Ever heard of Jabal Al Jais? Neither had I. Perhaps if I had paid more attention in geography class, I’d have known that, at 1,930-metres above sea level, it’s the highest mountain in the UAE. What’s more, it forms part of the awe-inspiring Al Hajar mountain range, the world's largest surface exposure of igneous rock from the oceanic crust. More pertinent to this section of the magazine though, is that Jabal Al Jais also happens to be home to a 40-odd-kilometre stretch of motorhead nirvana. Oddly enough, it’s a spaghetti trail to nowhere because you literally have to U-turn and come back down once the fresh tarmac runs out. But if you’re not too afraid of the fact that there’s only a modest looking Armco barrier to stop you from tumbling into the abyss, then this sensational – and senseless – patch of road may be one of our region’s greatest test tracks. I certainly got to discover the merits, and the limits, of the new McLaren 650S here. The good news, for both myself, and the car’s road-holding abilities, is that I lived to tell the tale.
According to McLaren, the 650S is more than just an upgraded 12C and that’s why the company asks that you don’t think of it as a Stradale or Speciale model but rather as a totally new car. “What we did was listen to our customers and change everything they thought we should while also applying the lessons learnt from the P1 project,” says Ian Gorsuch, McLaren’s regional director for the Middle East and Africa, referring to their highly acclaimed limited edition hypercar.
The big-ticket changes are a hike of 24bhp (to 641bhp) and 77 Nm of torque (to 678 Nm) achieved through new pistons, cylinder heads and exhaust valves, as well as revised cam timing. The suspension has a new setup with firmer springs (33 per cent heavier in the rear), re-rated dampers and the tyres have been switched to the latest generation sticky Pirelli P-Zero Corsas. “Nearly all our Arab customers were asking us for a reversing camera so we added one,” Gorsuch continues. “Then we also noticed that a large proportion of our buyers were speccing ceramic brakes, so we made them a standard feature.” In the end, 25 per cent of the car is new.
This also means that three quarters of the car remains a 12C. That’s not a bad thing however. At its core, there’s that same stiff carbon-fibre tub, an impressive 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 and a seven-speed near instantaneous shift dual-clutch gearbox developed by long-time Ferrari partner, Graziano (which now features upgraded software that has improved shift times by a further 0.3 seconds). Indeed, the 12C was such a formidable piece of machinery that in my review for issue 37, I called her ‘an automotive Eva Green,’ where depending on her mood, she could play starlet or average Jane. I remember how confident she was, how she was comfortable in her own skin, modest, cultured and yes, a little nerdy too. All these attributes still hold true in the 650S but they’ve been ramped up to the point that we’ve bypassed ‘Quantum of Solace’ and ‘Dark Shadows’ and have dived straight into ‘A Dame to Kill For’.
The unfortunate outcome is that we’re left with a femme fatale character rather than Eva herself. As Frank Miller, the creator of Sin City, remarked when describing her character’s persona, “She is every man’s most glorious dream come true, she’s also every man’s darkest nightmare.” Now that doesn’t exactly sound like someone you’d want to live with day-in, day-out does it?
I think the problem is that I didn’t expect progression to come at such a heavy price. You see, not only is the 650S a massive 33,000 USD more expensive than the outgoing 12C, it also rates worse than it on two fronts. The first is vocally, and here, I’m not criticising the superior automotive symphony she now sings from her tailpipes, just the fact that she never hushes up (yes, this is something that annoys me about Ferraris too). Secondly, there’s that face. It’s something only a mother could love – in this case, that’ll be the more fetching and extreme P1.
McLaren made both of these changes to assuage criticism that the 12C lacked drama. The problem is that in giving the 650S this added charisma, they turned her into a bit of a braggart. It’s a shame because I loved the 12C’s lack of pretensions as well as its modesty.
And while I’m at it let me get one last gripe off my chest. There’s an imbalance in the looks department. The designers have grafted on the P1’s face but head around to the back of the car and you’ll find things have been left very much as they were. It’s almost like Eva put on a new dress but left her pyjama bottoms on.
Luckily, there’s a excellent solution to this, but it does require spending more money: spec the P1-inspired ultra-aggressive carbon fibre rear diffuser created by McLaren’s newly formed customisation division, the McLaren Special Operations (MSO). It’s absolutely gorgeous. Then again, seeing as we’re ditching restraint you might as well opt for one of the bold new exterior colours such as Mantis Green, Aurora Blue and Tarocco Orange (shown here).
“Personally I’m amazed at how the guys at the McLaren Technology Centre have managed to make the car so much sharper in the extreme modes,” says Gorsuch getting back to what’s important, “and yet also smoother in the regular settings.” He’s right, and I would say this is the single most extraordinary aspect of the 650S: it has one of the broadest dynamic repertoires of any car on the road today.
How good is it? The 650S is ballistically fast. It can take you to 200 km/h in a mind-blowing 8.4 seconds. Slam the brakes and you’ll be back at a standstill in just 123 metres. This almost defies logic. The power band has been moved higher so that it’s unrelentingly fierce above 150 km/h and it now feels like it won’t run out of steam. And it won’t. The only thing stopping you is the amount of fuel you carry – I actually got through an entire 72-litre tank sprinting to the top of Jais and back! McLaren claims a consumption figure of 11.7 litres per 100 km but that’s definitely not while driving as heavy-footedly as I was.
Sadly though, I don’t feel the 650S is a daily driver – especially if you order it with the excellent new carbon fibre sports seats (which save another 15 kilogrammes from the car’s already skimpy 1330kg dry weight). Around town, there’s more noise and mechanical vibration than before and I was conscious of bottoming out on speed bumps in a way that I never was in the 12C.
In all, the 650S is a supreme sports car – one that can just as comfortably negotiate a potholed road as attack a closed circuit. I love the fact it’s not the kind of car that needs to be taken by the scruff of the neck – quite the contrary. It has a tonne of useful tech, from the F1-derived brake-steer to the active suspension, and they enhance your abilities without impeding any fun.
Out on the 70-million-year-old Jabal Al Jais mountain, I found that, racing from apex to apex, hitting the ceramic brakes harder and later every turn, with the thunderous sound of upshifts reverberating off the cliff-face, while the tell-tale whine of the twin-turbos filled my cabin, I was able to find a rhythm and a confidence that defied any instinct of self-preservation. The 650S is a superior car to the 12C and while it might not be the car you drive every day, it is the one you’ll dream about at night.
MODEL McLaren 650S
ENGINE 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
DRIVE Rear-wheel
POWER 641 bhp
TORQUE 678 Nm
GEARBOX 7-speed dual-clutch
TOP SPEED 333 km/h
0-100 KM/H 3.0 seconds
PRICE 270,000 (coupé) 285,000 USD (Spider)
Caption: the P1 face may not sit comfortably on the old 12C design but at least it has a use, for it produces 24 per cent more downforce at speeds above 240 km/h.
