during the past year or so, and to add to its vast portfolio of supercars, please welcome the road-legal racing car, the 620R.
When I say road-legal racing car, this isn’t just a stereotypical line from a manufacturer to make them look like they’re pushing boundaries, this is actually billed as a road-going version of the 570S GT4 racing car.
It takes its aero package straight from the competition car with only slight changes to maintain its road-going legality. For example, a brake light has been incorporated into the overwhelmingly large adjustable wing at the rear, and the front splitter has been softened slightly to lower the likelihood of it cutting someone in half if it’s involved in an accident. Thanks to these minor changes, it produces 185kg of downforce at 155mph, 80kg more than what the 600LT can muster at the same speed.
It has a wider and lower stance than the 570S, with two-way adjustable motorsport orientated dampers at each corner of the car duplicating its racing variant. For those who still want some level of ride quality, a more comfortable adaptive system will be available as an option.
McLaren has chosen semi-click Pirello P Zero Trofeo Rs as standard, but with a tick in a box and a bit of extra money from your wallet, you can have a set of full slicks bolted on if you’re giving it its all on the track. For any other use, semi-slicks will do just fine. The wheels are 19-inch at the front and 20 at the back, each of which are centre-locking and covering some meaty 390mm/380mm carbon-ceramic rotors with six and four-piston calipers to bring you to a swift stop.
Inside, the British marque has thrown a lot of the interior in the bin to reduce weight, with it now sitting at 1,282kg, but as most drivers would rather have a radio than bragging rights over kerb weight, you can still spec the sound system and air-con back at no cost. Of course, buyers can still brag about their carbon racing seats and six-point harnesses, though.
As the racing car has its power limited by its FIA GT3 regulations, this 620R sits at (you guessed it) 620hp from its 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8. With the accompanying stainless steel exhaust, it’s got one hell of a soundtrack to match it, too.
350 of these will be built, each with a price tag of £250,000. Sounds like a lot, but buyers in Europe and the US will get a free day of on-track tuition from the fastest at McLaren so, there’s that? Production begins in January next year.
