Chris Harris Drives... the Best of McLaren: Senna, 600LT, 720S, 650S GT3 | Top Gear

[Music] [Applause] [Music] now I know the McLaren range of streetcars is quite confusing they have special series Sport Series and asparagus series and Lord knows what else what you need to know is the baby car the 570 on which the 600 LC that I'm in now is based it's quite different to the others in that it has a conventional suspension system it has struts springs dampers nothing cross-linked or hydraulic or clever it's an analogue quite simple car compared to the others in Genoa that does give it certain advantages because it feels more conventional I've just got in this car and immediately I have a sense of connection in it that I don't have in the bigger cars I love the 720 but it's a bit aloof it's a bit like having a meal with a really clever late and having to spend 10 minutes sort of working out where it's brains at before you can have a conversation in the 600 LT you just get in and have a natter so what are we got we've got about 30 more horsepower than a standard car a stiffer pokey a chassis samara modifications and some exhausts that exit a bit higher on the old arse it's not fundamentally different it's just a sort of reworking of the core 570 bits first things first driving position is just spot-on the seat itself well I'm sure you can play with the padding a bit these are Center s very sparsely padded carbon buckets and I've got too much right behind my shoulder blades which is maybe down to me I don't know seats are quite a personal thing aren't they this one not perfect driving position amazing I love the way you can get the wheel right back onto your chest on low and in typical McLaren style but probably low scuttle which means I can see right down almost like I can see on to the tops of the front wheels it's not intimidating engine well where are we at with the engines B's McLaren turbocharged v8 I think they get away with being quite laggy people don't seem to criticize them but this is a really kind Maggy engine if you jump out of a Porsche or Ferrari turbocharged engine from 2018 they're more immediate this thing builds and builds that has some excitement but certainly mid corner it makes it much more difficult to use the motor to adjust the line breaks superb absolutely superb but they're slipping about this car that is I think really special it's a fun fun device it wants to move around a bit ultimate grip it's pretty high but it's not crazy crazy grippy and when it does move into a bit of a slide the progression is helpful it's quite slow and easy it's much more friendly than the expects of a mid-engine car the steering is bang-on McLaren has a big advantage of a Ferrari in the steering department now this thing is wriggling around in my hands fantastic like having an electric eel on speed working between my fricative did I just say that I'd again to cry behind company but if I could define this car through one area of his performance it would have turned you to a lower meeting to be bent here we are now I turn the wheel and just I release the brake the front of the car scoots round the understeer is gone II want this lovely Lotus like independent feel across all four wheels remember no locking differential that's where it really helps and the car just turns it feels agile I drove the center recently it wouldn't do that I think this is a more playful car than a center and then for me on a circuit playfulness is everything I'm not here chasing lap times I take it over the big one I just think it's really really fun to drive I mean it's just beginning to be the rain here which is the thing with the earth tear it off I know so you have to trust me it is magnificent fun this thing what do you think of the way it looks I think it's been fussy on the outside I don't mind the tailpipes neither okay but the add-ons are a bit Adani aren't they I'm not sure about this whole LT naming strategy longtail meant something with the original f1 because it was miles longer but the 600 LT is wait for it 7.4 centimeters longer than a 5 70s call it nearly a Snickers bar a modest is the kindest way to describe it the extra 30 horsepower comes from a new cam and a remap everything in the chassis is new and lighter there are some 720 bits the springs and dampers are firmer than the standard car and the track is a little bit wider overall the car is 96 kilograms lighter it's a less comprehensive makeover than the 675 LT but then the car on which is based is miles better now on this baby track McLaren reminds us that Woking is in a different world to all other sports car makers in terms of raw acceleration nought to 60 to 2.9 seconds 0 to 124 in eight point two seconds and 204 miles an hour flat out okay it's not as fast as the gt2 RS but I really care it's still fast enough that if you stick a mate in the passenger seat they'll probably need you under crackers afterwards and that's the measurement by which we should all judge these cars it's perfectly fast enough 600 horsepower dampers in fullhart you're on your own there's not much leeway here shriek Nana throttle like a bloody hornet's nest it's the boost when the boost arrives the thing just doesn't want to hang on really [Music] are you gonna be careful through there when you get the understeer on don't try and trace it and get the armful of oversteer because then you're too far gone the wheels in the wrong direction we live around here [Music] haha you can always tell when you're thinking because you're not talking so much I feel really connected to the car though even though the conditions are terrible I feel like I'm connected to the car that gives me confidence [Music] oh god that's terrible that's horrible yeah okay the really low breed happens with other different the way know things with the rest of it car just feels actually