MCLAREN 650S ☆ BMW M3 E92 ☆ PORSCHE 911 TURBO Note from the Editor MOTOR
This months edition of the magazine features an eclectic mix of sportscars, ST RS which all provide maximum excitement for the driver at very different price SPORTSCARS DESTINED points. FOR GREATNESS First up is the McLaren 650S. McLaren essentially took its great innovator, the Editor MP4-12C, refined and honed it into an even more stylish and capable supercar. Raj Hunjan It is still early days, but I think the 650S will age extremely well and outshine @motorstars the competition from the Continent.
Contributors The second car we have picked out is the Porsche 911 Turbo, 996 generation. Armand Rocco The styling of the 996 generation car and water cooling was contentious right Simon Westerman from initial unveil. Now, with over a decade under its belt, the styling and lack Donald Hossack of air cooling is being overlooked. This is leading collectors to see how great the model is, particularly the Turbo and GT2/GT3. The 996 Turbo will humble many sportscars and still perform reliably as an everyday, every weather car. Prices are rapidly on the rise too, so finding one may prove to be tricky. It is worth the effort to seek a good one out though. Advertising Enquiries +44 (0)7786 067271 The BMW M3 E92 is a car we’ve had our eye on for a number of years. It [email protected] features some pretty fancy stuff, namely the carbon roof. The V8 may be thirsty but this is often less crucial when buying a weekend fun car. It seems that now it is reaching an age and price bracket that brings it in to focus with a number Managing Director of car enthusiasts that recognise the perfect formula of excitement, value, Fiona MacKay reliability and performance. The sound from the quad exhausts at any revs is intoxicating too, so those that hear one and look at the low entry prices will be tempted to buy what we believe is the most undervalued BMW M3.
Raj Hunjan www.motor-stars.com [email protected] facebook.com/motorstarsmag @motorstars
© COPYRIGHT 2016 REVIVAL SPORTS CARS LIMITED Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the data in this publication is accurate, the publisher will not accept, and hereby disclaim to the maximum extent permitted by law, any liability for any loss or damage that may be caused by any errors or omissions this publication may contain. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form - electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise - without prior written permission of the publisher. Information correct at time of going to press. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. Every effort has been used to trace the copyright holders of any material used in this publication. If any copyright holder has been overlooked, we would be pleased to make any necessary amendments. hen I first learned McLaren was venturing I decided I wanted a great car as a reminder of all the hard back in to the exotic car market, I knew I work I had put in over the years. I test drove all the high W would want one. As a former Master Auto performance cars available from the premium brands. In the Technician I could see they were assembling end I bought a car from a small American car company that some of the best minds in the automotive hand built their cars and had a great racing program. That industry and that accumulated knowledge would accelerate brand was Panoz. I still have that car, in fact the owner of them quickly into the game with brands like Ferrari, Aston Panoz has become a good friend of mine. Fast forward to Martin, Lamborghini, and Audi. When the MP4-12C arrived it 2014, it was time for me to supplement the 2003 Panoz, was a giant leap forward, where else could you get an exotic automotive technology had moved on greatly. Again, I went car with a hydraulic chassis and an active aero wing? They out and drove the best at the time, the Audi R8 was too were the first to offer an open differential with brake steer clinical for my liking, it had the performance without the wow and a full carbon fibre tub. Then the P1 came out. So the factor. I felt that the Aston Martin range was rather dated, their 650S was the first of the super series to combine all the best cars were being replaced in the next few years. I did consider items of the MP4-12C and the P1 into a well priced package. a Ferrari 458, but I found it to be more ‘show' rather than ‘go'. At the age of 17 I started working at a car dealership as a I did not drive a Lamborghini as I only liked the Aventador, line technician which eventually led on to becoming the which was out of my price range. I saved the best for last, the National Master Technician for the brand I worked for. I McLaren 650S. Compared to the MP4-12C I drove a few days taught automotive repair to apprentices and was also a before, it represented the complete package, styling, speed, service director. At age 43 I left the business and to celebrate agility and a brand I could get behind. 2015 MCLAREN 650S PEARL WHITE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TAYLOR CARTER When it comes to buying a McLaren, there isn’t much My McLaren 650S is a 2015 Spider in Pearl White. It is fanfare, which may come as a shock to some, considering spec’d with a lot of the carbon fibre options to make it really the amount you are outlaying for the car. I ordered a 650S stand out. The interior is black with contrast red stitching. from my local McLaren dealer and after 6 months the car The red theme also continues on the outside, with the brake arrived, I picked it up the next day and started enjoying it. callipers being finished in the same hue. I have owned Two days later I received an email of congratulations my McLaren for two and half years and covered 12,000 from McLaren Cars which also included a survey. The survey miles, so it is fair to say I know the car very well now. The was one question, how was the buying experience. I was best trip I had was last year when I attended a week long slightly