Nine things I learned from driving a supercar for three days

Enlarge (credit: BradleyWarren Photography)

The email arrived unexpectedly. "I don't think we've ever met, but I'm the PR Manager for McLaren in North America," it began. My pulse quickened as I continued reading. "We've got a 570S Spider that is making a quick appearance in the Chicago area for a few press loans, and I was wondering if you might be interested in scheduling a quick loan for a review?"

In the year or so I have spent reviewing cars at Ars, in addition to my usual managing editor duties, I've generally stuck to SUVs, crossovers, and minivans. Some of them can go very fast-the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, BMW 640i GT, and the Maserati Levante come to mind-but the McLaren 570S Spider is quite a different beast. After a quick chat with Automotive Editor Jonathan Gitlin, I replied with a "yes, please." A week later, I found myself pulling out of the garage at the McLaren dealership in downtown Chicago behind the wheel of a $235,340 supercar.

When it comes to McLarens, the 570S Spider is toward the low end of the price spectrum. New for the 2018 model year, the Spider is a convertible version of the 570S, a model that itself hit the market in 2015. Capable of a top speed of 196mph with the 101lb (46kg) roof down, the 570S Spider can hit 204mph with the hardtop in place. Speeds like that come naturally to a car that has a 3.8-liter V8 twin-turbo engine and weighs just a hair over 3,300lb. The 562hp (419kW) engine offers 443lb-ft (600Nm) of torque and is paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch seamless-shift gearbox.

Read 45 remaining paragraphs | Comments