MALAGA, Spain – McLaren’s new 650S has its detractors. And, on 8 April 2014, I could count myself among them … Isn’t it just an MP4-12C with a new nose and re-fettled suspension that’s programmed with a few new commands for the engine’s CPU to execute? Wasn’t this supposed to be a car that slotted in between the mighty P1 hypercar and the MP4-12C? The price – R4,5-million (a good R600 000 more than the MP4-12C) – certainly suggests its should be a different car. This, however, looks more like a facelift. And now we hear that MP4-12C production has essentially ended. What’s the deal?
Well, says McLaren, it IS based on the same carbon tub chassis as the MP4-12C, and yes, it has the SAME powertrain, but (and given the “but” this is where you have full licence to raise your eyebrows) the 650S is 25% different to the outgoing MP4-12C. And here, briefly, are those differences:
- Yes, it has P1 styling cues. But the 650S does not merely draw from the new family design DNA, it also comprises aerodynamic learnings from the P1. It not only gives the 650S 40% downforce (at 240 km/h), but also improved cooling.
- Yes, the engine mapping has been tweaked for improved torque and power outputs. It now delivers 478 kW (up 18 kW) and 678 N.m of torque (up 78 N.m). But it’s also got new pistons, cylinder head, cam timing and exhaust valves.
- Yes, they’ve re-worked the suspension and the damper settings for a sportier ride. However, the firm claims to not have compromised on the comfort and refinement, which were among the hallmarks of the MP4-12C.
Fine. But can you really tell that much of difference when you drive it? After all, in my experience, the claims in improved performance from one – and I have to use the word again – “facelifted” model to the next are often difficult to pick up.
To back up their claims, McLaren hosted a test session near the city of Malaga. We got to drive the coupé and spider versions of the 650S on a 350-km road trip, as well as on the famed Ascari private race circuit that loops around the Andalusian hills.
After a day behind the wheel, the short answer is… yes. The slightly longer version is… yes, most very definitely.
The most noticeable difference is in the ride and handling. Featuring McLaren’s bespoke ProActive Chassis Control system, you can still toggle between normal, sport and track modes, but the spreads between those extremes have been lengthened.
On the road, the 650S still displays a level of asphalt-imperfection damping that a car of this nature simply has no right to have. In fact, in normal mode it’s even more user-friendly and civilised than the outgoing MP4-12C with a re-worked suspension top-mount that’s decreased the level of NVH transmitted from the road surface into the cabin.
But it’s on the track that the spread makes itself known (given the grumpy demeanour of the Spanish police – they’re made to drive Fiats – no-one risked high-speed jinks on public roads). In its leeriest mode on the Ascari circuit, the 650S revealed a persona the MP4-12C never had. It can also be a proper handful.
Whereas in track mode, its sibling would still flatter your average driver thanks to its ABS and ESC safety systems that would hover around one’s (often misjudged) corner entry speeds. Now, however, the 650S demands a high level of skill if you want to take that trip to the edge. The experience is now much more visceral, in fact. The car is louder, squirmier under braking and, at 6 000 r/min, the engine reveals a new sense of urgency as the rising torque arrives like someone’s bugled the cavalry.
Standard fit Pirelli PZero Corsa tyres and carbonfibre brakes (which were optional on the MP4-12C) provide more grip and stopping power, and both are welcomed aides when, under heavy braking, the car shimmies and dances before turning in. In track mode, above 5 000 r/min and at 85%-and-above throttle, the upshifts are more brutal too. Electronic black magic now induces momentary cylinder cut that circumvents the usual seamless shift to allow something far more brutal. And quicker.
It’s more than a speedier shift, it gives the engine a far more emotive sound too. And that is the crux of it all. What makes this 650S a fundamentally different car to the MP4-12C is the sense of emotion it’s imbued with. The car remains as civilised as it was – more so even – but now it will also simultaneously make the hairs on the back of neck stand up, challenge your sphincter control, and make you want to take home to meet mama.
Today is the 9th of April. And I have renounced my cynical status.
*Specifications
Model: McLaren 650S coupé
Engine: 3,8-litre, twin turbocharged V8
Power: 478 kW @ 7 500 r/min
Torque: 678 N.m @ 6 000 r/min
0-100 km/h: 3,0 seconds*
Fuel consumption: 11,7 L/100 km*
CO2: 275 g/km
Top speed: 333 km/h*
Price: R4 500 000
Model: McLaren 650S Spider
Engine: 3,8-litre, twin turbocharged V8
Power: 478 kW @ 7 500 r/min
Torque: 678 N.m @ 6 000 r/min
0-100 km/h: 3,0 seconds*
Fuel consumption: 11,7 L/100 km*
CO2: 275 g/km
Top speed: Price: R4 700 000
*Manufacturer claims
