McLaren has been holding true to its promise of launching a car very quarter until the year 2022. The latest automobile out of Woking is the spanking new 600LT.
Nowadays, every manufacturer has a couple of letters which when they add to a car's name, the car becomes rather special. Lamborghini has got SV (Super Veloce), Porsche has RS (Rennsport), Jaguar has SVR, and so on. You see such badges on a car, you just know it is something out of the ordinary. Similarly, only the most extreme of McLarens are treated with the LT (Longtail) badge. The last Mac to wear the moniker was the 675LT, and it was bonkers in the way it looked, sounded and performed.
The new LT on the block promises to match up to the 675's level, if not leave it behind. The 2019 McLaren 600LT is based on the 570S. That means it gets the same twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8, bumped to produce 591 hp (600PS, hence the name) and 620Nm. The car is capable of hurtling to 200 kph in just 8.2 seconds- that's brisk acceleration, making it faster than the Lamborghini Huracan Performante. It also tops out at 328 kph. Staying true to its Long Tail name, the 600LT is 74mm longer than the 570S and gets a larger rear wing/air-brake assembly that helps generate extra downforce according to McLaren.
The 600LT is a true successor to the 675 as it can register faster lap times at any circuit of your choosing than the latter. Aiding this performance is the Mclaren's weight savings program that sheds 96kg from the stock 570S. How so? Well, the boffins at Woking binned the 570S's air-con, seats, body panels, wheels, and anti-roll bars. They instead used carbon fiber for the 600LT's body panels. The lighter wheels are shod in Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R rubber. The seats are lightweight units lifted off the Senna. Brake and suspension components, as well as anti-roll bars, are lighter than the ones on the 570S. There is no air-con in the 600LT and the interior is Alcantara-heavy. In fact, McLaren claims it has swapped out 23% of the 570S's parts to develop the new Long Tail.
So the 2019 McLaren 600LT is lighter, more powerful, and more exclusive than the 570S. The rear wing generates 100 kg of downforce at speed up to 250 kph. McLaren is producing it in limited numbers. But here's the clincher: those high-stacked twin vertical tailpipes and the glorious soundtrack the car produces, capable of stirring your soul. It did mine!
