Checked one off the bucket list today

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
04/07/2019 at 15:15 • Filed to: None

Drove a McLaren

aMore to come soon

DISCUSSION (7)

PatBateman > Jayhawk Jake
04/07/2019 at 17:30

A buddy of mine just this week decided he wants to get rid of his V antage 6 speed and into an MP4. The kicker: HE NEVER SPEEDS.

Looking forward to your review.

Jayhawk Jake > PatBateman
04/07/2019 at 17:32

It would be very difficult to not speed in this.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Jayhawk Jake
04/07/2019 at 18:54

only question....

has it ruined every other car to the point where driving anything else is just varying degrees of inferiority?

Jayhawk Jake > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
04/08/2019 at 08:28

Honestly? Nah. I think some of that is because it's SO out of reach that it's purely a fantasy. Or I just like cars so much that I still enjoy slow ones: I also drove a Miata RF yesterday and had tons of fun.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Jayhawk Jake
04/08/2019 at 11:31

I imagine it would actually be difficult to get a sense of a McLaren from a test drive.... not many would take someone else’s car to the levels at which a McLaren would show it’s capabilities. Putting around on city streets and such is barely even getting warmed up.

McLaren is my lottery-winning go-to, and I didn’t see a huge advantage of the 650S over the MP4-12C’s cleaner looks, and both are too powerful for me to take full advantage of... but 720S changed that... it looks like it came from the future, and the 720S Spyder may just be the current pinnacle of performance car design and engineering that isn’t just a one-off project.

But the unapproachable aspect is one of the reasons I want a good affordable sports car (that I can fit in), that is fun at normal road speeds, that would feel like something special at lower than McLaren levels and prices.

I had an NB Miata for 15 years, and it was a very fun car, but ended up getting left in the garage a bit too often due to limitations, usually related to size/comfort/lack of trunk space, and ND Miata crossed the line into truly too small for me, where NB was ‘just barely fits’.

I wish there were something new that was roughly equivalent to a used Porsche 996 or Lotus Evora. Something special, but affordable, and loads of fun within the realm of normal driving.

Jayhawk Jake > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
04/08/2019 at 12:22

Supra might fit the bill? It’s got a name, looks unique, but should be approachable in a way that an Elise or Evora might not

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Jayhawk Jake
04/08/2019 at 15:15

I wanted to like Supra. I am a fan of Mark II and III Supras.

But there are several problems.

1: UGLY.

2: Expensive. More than average annual salary for a car that isn’t suited to be a primary car, at least not for most.

3: For being so expensive, it isn’t beautiful, and it isn’t particularly fast.

4: For being expensive, ugly, and not particularly fast (compared to other 60K+ cars, it is not as powerful as corvette, and not as light as Porsche.), it will likely be BMW levels of complex, inaccessible, dense (heavier than it’s dimensions would suggest), and potentially unreliable outside of warranty.

I like Evora’s simplicity, but not being as completely stark as exige, nor as small.

I like that it uses a mass-production engine for maintenance and cost effectiveness, but to good performance effect in a modest weight car at real world speeds on real world roads.

I like that it has mid-engined balance, and lotus tuned suspension and steering that makes the car reportedly feel very well crafted in terms of driving response.

I like that it is sleek and interesting, without being cookie-cutter like every other car on the market... but not UGLY by trying too hard to be different, like Supra. An early Evora S with the GT430 front fascia and engine lid, and the black accent package (roof, sills, cowl vents, etc... all in black), but with the simpler interior and rear fascia/diffuser, would be a great looking car.

I like that used ones are in the 30K range. Frankly, if Toyota were building them in a factory, rather than Lotus, the economies of scale would probably make it a $ 30-45K car, not a low-volume car that has to cost ~100K just to pay the rent and the bills. There is not much tech advancement that separates an Evora from a 370Z, just engine placement and the respective companys’ economies of scale. It isn’t like Evora has a composite chassis, or some other big dollar advantage. Maybe a little more aluminum content, instead of steel.

What I don’t like about Evora are that such small economies of scale means rare parts, short R&D cycles, and possible reliability issues that may be hard to troubleshoot or repair.

Again, if Lotus had done the initial development and suspension tuning , then sent the car to be finalized and assembled by Toyota, the cost, volume, and reliability of component parts would be a whole different ball game, and Evora would basically be an MR2+2 tuned by Lotus , and with that supercharger, would be as fast or faster than the A90 Supra, simpler, and less expensi ve.

Then Toyota would have the car that has been argued to be the successor to the original NSX, as opposed to the expensive and complex new NSX Hybrid.

Although I would be interested in a PHEV Hybrid Synergy Performance option for a nice little turbo 3 or 4 cylinder, a couple of uprated electric motors, and a controller that is programmed a bit more aggressively... i8 levels of p erformance at Prius prices.