very good very very good yeah they've nailed it with this strange isn't it I'm more interested in this than I understood padieu for a million pound eight and it was bad things I think this is the sweet spot for McLaren track cars [Music] the McLaren 720's is like my food of supercars it is the car I come back to because I think it is the most complete supercar on sell possibly ever built now you might also know that I don't think that fondly about the center because the service base from this car to me it's just Oh clear and more useless [Music] if you get out of one of these and think you want a faster car you're a different man than me this is so fast this is the trackpad you get four wheels a titanium roll cage a load of carbon and some of the worst bill quads you have ever seen on a car I love this thing that McLaren you've got to start making the problem dynamically it's fantastic it changes direction like nothing else folk didn't before the engine is massively fast it spots super bleep I mean it is just the complete supercar I love the way it looks [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's so capable around here it's running a pirelli course attire which just it's pretty old I don't have that much traction come on go active arrow is pretty much flying some of these parts here you just keep the thing very cool here cheeks back what a machine love it I love it it's the best car working weeks why would you go and waste your money on the Sun I have one of these it's the bargain out there the big long one the big one one do [Music] ah and it feels light on its feet it is the best car in its class I love the steering I love the brakes all up the Hamming all the way that it can be supple on the road and firm on the track [Music] this is the best car you can buy it is just genius its dynamically so good light on its feet is steers beautiful it changes direction telepathically you think about going somewhere and it goes it stops brilliantly it can be supple and comfortable on the road it can be an animal and flat and stiff on a circuit it is the complete package I love driving it and I love the way it looks I love the orange paint I love the titanium roll cage love everything about it it's wonderful can you tell I like it [Music] with 720 horsepower and 568 foot-pounds of torque and wearing just 1494 kilograms this car is already ahead of the pack it's taken Ferrari two years to catch up with the f8 tributo which we haven't driven yet which doesn't have MacLaren's carbon tub nor it's fiendishly clever cross-linked hydraulic suspension the Track Pack takes very little away from the 720 s on road comfort it's still more supple than most family cars but adds quite a lot more support on the track but the cost is on it's a bit silly given the changes aren't huge twenty-eight thousand three hundred and sixty four the track pack alone add to that 1,100 for polished brake calipers with a logo yes really and the other fancy carbon fitted to this test card is actually all cosmetic and its 56,000 pounds over list price and the dynamic improvement is nothing like as impressive as the Manti kit on the gt2 RS so my advice remains the same as always buy a nearly new standard 720 save a packet and enjoy a genius of a car for far less money [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the McLaren Senna is as ugly as it is fast but how fast is it some people say it's as fast as a gt3 car we just happen to have a gt3 car bill where's my racing now this we was just a day out and not a scientific exercise and it was recorded last summer in August 2018 so apologies for the basic footage I wanted to drive them back to back to see just how different the supposedly best track day machine was compared to a proper racing car the center is spec sheet pornography 800 horsepower 1,300 kilograms active aerodynamics 750,000 pounds and a carbon tub sub 10-second standing quarter-mile and lap times to make a p1 look slow the race car has just 550 horsepower weighs a bit less than the center but has the benefit of wider slick tires and conventional rescue aerodynamics and it looks miles better covered in crap from the spar 24 hours I do love the way you could just see out through these windows down here I thought they were an absolute gimmick when I saw the car being revealed but actually they add to the sense of airiness there's glass everywhere she had this lovely sense of light in the cabin which i think is great so that McLaren Senna weird name hey Senna it's probably the coolest name you can apply to a car that you could use on the street so you have to be pretty sure that you're making something that's worthy of that name 800 horsepower under 12 under kilograms so I'm told so it's light the numbers are staggering I'm told it's p1 quick I can believe it and yet it's road-legal it has road-legal tires it has number plates it has indicators you could drive it to the South of France and back if you so wish what are you thinking about the way it looks I think it looks like a dog's dinner but then you probably didn't see the shorts I was wearing earlier I've got no idea about aesthetics I just think it could have been a bit more beautiful but I'm told it's all about function aerodynamics well we're at Silverstone so let's see what those areas that I makes are all about first impressions the engine mighty absolutely my the system's very very helpful um it's pulling big numbers down the straight Jeepers Creepers brakes superb for a road car again that's the best I've felt in a road car super pedal feel massive reassurance but already it's I get the sense this is held back by the tire that little 2 4 5 front tire I got understeer throttle I threw it cops again just the front of the glass washing out means after wait to get on the throttle I mean compared to any other road car I've driven