- Sports Series model range offers 540C Coupé, 570S Coupé and 570GT. The most attainable McLaren range is positioned below the Super Series and Ultimate Series
- More powerful and lighter than other sports cars, the Sports Series offers a class-leading power-to-weight ratio up to 434PS per tonne
- Carbon fibre chassis and dihedral doors are unique in class
- Sports Series delivers driver involvement, supercar performance, striking design, minimised weight, outstanding craftsmanship, unrivalled day-to-day usability and affordable running costs
The new McLaren Sports Series marks the entry into the luxury sports car market by McLaren for the first time. Race-derived technologies, supercar performance, lightweight construction – including the use of a carbon fibre chassis – recognisable design values and a comprehensive specification ensure a class-leading package that upholds all the core values of a pure McLaren.
Three derivatives across two bodystyles are available, starting with the entry-level 540C Coupé and progressing to the 570S Coupé, the most driver-focussed Sports Series of all. The 570GT offers the same staggering performance as the 570S Coupé, but places an even greater emphasis on all-round usability with additional luxury, versatility and comfort.
The Sports Series completes the three-tier McLaren model strategy alongside the Super Series and Ultimate Series, and represents the entry point to McLaren ownership. The 540S Coupé, 570S Coupé and 570GT are the most usable and attainable models ever to wear a McLaren badge, but retain the core design and dynamic focus integral to the iconic name. Weighing as little as 1,311kg[i] (2,890lbs), thanks in part to the unique lightweight carbon fibre MonoCell II chassis, the Sports Series is almost 150kg lighter than its closest rival. Power is provided by an evolution of the 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 engine with 30 percent new components. This ensures electrifying performance, with the 570S Coupé boasting a class-leading power-to-weight figure of 434PS. At the same time, the interior has been specially designed with a focus on day-to-day usability, with optimised access, greater levels of stowage space and more refinement, particularly the luxurious 570GT. This model features a fixed-glass Panoramic Roof, and a side-opening Glass Hatch creates an additional 220 litres of luggage space on the leather-lined Touring Deck.
The Sports Series is a showcase of modern craftsmanship, with each model hand-finished at the state-of-the-art McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, England. A suite of new optional content and a ‘By McLaren’ designer range of interiors highlight the levels of customisation available.
‘The Sports Series is a dramatic and beautiful sports car aimed at a new audience for McLaren,’ explains Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive. ‘It marks the first time we have competed in the sports car as opposed to the supercar market. As with all McLaren models, we have prioritised performance, driving engagement and exhilaration. It is a totally driver-focused car, with excellent ergonomics and visibility, and a class-leading driving position. The Sports Series is the most day-to-day usable, practical and attainable McLaren we’ve ever made, and the 570GT takes these attributes to a whole new level .’
Chris Goodwin, Chef Test Driver at McLaren Automotive adds: ‘For the Sports Series we wanted to offer a real sports car feel. Ultimately, it means a car that feels nimble, agile and must also possess a lightness and directness of response to a driver’s inputs. Certainly for us, a sports car really needs to engage the driver, at any speed.’
THE McLAREN SPORTS SERIES: THE DETAILS
The McLaren Sports Series is the third and final product family to join the recently announced three-tier model range from McLaren Automotive. The 540C Coupé, 570S Coupé and 570GT, along with a Spider variant due in 2017, mark the entry point to McLaren ownership alongside the Ultimate Series, comprising the now sold-out McLaren P1™ and McLaren P1™ GTR, and the core Super Series range, which features the 650S Coupé and Spider, and the sold-out 675LT Coupé and Spider.
The Sports Series introduces unique McLaren DNA to the sports car market. Each model has been designed and engineered by a team of experts at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) alongside the Formula 1™ team operations, and every car is hand built in the same state-of-the-art McLaren Production Centre (MPC) as the Super Series and Ultimate Series models.
As with every McLaren model designed for road or track since 1981, the Sports Series range is constructed around a lightweight carbon fibre chassis. High performance and high efficiency is also delivered through a mid-mounted twin-turbocharged V8 engine. With no compromises, the Sports Series is the perfect entry point into the world of McLaren.
