The McLaren 570S Spider is one of the most gorgeous cars that can be bought new today.
With carbon fibre and aluminum construction; McLaren’s trademark dihedral doors; spectacular handling thanks to its mid-engine layout and double-wishbone suspension on all four corners; carbon-ceramic brakes; Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires; and 562 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque being expelled from its wonderfully raucous 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, the car is an absolute, all-around stunner.
Try as we might to deny it, though, with vehicles of this calibre, intentions can often be drowned out by practicalities. Scraping a car’s undertray on a driveway, for example, is a sure-fire way to kill the mood; but in the 570S Spider, a quick flick of a stalk on the steering column triggers the optional vehicle-lift system and raises the nose by a couple of inches to help clear obstacles without a scratch. At speeds higher than 60 kilometres per hour, it lowers again automatically.
And when cruising in top-down weather, drivers aren’t left shoving a roof panel into the storage compartment. Instead, a touch and hold of a button retracts the entire carbon-fibre hard-top assembly in 15 seconds—a system that works at speeds up to 40 kilometres per hour and adds only 101 pounds to the weight of the Spider over the 570S Coupe.
The three-mode performance adjustments for Normal, Sport, and Track—independently modifiable for the suspension and powertrain—make it ready to turn loose in the right conditions at the push of a button, but also effortlessly and cleanly glide through urban settings.
If in the market for something even more unique, Pfaff Vancouver’s special-edition 570S Spider Canada Commission is, as of this writing, still on the lot. It features white bodywork with red-tinted carbon fibre trim and understated maple leaf treatments on the door blades and engine cover; the red Alcantara on the interior roof carries through to the steering wheel, which also sports white trim and maple leaf accents. A plaque identifies it as being one of only five Canada Commission cars available.
Whichever one is chosen, the hardest part of owning this car will be the restraint that must be exercised until getting it to the track to unlock its full potential.
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