McLaren 650S Spider

650S Spider speeding away in Soho

In 1988, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost demolished the rest of the field in their white and red MP4/4 Formula One cars. Meanwhile, their team was making a historic decision: to expand into the road car business. The stunning McLaren F1 was unveiled a few years later, and the supercar went on to set a record for the fastest production car. Just over a decade after the F1 went out of production, McLaren returned to the sports car business, introducing the MP4-12C. I have seen a few 12C's on the street, but up until recently I had yet to see its successor, the 650S, in the wild. I had gotten a look at the sexy 650S at the New York Auto Show, under the gleaming lights of the Javits Center, but a few weeks ago I spotted the low-slung sports car on the streets of Soho. Getting to lay my eyes on the slinky 650S in natural light convinced me that the McLaren is truly a beautiful design.

650S Spider at 2015 NYIAS

The front end of the 650S echoes its big brother, the hybrid P1 which was unveiled about a year before the 650S. This means the 650S gained the boomerang headlights, which are reminiscent of the McLaren logo. The 650S also featured air vents curving downwards towards the carbon fiber front splitter, which resemble tears streaming down cheeks. These black extensions also remind me of the trim pieces that extend down on the Opel Zafira Tourer and Opel Ampera. Like on the Opels, these vents make the front end of the 650S very dynamic--it almost appears like the bottom of the vents are tethered to the splitter and the rest is being blown away as the McLaren accelerates. This gives the car a sense of movement even when it is standing absolutely still. The intakes are also excellently integrated into the headlights, curving around with the modern LED lights to form a smaller boomerang. There is one aesthetic design flaw on the front of the 650S. If you look closely, you can see that where the vents meets the headlights, it becomes solid plastic, simply giving off the image of still being a true intake. While seeing a faux vent on a $15,000 Honda Fit seems reasonable, I was surprised to see the visual trickery appear on a $260,000 supercar. From afar it is difficult to notice, but from ten feet away the cheap-looking design choice becomes obvious and looks out of place on the sports coupe. Luckily, McLaren makes up for this flaw with copious amounts of exposed carbon fiber, which highlights the lightweight, high performance nature of the 650S.

650S Spider in Soho

The wheel arches powerfully curve over the front tires, flowing into the cabin. Lean, taught character lines run down the side of the 650S. A carbon fiber sill extends backwards from the front fender, giving the McLaren an aggressive stance. Massive five-spoke wheel designs accentuate the bold, muscular look. Carbon fiber reappears on the spindly side view mirrors and the large intake just in front of the rear wheels. The intake is functional, providing cool air for the engine, but also makes the car look like a true supercar.

650S Spider at 2015 NYIAS

Out back, the 650S is practically identical to its predecessor, but this is certainly no bad thing. The taillights are composed of thin LED strips that are hidden in the vent that spans across the rear fascia. These stealthy lights are elegantly simplistic, and look menacing when lit up at night. The sporty McLaren's functional design exudes performance, from the gigantic carbon fiber rear diffuser that sweeps downwards from the vent to the bulky dual exhaust pipes flanking the McLaren logo dead center. The rear fascia is topped of with McLaren's Airbrake, the adjustable wing bridging the gap between the raised rear haunches. This convenient bit of active aero raises up to 69 degrees under hard braking to provide extra downforce. When raised, the Airbrake makes the McLaren look like it's in attack mode, and the wing adds to the sports car's dynamism. Overall, the McLaren simply looks fast, with a swept back front fascia, athletic carbon fiber elements, and vents on nearly every surface.

Grade:
Front: A
Back: A
Overall: A

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster

SLR McLaren in Naples, Florida

     Mercedes-Benz and McLaren  had grand ambitions when they collaborated on this grand tourer,  but while it sports a sleek look, those aspirations did not show through, as the SLR's design is too simple. While there is nothing terrible about the Merc, much of the design failed to make a lasting impression.
        The grille is often literally what sticks out most in a car. If this car wanted to grab our attention, it should not have had a boring, rectangular grille running on a slight downward angle into the hood bulge--a splash of chrome on the grille's bar could have livened up the front fascia. Below the grille, there's just nothing there and, again, some chrome would provided panache.
       The headlights, two joined vertical ovals featuring xenon headlamps, fit in with Mercedes' brand look from that era--this car was produced from 2003-2009--but while they fit in with the W203 C-Class, which was a more conservative car, it is a bit too basic for this luxury sports car.
        Walk around the back and it's more of the same. The lower rear fascia wears nothing more than a frowning look, with an arch curving over the reverse lights and down to the underside of the SLR. The brake light is mounted on the underside of the lip spoiler, and the designated license plate spot is simply an indent in the rear bodywork. Again, I was disappointed by the simplicity of the design of the rear fascia, expecting something more flashy, maybe a chrome bar connecting the taillights or more glamorous license plate spot.
    Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to like about the SLR McLaren. The car's long hood features a bulge that is a reminder of the might of the 617 horsepower V8 engine underneath. This bulge stretches from the windscreen down to the grille, where it comes to a point, a protrusion that holds a large Mercedes-Benz emblem and is flanked by sporty silver horizontal vents close to the windscreen. The vents are split into three pieces by silver dividers--the car's vents are my favorite touch and exactly what  this car could use more of. 

     Just behind the luxurious 10-spoke silver wheels is another sleek air vent, with a similar design to the ones on the hood, except the dividers are horizontal and the vents themselves are vertical. These vents have a retro feel, reminding me of the vents on the 300SL Gullwing. The bottom of the vent runs into a clean character line which forms the outline of the doors. Another strong character line, actually more like a small inversion, runs from in between the oval headlamps, along the body, and around the seats, making almost a full circumnavigation of the vehicle.

                               SLR McLaren in Naples, Florida

     The highlights of the rear are the complex and futuristic taillights, similarly shaped to those on the current C-Class, with the silver C-shaped housings within the taillights that contain the LEDs being my favorite detail. 

     When the SLR McLaren cruises by you may think it's a real looker, but when examined closely, we realize that the Mercedes-Benz didn't live up to its potential in design.

Grade
Front: B-
Back: B-
Overall: B-