When McLaren began hinting last year at a third body style for its 570S “Sports Series” to go along with the coupe and a planned convertible, a fastback seemed like the top contender. But how do you add a hatch to a mid-engined supercar? Simple: You put it on top of the engine.
The McLaren 570GT has debuted at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show as an attempt to turn the scrappy “entry-level” McLaren into a long-distance tourer. The biggest change is of course that glass hatch, which looks like the glass engine covers on many current supercars. But instead of providing access to the engine bay, it lets the driver and passenger stow their belongings in a leather-lined luggage area.
The setup almost seems like a throwback to the 1970’s Maserati Bora, and adds 7.8 cubic feet of cargo space, according to McLaren. If you’re thinking McLaren covered up a beautiful engine just to add cargo space, worry not: it’s mostly hidden in the other 570S variants, anyway. The hatch opens to curbside whether the car is configured for right-hand or left-hand drive, and is framed with carbon fiber for added torsional rigidity.
Aside from a slightly curvier silhouette, the 570GT is virtually identical to the 570S. Buried under the luggage is a version of the 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 used in every other current McLaren production model. It produces 562 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque, which is sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
The GT does weigh slightly more than the 570S coupe, which seems to translate into a slight dent in performance. It will do 0 to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and 0 to 124 mph in 9.8 seconds, compared to 3.2 seconds and 9.5 seconds for the coupe. Both versions will reach a top speed of 204 mph. Like the 570S, the GT also uses a less exotic adaptive suspension system than the 650S both models share a basic platform with, but it gets its own suspension tune.
Following its debut in Geneva, the McLaren 570GT should go on sale before the end of the year. If you’d love a supercar, but don’t want to leave your groceries behind, give it a look.