on a track it's different gravy I'll give you that it's just better it's faster but I don't know the expectation is so high is that you're thinking come on so we're in race mode I'm not turning everything off because this car belongs to mater mine I don't fancy the tire bill and also you know it has to be representative doesn't it this is the way people will drive these things I'm gonna do the track day because I'm not spending all that money at renting a circuit and all that rubbish this is just about getting in them doing couple laps and just confirming either way which is quicker the air that I make grip for the quick stuff is mega I mean it's unlike any road car driven before you can really lean on the car at high speed interestingly it prefers to be using the torque of the engine it seems to respond better the more you use rpm it seems to lift the front of the car a bit but I haven't expected systems of working hard and it's not a difficult car to drive but it is you're busy making little alterations in corrections just nailing it around of it braking is absolutely superb and the play he's stupidity the way that you can use steering angle and stuff for the same time is again not like any road car I've driven let's see what it's like out here tractions good a little bit of a spoon up there into fourth gear through would Kurt I'm staying flat he wants to run all the way out should do it now one five something minutes beyond the racecar Blanc pan now yeah I've got some understeer there it was just a little bit understeery on the way out there and the high-speed stuff here yeah look at that just staying pending v 125 miles now there aren't many road cars that can do that yeah so in many ways I think it's a triumph but then there is this claim isn't there there is this it's as quick as a gt3 car thing I'm not sure it is I think it's a fast car but I'm surprised at how limited it is quite from actual grip I didn't expect so much understeer I really didn't I thought it would be better than that in that respect so I don't know maybe we just need a different tire or something it's only two four five at the front so it's lacking some size in that area yeah it's mighty it's absolutely my ting but I just expected a bit more from the front axle that smells like the meanest thing that one's ever said but the rest of the car so impressive it's the one aspect that does it's highlighted by the cars brilliance in other areas really [Music] so I the Baloch are below so I can have a quick go in this cart this is not the race car I normally Drive this sister car because our car but does it look so pretty after Sparkle so go out make sure the seat fits and then we'll pop some tires on it and then we'll go and do a nap time is simple today no data or nothing lap time I want to know whether macarons claim of descent of being as fast the gt3 car is chilled [Music] oh then if you want to find out whether I've been racing what a bezel is here this is the 650 STD treatment [Music] Carbon tarp it's the matheran staple but in racing form is the center really I raise the card number place [Music] in the center it's flatter it's more planted its brakes are much stronger when the Sun is preached for a road car I've superb but these are there different gravy [Music] it doesn't have the [Music] and immediately freaked out yeah immediately it's the protection of the cows that are so different I can lean on this because of the slick tire and just the width of the tire in a way that I just can't in the free car love racing this that is such a fun car to drive [Music] in Devon I can break later everywhere obviously cuz I just got more purchased on the truck I've got a wider front tire and it's slick systems on as intrusive either more fur over the curb and already now on the steering there as it moves a bit but really yeah it doesn't have the crazy but it generates a lot more downforce [Music] really is quite a machine it's so efficient through the air and 3/4 corner [Music] good old-fashioned diamond mom first poser remains to be seen for release quicker I mean I know what my money's on Bodie one way to find out [Music] more traction because of the sick but the front of the car is just there in a way that it isn't in the center I like this car [Music] [Music] so a pretty unspecial time by me that was one luck challenge and I'm old and I'm chubby next up the center which won't do many laps at a time because it's fuel tank is so small [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so the center is miles slower than a gt3 car nearly seven seconds a drift round Silverstone and after the race car it just feels flappy and unconnected and if that seems like an unfair comparison well it probably is the center has aircon on it will do the shopping but it's not remotely present on the road so most people will just track them for the price of a Center you could buy a gt3 car and do ten track days a year now I'll tell you what I know what I'd rather drive [Music] you

Channel: Top Gear

Views: 534,202

Keywords: Top Gear, Top Gear Series, Car Review, Car Compare, Super Car, street car, BBC, BBC Studios, Chris Harris, Chris Harris Drives, Chris HArris McLaren, McLaren, McLaren Top Gear, McLaren Senna, Senna, McLaren 720S, McLaren P1, McLaren 650S, McLaren GT3, McLaren Senna Top Gear, Best McLaren, drag race, exotic cars, mclaren 600lt, 600LT, top gear mclaren 600lt, mclaren senna acceleration, mclaren 600lt acceleration, top gear chris harris drives, mclaren 720s spider

Id: NdV7fsjzHes

Length: 29min 38sec (1778 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 15 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

The best of mclaren

no f1 :(

[u/TheUnoriginalMan]

Anyone know the track name for the 600lt?

[u/BlankSwitch]

I thought he'd prefer the 600LT more than the 720s. Great filming on this one.