Skip to main content

McLaren highlights its motorsports pedigree with the 570S Sprint and GT4

McLaren has revealed two new versions of its 570S sports car that are designed exclusively for track duty.

Joining the 540C, 570GT, and 570S Sports Series models, the 570S GT4 and 570S Sprint have been developed with McLaren’s motorsports division, McLaren GT, and CRS GT Limited.

The 570S GT4 will go straight to work in a season-long development program in the British GT championship, piloted by the Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse customer team. As for the 570S Sprint, the model won’t be limited by racing regulations but instead will be a purpose-built track car for enthusiasts. Should owners decide they want a more serious racing experience, the Sprint can be upgraded to GT4 specifications.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“As with the road-going models to wear a McLaren badge, the 570S GT4 and 570S Sprint models are about being an engaging and exciting drive,” said Mike Flewitt, chief executive officer of McLaren. “The launch of the Sports Series has broadened the McLaren brand to a new audience, introducing technologies to the sports car market and to a new group of customers. The introduction of the 570S GT4 is doing the same in the motorsport world, and will bring the opportunity to own and race a McLaren — previously limited to a very small number of people — to a much wider group.”

Flewitt also mentioned that the idea to run the 570S GT4 in a racing season was intended for data collection and vehicle optimization to ensure that the finalized cars will be up to snuff.

The 570S GT4 shares the carbon-fiber MonoCell II chassis with the other Sports Series models, but this is the first time it has appeared in the GT4 category. Carbon fiber and aluminum bodywork is laid over a wider front and rear track to fit its magnesium alloy wheels and Pirelli racing tires. The GT4 also includes a FIA-spec roll cage, fire extinguisher, two-way adjustable motorsport dampers with coil-over sprints, and an air jack system.

The 3.8-liter twin turbocharged V8 engine is borrowed from the standard 570S, along with the seven-speed transmission. The setup is finished off with a unique aero kit with a GT4-spec rear wing, a larger front splitter, and an extra radiator beneath the new hood.

McLaren also announced that Ansar Ali will be appointed McLaren Automotive’s Motorsports Director and will be in charge of motorsports activities and strategy. “Motorsport is part of the lifeblood of the McLaren brand, and this role will be key to our long-term plans as we continue to expand the product range and customer appeal around the world,” added Flewitt.

The 570S GT4 will make its public debut at the British GT Championship on April 16. Going forward, it will be eligible for all GT4 homologated championships globally from the 2017 season, and is priced from £159,900, which equates to $226,423.

More information on the 570S Sprint, including pricing, will roll out in the coming weeks.

Miles Branman
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Miles Branman doesn't need sustenance; he needs cars. While the gearhead gene wasn't strong in his own family, Miles…
Honda unveils sleek electric sedan and SUV prototypes at CES 2025
Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV prototypes.

Honda’s next-generation electric vehicles are a step closer to production. At CES 2025, the automaker unveiled prototypes of the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV, the first two of its 0 Series EVs that will start rolling off assembly lines in Ohio next year.

The two EVs follow 0 Series concept cars Honda unveiled at CES 2024. These are closer to what buyers can expect to see in showrooms, hence the label of “prototype” rather than “concept.” How close exactly? When Honda unveils a prototype, that vehicle generally makes the transition to production with minimal changes. But that would be particularly remarkable here.
They still look like concept cars

Read more
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2025 Awards
Top Tech of CES

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Sony and Honda’s Afeela 1 EV makes more sense at CES than in the real world
Afeela 1 front quarter view.

The Sony car is almost here. After its creation via a joint venture with Honda in 2022 and two years’ worth of prototypes, the electronics giant’s Afeela brand is finally taking reservations for its first electric vehicle, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

But will it be worth the wait? Coinciding with the opening of reservations, Sony Honda Mobility brought updated prototypes of the Afeela 1 (as it’s now officially known) to CES 2025, representing what California customers (Afeela is only taking reservations in that state) who put down a $200 refundable deposit can expect when they take delivery.

Read more