McLaren GT review: Flash, brash and enough to tickle anyone’s fancy


Simon Wilgress-Pipe
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Some car manufacturers never stray too far from creating exactly the kind of vehicles one would expect from them.

Rolls-Royce won’t be producing a family runabout any time soon, a hot hatchback is not expected from Hummer in the near future and, from what we can gather, Volvo is not planning the imminent release of an 8-litre V12 monster truck.

You can add supercar manufacturer McLaren to this list of single-minded automotive firms, and you know what to expect when the company talks about its GT range.

The latest model is, unsurprisingly, a supercar tearaway, much like everything the company has produced in living memory.

Good job, too – there would have been astonishment and dismay all round if the GT had turned out to be a vehicle designed to rival the Nissan Sunny.

Though even by the brand's high standards, the new arrival is a spicy little number.

Hang onto your hats, spectacles, wigs and anything else likely to come loose if you put your foot to the floor in this one – the GT will hit 100kph from a standing start in a little over three seconds.

Frankly, there are slower rollercoasters.

It’s a fine vehicle at lower speeds as well, but this is another one of those rides where the engine is goading the driver to floor it whenever you try driving sedately.

When one resists, it can be a serene and quiet ride and, whatever speed I'm at, it makes me feel a teensy bit on the magnificent side.

The GT takes corners superbly, giving, at times, the sensation of being at the controls of a machine designed to emulate the most agile bird of prey.

A lot of supercars do this, but there's the distinct sensation of added classiness here.

For example, the McLaren doesn’t have the same pretty but preposterous dashboard set-up so beloved by some of its competitors, and it’s this kind of touch that makes one feel rather more Kingsman and less Hobbs and Shaw when zipping along.

All this aside though, the GT range is specifically made up of models designed to be more practical than McLaren’s other creations.

It's a supercar, says the manufacturer, but one that you can use for most of the things you'd use a normal vehicle for.

SPECS
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That said, the gullwing doors, for example, are things of beauty, but anyone tall may not find entering and exiting as simple as those closer to the ground.

Admittedly, it’s only what one might expect and it isn’t any different for the vast majority of supercars (the notable exception being the Lotus Eletre SUV, but that remains a bit of a one-off).

It means the GT could indeed be an everyday ride, one not needed to perform practical tasks.

One for the holidays then, when there’s just the two of you, without a lot of luggage.

Mind you, the way the GT feels as I rip around in it, it might do for a quick – and I mean proper quick – trip to the supermarket.

Just stick to the posh stuff though, broken eggs all over the interior is never a good look, and with the speed of the GT, that result is always possible.

The upgraded version, the GTS, will be available later this year.

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

Brief scores:

Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first

Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)

Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15

Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)

Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49

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Fixtures

Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs

Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms

Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles

Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon

Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon

ARGYLLE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Matthew%20Vaughn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Bryce%20Dallas%20Howard%2C%20Sam%20Rockwell%2C%20John%20Cena%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO

Schalke 0

Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')

Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)

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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

FINAL SCORES

Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs

(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)

Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs

(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)

SPECS
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Updated: March 08, 2024, 12:36 PM`