there wasn't ANOTHER glowing review of the 720S sitting in my inbox this morning. Latest review states that the new McLaren was almost 2 seconds faster around Willow Springs than the $1-2 million Porsche 918 - on street tires!

Maybe this will motivate me to install the tune I got from Stuart... Need something to tide me over for a couple years until the 720s becomes a tad more affordable as a "previously owned" supercar.

 

For me, McLaren's current offerings are by far and away the best on the market in terms of capability and cost. They also look stunning to my eye. McLaren really have nailed it with the 570S and 720S

Once used 570S models fall below $140k its going to be very tempting to trade in the F Type.

 

I agree 150%. Running costs are a little steep, but other than that, they're unbeatable.

 

McLaren has REALLY grown on my over the last 6 months. We've had about ten 720's in the shop over the last 2 months and currently have the MSO-X projects in house. I really like what they have been doing, I just hope this momentum that they have of constantly coming out with new models keeps going for the long haul.

It will be awhile until I can afford one for myself but for now the shop McLaren 570S will do the job:

 

I like the McLaren looks but without a third pedal, it remains off the table as an option for me. I HATE paddle-shifters...

 

The reviews of the McLaren are just glowing, but like Mbelanger.... I need the stick. Paddle shifting is theater. Or at least, why poor drivers in supercars go sideways, so there's always that.

But I am 15K from my warranty ending, and am impatiently thinking I will throw caution to the wind and do the tune now. Don't even know how or where to begin, of course. LOL

 

Paddle-shifting is faster, but I'm not racing. I'd probably suffer through it in the McLaren though, but I'm a long way from affording one.

We never did meet up to go to Wine Country Motorsports to look at helmets, but I'm feeling the urge for some track time and my helmet it out of certification now. Perhaps the time is nigh. You could see what difference the tune makes with my car, a near twin to yours.

 

 

Downright affordable!

 

there are some 1st gen 12c's selling for 100-130k

 

I would NOT buy a 12C without McLaren warranty. Those early 12c's in that price range won't be CPO cars. Spend just a little time on the McLaren forum and you will quickly realize that anything that goes wrong is an astronomical cost to repair. And 12C's seem to have a fairly long list of things that do go wrong.

The whole situation isn't helped by the fact that McLaren do not give Indie's access to diagnostic equipment essentially locking you into using main dealers for everything.

For a decent warrantied early car (6 years old) think you are in the $130k+ zone. Plus need to factor in extended warranty each year for another few k in running cost.

570 so far seems to be relatively problem free.

 

I don't care about fractions of a second. Paddle shifting simply isn't driving for me. Handling my own gear changes IS where my driving experience will be found...and that means having that third pedal.

 

As the saying goes, turn around and face the congregation. You're preaching to the choir ;^)

 

I resemble that remark!

 

And what a choir ...

I don't know about you, but I've been offered money to NOT sing.

Anyway, back to the McLaren. I'd need at least an order of magnitude more money to get one, particularly out of warranty. I went with the F-Type because the other finalist was an out-of-warranty Aston Martin. I'm not sensible, but there are are limits to my folly.

 

OH DID SOMEONE SAY TO TOTALLY DERAIL THE THREAD BACK THERE?

Just for fun, no harm meant at ALL. I did include the good guy meme where we aren't supposed to talk about it all the time. LOL Manual people are so annoying, carpetbombing a thread with funny memes.

I hadn't seen this Mini ad campaign:
Mini Sticks Up for the Stick in Manual-Transmission Ads ? Adweek

 

Lol, used to all manual transmissions for me all day, every day. Until moving to LA and commuting in traffic with one. The dual clutch auto in my M3 won me over to the two pedal side....

 

There was an on-ramp from San Francisco to the Bay Bridge that I didn't use because it was steep and involved creeping a few feet at a time for way too far, but that's the only adaptation I did. Now, my commute goes over a hill and if traffic backs up at a walking pace I let a little space build up and idle in first. The ZF 8-speed is really good, but I haven't abandoned the third pedal yet.

I'm in an F-Pace courtesy car now, and it's not only automatic, but diesel. Altogether not as heinous as I expected, but I really want my F-Type 6MT back.