The McLaren 600LT Spider 2020 is a windy version of the 600LT coupe

When we examined the coupe version of the McLaren 600LT several months ago, we equated McLaren Automotive's product development with that of a fast food restaurant: a set of basic ingredients combined in innovative dishes, although familiar. It was a compliment, an appreciation of the small business's ability over the last eight years to use a V-8 twin-turbo suspension system, a carbon fiber tub and two different suspension systems to turn them into a bewildering system. table of variations.

McLaren remembered this, perhaps more for the reference of fast food than for our great wonder at the resourcefulness of the young company. We know this because a company representative told us about it shortly after we jumped out of the McLaren 600LT Spider. The fact that the company has served us a delicious cheeseburger a few hours earlier in the paddock of the racecourse we just drove is curious.

As you may have understood, the 600LT Spider is a 600LT coupe but with a retractable hood. It uses the 592 hp version of the 3.8-liter V8 turbo double-sided coupe. This engine, like the entire 600LT coupe and tracked spider, is a variant of the 8.8-liter, 562-horsepower twin-turbo V8 that propels the Spider 570S and 570S. The engine is bolted to the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that serves, with slight variations, to all other McLaren models of the modern era. The structure of the 600LT Spider is a carbon fiber tank that has evolved compared to that used in the 2012 MP4-12C. The forged aluminum suspension arms of the 720S single-stage model are derived from the basic structure of all the 600LT. McLaren then takes the 600LT Coupe's ventilated and bewinged body and adds the retractable roof mechanism of a Spider 570S. So you can see the 600LT Spider as a 600LT coupe, but without the top bun, or in the form of a 570S Spider with the special McLaren LT Sauce ™ sauce.

But I was not thinking of hamburgers when we were driving the Spider on the runway at Arizona Motorsports Park quickly, glued to Luke Air Force Air Base and down a street from a state prison near Phoenix . Most of the time, I thought, "God, I'm not going to ruin turns 5 to 7!" at each turn, after screwing turns 5 to 7 again. Sometimes, while I was surrounded by an interior fully covered with microsuede, I wondered if that was what a diamond ring looked like nestled in one of those fuzzy jewelery boxes .

On the right track, we did not think of the poorly fitted hard top that was causing a rush of air from the top of the passenger-side window. We did not worry at all about the value of our test car, which was carrying about $ 60,000 worth of optional equipment above its quarter-million dollar base price. We did not worry at all about the rigidity of the car on the road or its very sizzling Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires. We just had fun.

The ease of play of the 600LT reminds us of a Lotus Elise but with great grip and great power. The driving of the car is so reassuring that you will go fast right away if the balance is supernatural. He's just fast enough on the course, but this speed is accomplished without the impending fate that accompanies some supercars, as if they were still at the tip of the knife. The 600LT Spider certainly seems more buttoned and precise than the 570S on which it is based, but it does not repress the friskiness of the lower model.

The brake pedal of the 600LT is perfectly firm and the system, with standard carbon-ceramic discs, does not soften after 10 hard turns. The sneaky speed of the car does everything in its power to make the brakes less brilliant, but it usually fails. His driving is of great beauty. it seems natural, and not like a computer simulation of what the natural direction feels. The steering wheel paddle transmission triggers fast electron speed changes without disturbing the car's balance.

Yes, we like that. We love it about as much as we like the 600LT coupe, which is almost identical except for the £ 110 McLaren says the motorized roof mechanism adds to the curb weight of about 3150 pounds of coupe. The beauty of the carbon construction lies in the fact that no additional structural reinforcement is needed to maintain the rigidity of the coupe. Do you like to have a little breeze under your helmet? Get the spider. Do you prefer the slightly less busy style of the coupe? Then take the coupe.

Do as you wish.