GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: McLaren 570GT revealed

McLaren’s officially gone soft. Sort of.

In what is touted the most luxurious McLaren ever, the resurgent British supercar maker has whipped the covers off the new 570GT, a potshot at 911 Turbo and a car with the weekend cruiser firmly in the sights.

Based on the 570S but with suspension and steering ‘fine tuned’ to “emphasise long-distance comfort”, the 570GT also sports a new side-opening rear glass hatch and leather-lined “Touring Deck” with 220 litres more storage space.

The 570GT adopts a quieter exhaust than its 570S sibling, while McLaren has commissioned Pirelli to develop special 3dB quieter tyres also offering a “more refined ride”.

Spring rates have been reduced 15 per cent front and 10 per cent rear while the steering ratio is now two per cent slower for a calmer highway drive.

Inside the 570GT leather has been lavished with a generosity not seen in a McLaren before. The 570GT weighs 55kg more than the 570S (1495kg versus 1440kg) largely attributable to the steel rather than carbon brakes, and as such its performance is a little blunted.

But with the same 419kW/600Nm 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 as the 570S, the GT is hardly pedestrian, storming to 100km/h in 3.4sec (0.2sec slower), 0-200km/h 9.8sec (0.3sec slower) and its braking 100-0km/h now 33 metres to the 570S’s 31m. Meanwhile top speed is the same at 328km/h.

In what could be the most popular McLaren model of the range, the 570GT also scores a 10mm larger fixed rear spoiler than 570S in lieu of the aerodynamic flying buttresses being lost in place of the opening rear glass.

The first 570GTs are set to arrive Australia late 2016 priced from $406,800, or $27,800 more than the 570S.