McLaren 570S revealed

McLAREN has finally unveiled its new entry-level car, the Sports Series, at the New York motor show.

It has revealed the first variant – the 570S – while a less powerful ‘C’ version will follow soon, and we believe there’s also a ‘Long Tail’ in the works.

Despite its compact looks, the 570S is slightly bigger and heavier than the existing 650S, with a claimed dry weight of 1313kg “with lightweight options”.

The increase in mass is due to a switch to aluminium bodywork and also because the familiar McLaren carbonfibre monocoque has been engineered with lower and wider sills than the 650S.

Power comes from an evolved version of McLaren’s 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that drives the rear wheels through a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox.

Although producing less power than the 650S, the engine still knocks out a healthy 420kW at 7400rpm and 600Nm at 5000rpm.

McLaren is quoting 3.2 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint, a 9.5-sec 0-200km/h time and a top speed of 328km/h.

Unsurprisingly, given its price point, the Sports Series is less mechanically complex than the 650S, doing without that car’s sizeable moving rear wing and interconnected hydraulic suspension.

It sticks with the upward-hinged doors, though, and still packs plenty of visual aggression.

There’s no official word on pricing yet, although we’re told it will be priced against rivals including the Bentley Continental V8 and Porsche 911 Turbo S, which sell in Australia for $400K-plus.

We’ll have to see how that pans out over here, of course, but anticipate a decent discount on the 650S’s $441,500 pricetag.

With a carbon structure, turbocharged V8 power and a McLaren badge, it’s not hard to see the appeal.