McLaren 650S Spider Road Test Review

Price from: £215,250
Price as tested: £263,850
Available: Now

Being offered a drive in McLaren’s latest supercar, is a big tick in the life box. At this point I would love to say that it all took place under crystal blue skies, but you cannot have it all, Or can you? After driving McLaren’s new 650S, I think it is entirely possible and yes the roof stayed down regardless of the fifty shades of grey above:

In line with McLaren’s continual development philosophy, the 650S is the replacement for the blandly titled MP4-12C, a name that never exactly rolled off the tongue! The 650S is currently McLaren’s entry-level supercar, until the new 570S arrives later this year, but study the above and you will see there is nothing ‘entry’ about its price nor its performance: 0-60 mph in under three seconds and if you keep your foot down in another five seconds you will be doing 124 mph. Never mind supercar, this is a hyper-car. Top speed is pegged at a dizzy 204 mph. The ‘650’ title denotes the engine’s power output when measured in German ‘PS’ form, or 641 BHP in old money. What really matters though is that this is more power than you get with Ferrari’s 458 even when in savage-stallion Speciale spec.

The 650S like its predecessor is available in coupe or convertible (Spider) form and is powered by a 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8 all encased in a carbon-fibre tub making it both light on its feet (1370 Kg without fluids) and incredibly stiff.

McLaren will say that the swift replacement of the 12C is due to a number of factors, but in truth the old car although well received, was often criticised for being a touch bland. By contrast, when McLaren launched the £1 million flagship P1, it arrived to near adulation with its combination of space-age looks and its re-writing of the performance rule book. McLaren wisely decided to sprinkle some of this P1 magic over its entry supercar, tweaking the design and upgrading its performance features to come up with the more passionate 650S you see here. Make no mistake this is not merely a cosmetic overhaul, a quarter of the components are new, carbon ceramic brakes are now standard, the engine although never wanting for power previously, was ordered to bulk up and the exhaust has been tuned to make the 650S sound like the fire that it has in its belly.

Our test model was finished in the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Mantis Green (special paint upgrade £1,820) with an interior lavished in Carbon-fibre and Alcantara. The Spider offers a retractable folding roof that goes from enclosed to open-air in 15 seconds. McLaren also promise that the Spider offers no dynamic penalty when compared with the Coupe.

Walk up to the car and the P1’s influence is obvious immediately, with a new frontal treatment that looks like it has been lifted straight off big brother, with the same striking all-LED headlight design that is meant to evoke the swoosh of McLaren’s logo. See one of these streaking up behind you and you won’t be able to tell whether it is the £1 million flagship or the 650S bearing down on you, either way, you’ll be moving out of the way.

The profile and rear of the car remain unchanged from the 12C which has drawn criticism from some quarters, as it can make the 650S appear like it is two different cars joined together. I tend to agree as the design is not as cohesive as it is on the P1.

Getting into the McLaren is always an event thanks to the dihedral doors and you sit Lewis Hamilton low in the fixed-back carbon fibre race seats (an option at £5,120) which are a gift from the gods in being wonderfully supportive and yet surprisingly comfortable. You come to appreciate the minimalist style of the interior too with its lashings of Alcantara and Carbon-fibre. Straight ahead you have a steering wheel that is thankfully free from distracting buttons and it even brings a touch of F1 magic by being tailored to the same requirements that Lewis demands on his weekend Company Car. It offers a bespoke feel with a welcome absence of parts-bin specials, unlike Ferrari who tend to beg, steal and borrow off Fiat.

Press the Start button and the acoustic fireworks are muted, as unlike a Ferrari and a Lamborghini, the McLaren doesn’t feel the need to advertise your impending departure. Push the gearbox into Drive and the McLaren responds like any normal car. The long throttle travel allows for measured inputs and a great view ahead means you can place the car exactly where you want. Combine this with an exceptional ride quality and a 7-speed gearbox that works perfectly as an automatic and you have a supercar that grandma could drive down to the shops, providing that she could master getting in and out with a degree of dignity.

But of course there comes a time when you can resist no longer, so as the road opens up you flick down a couple of gears and push pedal closer to metal. What happens next is to feel like you have been thrown down the road with no real recognition of how you arrived there. With a Ferrari 458, the engine shrieks and howls angrily behind you, which adds to the sensation of speed and acceleration. The McLaren by comparison, just engages warp factor and rockets you down the road. It makes for an intense experience as your brain simply has difficulty in catching up and computing what the hell has just happened. I have never driven a car where the increasing speed numbers flash up before me quicker than I count them in my head. Thankfully the carbon-ceramic brakes scrub off excess speed with ease, offering a firm pedal feel full of feedback. There is also an Airbrake at the rear that swings into action when you really need to drop the anchor.

All of this is not to say that the 650S is without drama, there is still the supercar soundtrack to accompany your rapid progress, but the McLaren just gets on with the job of piling on the speed. The Ferrari wants the whole world and his wife to know how quickly you are travelling.

Handling-wise, given that the roads were quite damp, together with the fact that I had just signed a disclaimer to say that if I damaged it, I’d be paying, I can only report that the 650S reacts instinctively to steering inputs. Like a Spitfire pilot, it feels like you wear a 650S as opposed to just simply sitting in it. It can be tuned to angel or devil, with different modes for the chassis and powertrain (Normal/Sport/Track). Needless to say given that disclaimer form, I wisely left the 650S in its default ‘Normal’ setting.

To properly explore the 650S you really need a racetrack as the public road will only ever allow you to scratch at the surface of its abilities. Tellingly when I returned to my McLaren pit crew, ok, the PR team, I explained that I never got chance to use full-throttle on my drive, their response was: “I should bloody-well hope not on the road”.

With the 650S you really can have the supercar all. It offers the looks, gives you a track-day beast or commuting beauty and makes every journey an event. Sadly the only thing it cannot provide are the funds necessary to buy one.