2015 McLaren 650S

New 2015 McLaren 650S. In line with their plans to release a new car every year, the McLaren 650S follows on from the 12C, 12C Spyder and, of course, the awesome P1. Designed to sit between the 12C and the P1, the new McLaren 650S is essentially a major facelift for the 12C. McLaren have chosen to keep the car very drivable and offer some every day creature comforts like a rear parking camera and satellite navigation whilst improving performance and all-round drivability at the same time. Firstly the 650S has 25% new parts over the 12C, this is much more than a simple styling exercise to make it look like the P1. The revised styling helps create an astounding 40% more down force and through increased cooling they have been able to up the power by 25 hp and 80 Nm of torque. To complement the increase in power, gear changes are now faster and more engaging with a more responsive throttle response too.

These performance gains mean the 650S now squeezes 650 PS and 678 Nm of torque from the 3.8-litre twin turbo V8, improving acceleration, responsiveness and overall top speed. 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration now takes only 3.0 seconds and 0-200 km/h (125 mph) only 8.4 seconds. This is faster than many ‘stripped out’ track-focused road cars, yet despite this the McLaren 650S also offers better fuel economy and is more usable every day. The 650S will go on to hit a maximum of 333km/h (207mph) and when the time comes will break from 300-0 km/h in just 271 m (889 ft) thanks to its carbon ceramic brakes.

2015 McLaren 650S Specifications Efficiency CO2 275 g/km Fuel consumption (combined) 24.2 mpg (UK) Power to weight (with lightweight options) 500 PS (493 bhp) / tonne CO2/power 0.42g/km per bhp Speed Maximum speed 333 km/h (207 mph) Acceleration 0-100 kph (62 mph) 3.0 s* 0-200 kph (124 mph) 8.4 s* 0-300 kph (186 mph) 25.4 s* 0-400 m / ¼ mile 10.5 @ 224 km/h (139 mph)* Braking 100-0 km/h 30.5 m (100 ft) 200-0 km/h 123 m (404 ft) 300-0 km/h 271 m 889 ft) *with standard Pirelli P Zero™ Corsa tyres As we know, power is nothing without control. The 650S has 22% stiffer springs, revised front top-mounts and this all works in line with a revised damper calibration to improve high and low speed handling. The McLaren Airbrake has also been refined and is now more intelligent in how and when it deploys. It doesn’t just work under braking, the rear wing now flattens at high speed in a straight line, like a Formula 1 DRS system and under full acceleration in Aero mode, improving air flow over the car.

So in conclusion the 650S isn’t exactly what we expected from McLaren and it does take the 12C and make some excellent improvements in all areas to create a far more enjoyable and involving drive, it also looks fantastic from a front 3/4 angle!