McLaren 650S sprints into in Oz

MCLAREN’S 650S supercar has blasted into its Australian dealership just a week after its official international debut at the Geneva motor show, priced from $441,500.

The starting price of $441,500 excluding on-road costs refers to the coupe, with buyers asked to pay an additional $44,750 for the Spider that tops the range at $486,250.

This pricing places it above the MP4-12C on which it is based, with the 650S coupe kicking off from $43,500 more than the 12C hardtop, while the Spider is $44,470 more than the drop-top 12C.

McLaren’s latest powerhouse has a number of competitors at the pointy end of the sportscar segment, including the Audi A8 V10 Plus quattro at $408,200, the Porsche 911 Turbo S that starts from $441,300 and Ferrari’s 458 Italia at $525,417, as well as Lamborghini’s hyper Huracan that carries local pricing of $428,000, excluding on-road costs.

The 650S is designed to fill a slot in the British supercar maker’s line-up above the 12C but below the extreme P1 hybrid hypercar that launched last year following its debut at the Geneva motor show. All 375 P1s have been sold.

McLaren confirmed in a statement that the 650S is available now at the company’s sole Australian dealership – Trivetts of Sydney, with no limits being placed on the local allocation of both coupe and Spider.

Any orders placed for either body-style now will ensure delivery at some point this year.

As previously reported, the latest addition to the McLaren range is powered by an uprated version of the 12C’s 3.8-litre twin turbocharged V8 producing 478kW/678Nm, up 37kW/78Nm over its donor car.

This helps propel the brutal Brit, in coupe guise, from a standing start to 100km/h in just 3.0 seconds and then onto 200km/h in 8.4 seconds, while the Spider takes just 0.2 seconds longer to reach 200km/h.

Power is delivered to the rear wheels via a seven-speed ‘SSG’ dual-clutch transmission.

The Spider with its electric two-piece roof carries 40kg more weight than the coupe which weighs in at 1330kg. McLaren says that both body-styles can reach a top speed of 333km/h.

While fuel consumption may not be a major concern for many 650S buyers, official fuel use is 11.7 litres per 100 kilometres on the European combined cycle and it has a CO2 figure of 275g/km, which McLaren says makes it one of the most efficient vehicles in its class.

Porsche’s 911 Turbo and Turbo S are slightly more frugal than the 650S, both consuming 9.7L/100km, while Ferrari’s 4.5-litre V8 458 Italia is thirstier with an official figure of 13.3L/100km.

Built at McLaren’s Woking, United Kingdom factory, the 650S features standard Bluetooth, ‘IRIS’ sat-nav, DAB digital radio, voice recognition, and a cabin decked out in Alcantara, while options include a reversing camera, carbon-fibre throughout the cabin and carbon racing seats.

The 650S features carbon ceramic brakes and rides on unique lightweight 19-inch alloy wheels with Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres.

McLaren Automotive chief executive officer Mike Flewitt said the company used the knowledge it gained from building the 12C and P1 in developing the 650S.

“The McLaren 650S represents 50 years of road and racing car know-how,” he said.

“Everything we’ve learnt from the 12C and the McLaren P1 has gone into this car, creating a car with the widest breadth of capabilities of any production supercar. It’s also a new benchmark in pure driving excitement”2014 McLaren 650S pricing*

Coupe (a)	$441,500
Spider (a)	$486,250

*Excludes on-road costs