Three years before its first proper attempt at a grand tourer, those wanting to do lots of miles in a McLaren were best served by the 570GT. It added enough practicality and comfort to make it a more usable, but no less entertaining, take on the 570S. So on the money did it feel out of the box, that it arguably made life for the subsequent GT quite a lot harder. The latter couldn't get away with the same grand touring foibles because it was no longer a sports car.
We're talking about relatively small issues like an infotainment system with a frustrating sat nav, a vent fan whir that's audible in all modes and surprisingly firm seats. But in a grand tourer - even one as dramatic as the GT - those things can become annoyances, while in a sports car, they're more easily forgiven. It helps if the sports car in question is as beautifully balanced and as thunderously fast as the 570S, because with such a wonderful underpinnings, there was sufficient rope to wind back the damping a bit.
Indeed, the former PH Fleet 570GT is recalled with fondness, even if its parking sensors did annoy us in traffic and a 2,095mm width made it less drivable in the city. This was a £178k car with options, but the all-round experience it offered, not to mention the capability of a twin-turbo 3.8 V8, made it feel authentically supercar-ish despite the Sports Series ranking. On the right road, it was every bit as exhilarating as a 570S. Matt said he'd own one in a heartbeat.
Thanks to depreciation (and its unforgiving impact on McLarens), the 570GT no longer requires £178k. See the car we've pulled out of the classifieds here, a 6,000-mile example with a good selection of optional extras, including the front suspension lifting system that's practically mandatory on a 570GT. It's up for just £83,744, which is well under half price what our longtermer cost including options, about £79k less than a new GT and, somewhat surprisingly given the badge on its nose, cheaper than almost all of the similarly aged, sub-10k Audi R8s in the classifieds.
And don't forget, McLaren's incoming all-new High-Performance Hybrid model introduces an electrified car that's expected to supersede the Sports Series category, meaning there will be no like-for-like successor to the 570S. That makes the GT version, with its added layer of amenability but no lack of loveliness, quite the prospect. And sure, you could have something like a last generation Porsche 911 GTS of about the same year with about the same miles for a similar amount. But it wouldn't look and go like a supercar.
MCLAREN 570GT | SPECIFICATION
Engine: 3,799c, V8, twin,turbo
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 570@7,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 443@5,000-6,500rpm
MPG: 26
CO2: 249g/km
First registered: 2017
Recorded mileage: 6,000 miles
Price new: £155,755 starting
Yours for: £83,744
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