Soldato
I quite like the way it looks. Plus it has gull wings, and that just makes it better than anything.
Last edited:
McLaren W1 - P1 replacement
- Thread starter Stu999
- Start date
Agreed, older cars drive better too, far more engaging on public roads at legal speeds.
Even now with manufacturers doing their best to engineer in fun element, many times the older slower models are more fun to drive. Give McLaren kudos though the 750S is a more fun car to drive than the 720S, a combination of the shorter gearing and some handling tweaking. Still however to truly enjoy a 750S you want to be accelerating from 50-150mph to truly enjoy and exercise it properly which of course you should not be doing on a public road with speed limits.
It is why when I met my hero the GT3 I kept it six months, at normal speeds I found it boring and actually annoying, its engine though a masterpiece was northing short of dull and boring below 6000rpm, as such to enjoy it I was always chasing the redline and driving like a bloody idiot everywhere, in this day and age with a camera everywhere its not really viable, every time I gave that car a squeeze of the go pedal I always felt hugely guilty as it sounded crazy and the sound of it travelled for miles, my other half said to me when I got home one Summer evening, "I was sat in the garden and was listening to you ragging it over the hills for around ten minutes before you arrived at home" as such I just always thought one day this car will lose me my license.
My problem was is my dream GT3 was always the 997 GT3, the natural step up from my 997.1 C2S I owned for five years which was huge fun at legal speeds, admittedly I drove it like I stole it most the time but been less powerful and having a manual transmission you did actually have to try. If I revisit the GT3 I will go for a 997.1/992.2 GT3/GT3 RS model which are all manuals and have a reputation of been the most fun and engaging road variants of GT3, every generation after just became somewhat numb at legal speeds and boring, loss of hydraulic steering, loss of the manual and engines which really only deliver at illegal speeds.
I probably have the most fun in my Alpine on a very tight twisty B road and for general driving around I absolutely love thrashing around in my E30 325i Sport, can drive it so hard and it is all mostly legal, the older stuff is just more engaging, only downside is a luke warm hot hatch or an entry level EV will leave you for dust typically, but faster never means better or more fun.
It is why the older stuff in many cases is rocketing in values, older hot hatches, older Porsches, older BMW's some are absolutely flying in value, but me and Mrs were talking yesterday and as she gets to drive my cars she said she now drives new stuff and is like why does the steering feel so fake or bad and the seating positions can feel so wrong, modern stuff that is even geared toward the motorist has lost what made some of the older stuff truly engaging and great to drive by adding in so many safeties or electronic systems all essentially removing feel.
One of the Lotus gang checking in - we approve this post. Excluding the new electric stuff of course. I even feel like my Focus ST isn’t fun enough unless you’re driving like a fool, so I’m getting rid if that. Sticking with the Elise and something *sensible* instead.
The W1 does not feel to me like it would have made my bedroom wall as a kid, like the F1, F40, 959, Diablo etc did. I’m sure it’s brutally fast and capable though.
Doesn't need driver aids, they have so much mechanical grip. I have an S2 Elise and everything feels **** after driving that. There are loads of faster, newer cars but they don't have the feel or agility. Or look as good.
Last edited:
Soldato
That was my instant thought as well.
You can tell this one apart by the Nissan Leaf charging flap on the bonnet
Technically impressive no doubt but from an aesthetic perspective it’s not strong enough. This just looks like another McLaren derivative, it doesn’t have the definition of a signature look like the F1 and P1 did. And as the successor to both it really needed to cement its own identity I think, and it fails really.
Soldato
touchscreens can be better when executed well. If most controls are touchscreen they can improve the UX over time, can’t do that with physical button.
But if they are touchscreen you need to look at it to press stuff. It's like using a phone while driving, things like heating, AC, radio etc should have physical controls mandated.
Last edited:
Soldato
No you don’t need to look at it if it’s done well.
Soldato
Cars have too many features now for a hard button for each function. If you cant work that out you are a Nasher with windy windows that you prefer to open and close with your tongue.
Soldato
Completely agree with you there, after having the Elise for the summer, cars that I used to find sporty/sharp now just feel dull in comparison.
Just add speed seems to have been the mantra for the past 10 years and that is a shame. I like that McLaren puts effort into steering feel and lightness, that is goodness, but the constant chasing of speed and tech to harness it for 99.99999% of owners is sad and misses the point surely, which applies to all manufacturers.
Last edited:
Soldato
I was just listening to the Top Gear magazine podcast on this, great to hear its retained hydraulic steering.
Soldato
But its called the Waitrose 1?