First teased at the
Geneva Motor Show last month, McLaren’s upcoming “Grand Tourer” model returns
in the most revealing official shots yet. Mind you, it’s still completely
covered in camouflage, but it has dropped the shape-changing, additional body
panels previously used to hide its silhouette. As a result, we can admire for
the first time the car’s lines — and there’s a lot to admire as you can see.
The as-yet-unnamed
McLaren “Grand Tourer” has all it takes to become the brand’s best-looking car.
The first shot of the front end reveals sleek new headlights that are still
inspired by the McLaren logo, yet are no longer recessed as with most recent
cars from Woking. It is definitely an elegant, flowing design befitting a grand
tourer but still recognizable as a McLaren. We can also spot an
aggressively-cut front bumper, massive side air intakes for the mid-mounted
twin-turbo V8 engine, and a long rear section that ends with two illuminated
stripes acting as the car’s taillights, two round exhausts, and a vented bumper
with a diffuser that means business attached to it.
As if these new
photos weren’t good enough, McLaren has announced that this new car will
drop all camouflage in May, so the wait for the brand’s fourth model announced
in the Track25 business plan is almost over.
Obviously, McLaren
didn’t reveal much else about the car, which it describes as a rule-breaking
“Grand Tourer” and “the most usable mid-engined car yet.” It will also be the
only one to share its DNA with the Speedtail Hyper-GT and will feature an
interior that “will feel spacious, uncluttered and modern with only authentic,
high-quality materials employed.”
Now that the heavy
camouflage has been dropped, the company will be able to perform validation
testing, including a 1,600-km drive from McLaren’s development
base near Barcelona, Spain, back to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking,
England. The test, which will be completed in one stint with two occupants and
“a full complement of luggage,” should say a lot about a car that appears quite
different compared to anything from McLaren’s current lineup.
The British
supercar-maker also says that this new model “will combine competition levels
of performance from a twin-turbo V8 engine with continent-crossing capability
and a level of agility never experienced before in the luxury Grand Tourer
segment.” It has us sold, what about you?