So much of what surrounds supercars and hyper cars has to do with theater and presence. The looks of the car, the sound it makes—it’s all a part of the drama. It’s entertainment, and McLaren agrees.
It’s not just all about going fast and getting places, it seems. In a recent chat with Top Gear, McLaren boss Mike Flewitt told the magazine:
“We are not in the transport business. We are in the entertainment business. If cars that you drive yourself just become recreational vehicles that’s OK with us. It’s going back to how supercars used to be. A Lamborghini Miura wasn’t transport – you couldn’t drive to work in it. It’s only recently that supercars became reliable enough to be transport as well as entertainment.” He points out that a century ago the car killed the horse as transport, but not as recreation. “There are 2 million horses in the UK and I bet few of them are used for transport.”
That must be why a McLaren 570S is striking to look at, but also incredibly easy to drive.
The reality is that the bare-bones and incredibly uncomfortable supercars are now the minority. Most modern-day super- and hyper cars also have air-conditioning and radios. And some padding for your ass.
It’s good to see that McLaren, while adapting creature comforts for the car, has also stayed true to the dramatic flair that we all want to see in a supercar.
That rumored three-seater McLaren F1 callback in the works seems very entertaining, indeed.