McLaren 570S Track Pack 2017 first drive

From £145,30510

New Track Pack brings some lightweight options to the McLaren 570S, and it only enhances an already stellar package

Mark Tisshaw
Mark Tisshaw
14 March 2017

What is it?

You need a PHD to try and cut through the complexity of the Porsche 911 range. But that complexity and the constant addition of new models is no coincidence: with sports cars, having the latest new model on the market is crucial, for most sales of any particular variant are in the first year.

That’s why Mercedes-AMG is taking a leaf out the 911 book with an expanded Mercedes-AMG GT range, and why McLaren is increasing the models offered in its Sports Series. To that end, meet the latest addition to the McLaren 570S range: the McLaren 570S Track Pack.

570s tp 1

Related McLaren 570S 2015-2019 reviews

Okay, this isn’t a proper full-fat variant in the way a 540C differs to a 570S, and then again to a 570GT, it instead nudges the 570S into somewhat of a race circuit-shaped direction, for which the name is a bit of a giveaway.

What's it like?

The McLaren 570S, a five-star Autocar road test car, is a fine base on which to build, but equally, a formula you don’t want to tamper with too much. So to that end, the Track Pack’s changes are minimal: you get lightweight race seats, an interior shod completely in Alcantara, super-lightweight alloy wheels, a few MSO-sourced exterior colour and trim tweaks, and a 12mm taller rear wing, which adds an extra 29kg of downforce at 150mph.

570s tp4

It’s all about weight saving, the total diet shaving 25kg from the 570S’s 1313kg kerb weight. Throw in the extra Track Telemetry software from the 675 LT and P1 displayed on the infotainment screen, and you’ve a package with a £16,500 premium over a standard 570S.

And it’s amazing what difference a few little tweaks can make to the overall experience, and all in a good way in the 570S’s case. Take that Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, for example. It feels special, sporty and involving in your hands, making the superb steering feel (from a hydraulic system, remember) spread right to the palm of your hands.

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570s tp 3

Alcantara is the material also used to trim the lightweight race seats, which look snug and firm on first acquaintance, yet reveal themselves to be perfectly comfortable even for a cross-continent drive. The material is grippy and the seat surrounds are highly supportive, so you feel fixed in the centre of the car, but in no way is the experience a claustrophobic or uncomfortable one.

Elsewhere, the rest of the 570S’s superb dynamic package is evident in the Track Pack, albeit we were testing the car on winter tyres ahead of an excursion up a snowy Swiss mountain. It retains its supercar pace and poise, from the responsive 562bhp 3.8-litre V8 engine to the witchcraft being worked by the suspension to create a car that turns in like nothing else for this money. Yet, it still rides in a way that would put many a family hatchback to shame.

Should I buy one?

There is no sports car that does a better impression of a supercar than a McLaren 570S. That’s truer than ever in this new Track Pack version, which nudges the 570S even closer to a supercar in the way it involves you in the driving experience, but almost magically, with no loss of that now typical McLaren usability. 

McLaren 570S Track Pack

Price £159,750; Engine V8, 3799cc, twin-turbocharged petrol; Power 562bhp at 7500rpm; Torque 443lb ft at 5000-6500rpm; Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch auto; Kerb weight 1288kg (dry); Top speed 204mph; 0-62mph 3.2sec; Economy 26.6mpg; CO2/tax band 249g/km, 37% Rivals Honda NSX, Audi R8 V10

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Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?, Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.
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Comments
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BertoniBertone 18 March 2017

Dry weight nonsense

Can you or McLaren stop quoting dry weight please ? It's misleading and unrealistic. DIN weight is fine but frankly it's the EC weight or, to be more accurate, the weight of the owner that makes for the final 'real' weight. The 570S's 1313kg appeals to my Colin Chapmanesque sensibilities. However, if you add just the liquids and a full tank of fuel to a 'standard' 570S you're within 20 odd kilos of Porsche 991.2 C2 which, though a much slower car, has a lot more practicality. Of course, I'm not comparing the two but 'real world' weights ought to be quoted so we're not duped into thinking that we are driving a light-weight sports car when, in fact, we are driving a portly GT. Thank God for Lotus.
yvesferrer 16 March 2017

McLaren for all?

Ok, we don't need tests of Dacias and Skodas every week (no offence intended, at all!) but quite frankly: how relevant is it to most people that 12mm on the rear spoiler add 29 kg of downforce at 150 mph? I am NOT a grumpy old g*t; I simply feel that a mainstream magazine like Autocar ought to revise its editorial policy just a tad... When a car is sold in hundreds, it is hardly more than a dream for most people who are more concerned with 'real-world' motors, brilliant as that car might be! Ok, back to my dark cave...
Ravon 14 March 2017

Return to base ?

I've been lucky enough to enjoy some spirited road drives in a good friends 540, it's really fantastic in just about every respect compared to my existing Porsche Cayman GT4, in fact it makes the GT4 feel very slow and rather cumbersome. But there is one issue that shines bright in the Cayman, and stops me getting into debt swapping marques. From what the salesman at McLaren said to me just a couple of weeks ago when I made my first enquiry, a McLaren, in order to maintain it's warranty needs to be taken to McLaren before every track day , and back again after every track day, which is fine, but in my case as a retired enthusiast, my GT4 has completed over thirty track days in one year with standard servicing,( and quite a lot of replacement brake rotors ), thirty days out playing is just about OK with my wife, but another sixty days shuffling back and forth to McLaren could turn things nasty ! I also have no idea the cost of the pre and post track day checks ?
robhardyuk 15 March 2017

.

Ravon wrote:
I've been lucky enough to enjoy some spirited road drives in a good friends 540, it's really fantastic in just about every respect compared to my existing Porsche Cayman GT4, in fact it makes the GT4 feel very slow and rather cumbersome. But there is one issue that shines bright in the Cayman, and stops me getting into debt swapping marques. From what the salesman at McLaren said to me just a couple of weeks ago when I made my first enquiry, a McLaren, in order to maintain it's warranty needs to be taken to McLaren before every track day , and back again after every track day, which is fine, but in my case as a retired enthusiast, my GT4 has completed over thirty track days in one year with standard servicing,( and quite a lot of replacement brake rotors ), thirty days out playing is just about OK with my wife, but another sixty days shuffling back and forth to McLaren could turn things nasty ! I also have no idea the cost of the pre and post track day checks ?
I am sure if you can afford one, the price of checks will be irrelevant.