Chris Evans reviews McLaren 650S: Supercar speed, space-age controls

By Chris Evans Event for The Mail on Sunday

Published: 22:01 GMT, 3 January 2015 | Updated: 22:01 GMT, 3 January 2015

McLaren 650S                                                                                      ?????

My favourite car of the past 30 years is without a shadow of a doubt the McLaren F1. 

It was the vision of Gordon Murray, and the genius designer responsible for its evolution remains unchallenged to this day.

Not only does it still look amazing some 22 years after its launch, it drives like nothing else on earth… so I’m told. 

From a design point of view the McLaren 650S is straight out of Space: 1999 – and I don’t mean that in a kitsch way. It’s just so aesthetically pleasing to look at, almost soothing

I’ve never had a drive of one which is more than a little annoying, seeing as I actually owned one for a while. I took it in part exchange against my Ferrari 250GTO, which I sold three years ago. 

Possibly the most stupid thing I have ever done, closely followed by the second most stupid thing I’ve ever done – which was then selling the F1.

What a complete and utter tool. They are both worth double. 

The thing is I never regarded the F1 as a potential keeper, as in my mind it represented an amount of cash that had to be realised. 

In short, I panicked. I’ve done this a lot in my life, I really must learn not to.

To touch? Oh, take me now Lord! Not only are the graphics crystal clear but once you’ve selected a category, you don’t so much scroll through the contents as stroke and caress them

Cut to supercar mistake number three. McLaren chairman Ron Dennis calls me up a couple of years ago.

‘Would you like me to put you on the list for a P1?’ he asks.

‘Er, no thanks Ron, I’ll see how they go and let you know,’ I say.

His reply? ‘What do you mean let me know? They’re going to sell out and when they do, that’s it!’

And of course, they did and that was it and has remained it ever since.

What is wrong with me? Everyone who’s been behind the wheel of a P1 says it’s probably what God would drive to church – if he couldn’t get his hands on an F1. They love it. 

How about 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds? More still, how about a scorching 0-100mph in 5.8 seconds? Now that’s just rude. And the thing is all this performance is experienced in amazing comfort

And you have to doff your cap to Ron for going out on a limb to make the project happen.

Everyone said he was mad at the time, going up against Maranello and their LaFerrari. This wasn’t the game he was in. But look what’s happened...

Whatever McLaren and their investors spent developing the P1 it no longer matters because however much it was they’re going to get it back in spades via sales of the 650S. 

I immediately relate the two because without the P1 the 650S simply wouldn’t exist. 

This motor car is a wonderful vehicle to look at, to sit in, to drool over and to drive

Just as the Ferrari 458 smashed its predecessor, the 430, into oblivion, this new spaceship from Woking has rewritten the rule book once again.

So where to start describing the 650S? 

I suppose by distancing it from its forerunner, the MP4-12C. This car is streets ahead in design, technology and power. 

And not only is there no comparison to its stablemate, there’s no comparison to any other car on the market.

Where the brand-new Lamborghini Gallardo has a top speed of 202mph, the 650S tops out at 207mph. And Ferrari 458 owners? 

You might want to look away at this point. 

While your pride and joy has 562bhp, the 650S has, guess what, 641. 

A shame they couldn’t eke out an extra 9bhp to match its name, but no matter – that single stat is the kind of quantum leap that sets the McLaren way apart from its rivals.

Ouch.

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And the thing is all this performance is experienced in amazing comfort. 

Whereas all previous supercars of this size eventually begin to make the driver’s body ache one way or another, the onset of pain depending on what physical shape and age he is to start off with, the 650S’s suspension works in such a way that, if one wheel hits a bump, the other three wheels have the ability to cover for their mate and you end up not noticing.

McLaren must have also carried out research that told them not only are people who can afford to drop £200k on a supercar now a bit rickety, they are also getting taller, because the headroom in the 650S is immense.

I also loved the touchscreen control system: it’s just a dream. 

From a design point of view it’s straight out of Space: 1999 – and I don’t mean that in a kitsch way. It’s just so aesthetically pleasing to look at, almost soothing.

And to the touch? Oh, take me now Lord! Not only are the graphics crystal clear but once you’ve selected a category, you don’t so much scroll through the contents as stroke and caress them. 

The dials are equally as pleasing. There’s just so little fuss. Everything is so sharp.

All of the above is of course very good news and I haven’t even yet mentioned how drop dead gorgeous the car is with the roof down.

Why anyone would buy a 650S Coupe over a Spider now that electric roof systems are as smooth as silk and take seconds to operate, I have no idea. 

Maybe one day they won’t. Nor have I mentioned how much fun you can have with it at almost any speed. 

Sideways is always an option. Completely sideways is also an option – even for a numpty pedaller like me.

From £195,000, mclaren.com/cars

Engine 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol

Transmission Seven- speed dual clutch auto

Power 641bhp

0-60mph 2.9 seconds

Top speed 207mph

Fuel consumption 24.2mpg

CO2 emissions 275g/km

Tax band M (£500/year)

There are still hangovers from the MP4-12C that I wish McLaren had addressed. Like the gull-wing handle-less doors. 

Super sleek and gorgeous as these are, they are far too easy to walk into, and almost impossible to open on an icy morning. 

There’s simply nowhere to grab a hold, which means your hand slips off, you get really annoyed, and it hurts.

The engine note, which McLaren continues to spend a fortune developing, still doesn’t do it for me, unless you are breaking every law in the land.

Far too much whirring and not enough fireworks. 

And if I’m being really picky the steering column is half-an-inch too long, the thermostat couldn’t make its mind up whether we were in the Caribbean or the North Pole and the reversing camera needs to be a bit more Steve Jobs and a bit less Jackson Pollock.

But apart from those mini niggles, this motor car is a wonderful vehicle to look at, to sit in, to drool over and to drive. 

‘The McLaren is the car God would choose to drive to church. Woking has rewritten the rule book – again' 

A creation that not only McLaren should be proud of but the whole of Britain too. 

If the 650S doesn’t balance the books back at Woking and get Ron a knighthood in the process then he might as well sell up and open a tea shop in Eastbourne – with really high-tech hybrid kettles and carbon fibre cups and saucers.

Is the 650S now the best car in its class in the world?

Yes. 100 per cent.

Italy, the ball is in your court.

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