McLaren 600LT review: Espresso shot

Hungaroring, Hungary

EPIPHANY strikes like lightning - hard and fast, like the McLaren 600LT, and in the unlikeliest of places. For instance, the realisation that McLaren is really "by petrolheads, for petrolheads" 'clicked' into place for me at the Hungaroring, a 4.831km Formula 1 race-track with short bursts of straight stretches, which better rewards a technical driver who can successfully string together its corners at maximum speed.

I'd exited Turn 3 in McLaren's latest 'Longtail', a Chicane Grey 600LT, and was charging uphill towards the blind crest of Turn 4, with calm and concise instructions from sit-in instructor (and pro-driver) Warren Hughes helping me fine-tune my cornering attack angles, just so I could carry as much speed as possible through the technical circuit's corners.

Many brands adopt a 'follow-the-leader' format on-track - great for learning cornering lines, but falling flat if the pace is pegged to the slowest driver. Alternatively, one or two other brands might send you out solo after sighting laps with a test driver, but with only three laps on your own, you'd better have been there before, have a good memory, or spent enough time with a racing-simulator prior.

Forward-thinking brand

At McLaren's track launches, you're out in the car with a pro-driver, so you can overtake slower cars (or be overtaken). His objective is to help you wring as much as possible from yourself and the car so you can venture close to the car's performance abilities. The emphasis is on coaching rather than criticism, which demonstrates how much more forward-thinking McLaren is compared to another brand we recently spent a day at the track with.

At the track launch of the 600LT - a lightweight, 600 horsepower, track-focused version of McLaren's 570S 'baby' sports car - the brand ensured we would leave with no doubts about the credentials of its latest sports car. The 600LT's positioning is important enough that it reflects strongly on McLaren's ability to create real driver's cars that can stand against rivals from the established supercar pantheon.

That's because the 600LT is fourth in the brand's acclaimed 'Longtail' range (think Porsche's hardcore, track-ready RS models, al- beit in limited numbers and with stunning, supercar dihedral doors) that comprises 675LT Coupe, 675LT Spider and the original from 1997 that inspired the 'LT' range, the F1 GTR 'Longtail'.

Orientation 'warm-up' laps were conducted in the regular 570S, be- fore we were snugly ensconced in the gorgeous lightweight bucket seats of the 600LT.

If the 570S is a creamy Latte, the 600LT is a smoking cocktail of Red Bull and a well-extracted double espresso that will blow your mind and keep you buzzing for hours.

The 600LT's lightened state-of-being (about 100kg down from the 570S thanks to lots of carbon fibre and lightweight material), recalibrated chassis that is both sharp and progressive, and explosive performance mean you experience the full-bodied flavour of the road and track, exactly like its big brother, the visceral 675LT, which served as benchmark for this car.

Pleasantly feelsome

This isn't a watered-down decaf offering that places an emphasis on electronics over the driver, so the 600LT isn't just fast and reactive, but pleasantly feelsome.

You slip into the 600LT like a motion-capture suit, with helm and throttle inputs resulting in instant responses - you don't so much see, as you feel what it's doing. From stirring soundtrack, to the feel from seat-of-pants, steering wheel and brake-pedal, there's so much engagement and enjoyment from going (and stopping) quickly it'll turn you into an addict.

With the 600LT, you don't just cover ground and pull big G-forces quickly, you'll also feel every minutiae of the tarmac while doing so, a trait that's being slowly engineered out of modern sports cars.

Naturally the 600LT gets aggro aero and track-functional styling, but it is the top-exit exhaust tailpipes that are a Top Trump ace - they can even be instigated to shoot blue flames!

This being a McLaren, the exhaust positioning isn't just for aesthetics, because positioning the tailpipes there helps reduce weight (it's closer to the engine so uses less exhaust plumbing), and gives better top-end punch with the lower exhaust back pressure.

Above all, it is the brand's attitude that proves enlightening to this petrolhead. For instance, most pre-launch meet-mingle meals can feel interminably draggy, but our table kept it going into the night. The difference is clear when a group of passionate car-lovers get together and talk cars, as opposed to advancing an agenda by talking shop.

In an age that sees sports cars vilified and brands overrun by bean counters and marketeers, it's refreshing to be able to shoot the breeze with like-minded folks who aren't afraid to take political-correctness down a peg or two. Especially since there's nothing more unapologetically fun to drive than the 600LT.

McLaren 600LT

Engine 3,799cc, V8, twin-turbo Power 600hp at 7500rpm Torque 620Nm at 5500-6500rpm Gearbox 7-speed dual-clutch automatic Top Speed 328km/h 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds Fuel efficiency 11.7L/100km Agent McLaren Singapore Price S$819,000 before COE and options Available Now