DESIGN AND AERODYNAMICS
‘The air-piercing front bumper separates airflow into four directions, with each path being worked over, under and through the sculpted bodywork. The beautiful organic form, with features including the door tendon and flying buttress, works with the fixed rear wing to optimise aerodynamics.’
Rob Melville, Chief Designer
- ‘Shrink wrapped’ design maximises efficiency of the airflow over, under and through the bodywork with a fixed aerodynamic package
- Aerodynamically optimised dihedral doors feature ‘floating’ tendons to channel the flow of clean air
- Elegant flying buttresses provide increased levels of downforce and enhanced cooling for 570S Coupé and 540C Coupé
- 570GT receives unique aerodynamic package to complement bespoke side-opening rear Glass Hatch and classic GT lines
The Sports Series introduces the McLaren design language to the sports car segment for the first time, with taught, ‘shrink-wrapped’ body lines marking it out from the competition. Design cues and learnings from the Ultimate Series and Super Series models ensure the Sports Series looks every part a true McLaren, but with a clear identity of its own. Unique design features include the iconic dihedral doors more typically associated with supercars, while elegant flying buttresses and a concave rear window distinguish 570S Coupé and 540C Coupé models. A subtly revised aerodynamic package and a dedicated wheel design further mark out the 540C Coupé from the more powerful 570S Coupé. The 570GT, meanwhile, presents a glasshouse with clean and sleek lines leading to the rear of the car. A unique aerodynamic package has been tailored to work in harmony with the elegant silhouette of the 570GT.
The final design of the Sports Series is closely matched to the initial design sketches first proposed by Chief Designer Rob Melville and his team at the outset of the project. Clean, sweeping lines, and an uncluttered exterior have a clear focus on the way air flows over the sculpted panels, channelling air around the tightly packaged glasshouse, over and, in some areas, through the bodywork.
Dynamic styling provides eye-catching visual presence and adheres to the McLaren form-follows-function design philosophy. This approach combines fluid surfaces and strong features to deliver a final aerodynamic shape designed to optimise airflow management in, out and around the vehicle. Weight is minimised through the layering of panels, designed to float above aerodynamic surfaces along with suspended members, supporting the potency of this compact sports car.
MANAGING THE AIRFLOW
The front bumper design of the Sports Series models is crucial to how air interacts with the bodywork as it travels from the front to the rear. The design dictates how air is controlled before passing over, under and through the vehicle. The front bumper has a pronounced point that generates the centre of pressure, piercing air to reduce drag and forming four quadrants. The air is divided above and below the bodywork, and also to either side. The strong crease lines along the bonnet add design definition and, more importantly, aid air flow over the doors and into the side air intakes to help cool the high-temperature radiators – a principle used in Formula 1™. Aero Blades are positioned below the front bumper, angled specifically to create an area of high pressure ahead of the low-temperature radiators.
DIHEDRAL DOORS FEATURE ‘FLOATING’ TENDONS
Every McLaren road car since the iconic McLaren F1 has included distinctive dihedral doors, and the Sports Series continues the design tradition. The advanced and intricate door design is inspired by those on the McLaren P1™, and features a ‘floating’ tendon that channels air into the ultra-efficient air intake. This supplements the side intakes that directly feed the HTRs (high-temperature radiators) which, in turn, allows for smaller side intakes and a reduction in drag.
Every effort has been made to optimise aerodynamic performance on the Sports Series. Even the wing-mirror arms have been designed to improve cooling efficiency by two percent. This aerodynamic gain has been achieved through minimising the cross-sectional area of the wing-mirror arms while optimising how the airflow between the vehicle and mirrors interact.
Further aerodynamic efficiency is evidenced by tyre spoilers on the leading edge of the wheel arch and side skirts running down each flank. These aerodynamic aids work in conjunction to ‘clean’ the airflow as it passes around the front wheel arches and travels rearwards.
I will be posting the specs and more photos soon so keep your eyes open;)
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