disappointed in this automated approach, the event called Dreamride. Besides driving on some of the best manufacturer should have reached out to me personally. roads in America, we were able to drive our cars at Lime Other brands seem much more on the ball with the personal Rock and then drive Special Olympic Athletes on a ride of a experience, whereas McLaren come across as slightly lifetime. Their is a genuine universal love for the McLaren impersonal. Coming from a guy that maintained cars or a 650S. Young kids race them in games and are beside living, the McLaren maintenance programme is a bit themselves with excitement upon seeing one in reality. I’ve overkill. McLaren has a set cost amount $2,000 per year, lost count of the number of thumbs up people have given which is totally not necessary, modern cars need much less me while out on the road. Some people ask for a quick ride regular work if driven properly and treated with respect by to experience it for themselves in the passenger seat, and I their owners. always oblige if I have the time. Getting in to the 650S is a special experience, you open your dihedral drivers door and the first thing you see is the carbon tub. This central component reminds you this car is more race car and less exotic car. To get in I perch on the edge of the tub and swing my legs in first before sliding in my upper body. Once in the seat, I feel right at home, this is my vacation time, everything feels good. The 650S has just the right amount drama without compromise. Heading out in the 650S involves a specific you feel like you are firing up a race car. The sound echoes sequence of actions. First comes fastening the seat belt, through the garage, waking up the neighbourhood. followed by engaging the start button. First there is a noise of One of the best parts of the 650S is how it can feel like the fuel pumps coming to life, then a quick chime from the three different cars, for instance by myself I only drive in instrument cluster before a great orchestra of sound as the Sport/Sport mode, as it gives me the best all around feeling engine catches on the starter. This series of events makes and level of involvement. If I am going out with my wife then it stays in Normal/Normal mode. This gives you the best ride for comfort and makes the 650S very tame. Sound wise, the sports exhaust option is a must in my opinion. It’s not a secret that turbo engines have a hard time overcoming the exhaust muting. To really get the 650S to sing I drive it in Manual Shift mode, which allows me to keep revs in the aural sweet spot and get better feedback upon shifting too. On winding roads the 650S is different to other supercars. The hydraulic setup with the deletion of sway bars (anti roll bars) leave you feeling slightly disconnected. The benefits of this setup however are very which is now being used by the road car department to apparent, in return you are free to drive like you never have involve many more people in the legend. The best way to before. It is like being on a roller coaster but you control sum up my feelings for the 650s is that I am on vacation time where it is heading. Gone is the 'sick to the stomach' feeling as soon as I open the garage door and hit the START button because the grip and handling is more than capable of in the carbon fibre centre console. coping with the 600bhp. Being an auto technician by trade, I The McLaren 650S does everything fast, including do miss the mechanical connection, with the 650S there are depreciating sadly. McLaren wants to build 5,000 cars a year, no clunks or knocks which let you know that the suspension which is far less than Ferrari, but they do not have a plan in is at full extension or at bottom of the travel. The 650S is place to help stabilize the cars they currently have built and driven by wires. This takes away some of the intimidation sold. For instance customers who bought a 12C and then that you may get from more analogue cars as an watched it get replaced by a 650S, lost $100,000 overnight. inexperienced driver, but I believe that in this application it The same was experienced by those new 650S owners, may make some a bit over confident, which can bite back, when a less expensive 570S and a better 675LT came to hard. The 650S says, drive me harder next time and i will market. The situation is being repeated with the upcoming reward you for it. 720S, which upon release will affect all of us. I When it comes to the styling, on the exterior I love the believe McLaren should have worked with dealers and had exposed air intakes, the headlights in the shape of them sell all new models to previous owners only, thus the McLaren logo and the winding road shape just below keeping the market stable. But they are letting dealers make them in the front valance. At the rear, the position and shape money on the front end and back end of the sale. I fear that of the exhaust look much better than the round ones on this will come back to bite McLaren when they reach almost everything else out there. It seems that a great deal of saturation point and the new to the brand buyers dry up. I time, thought and money has gone in to making the 650S attended the unveiling of the 720S and was in the middle of (and the rest of the McLaren range) just so. Having owned ordering a 720S to replace my 650S, but when I looked at the the 650S over a prolonged period, I feel like I own a depreciation I had experienced on the 650S, I decided to put significant part of history. It feels like Bruce McLaren, the the order on hold. Maybe I will have both some day, the 720S man that started it all, is part of the car. Bruce did a great job is totally different to the 650S. I’ll have to put in a lot more in so many countries, establishing the racing brand McLaren, hours at work to be in the position to realise that dream! REASONS TO BUY A MCLAREN 650S Cutting edge technology and engineering throughout the whole car. Strong motorsport heritage of the McLaren brand. The 650S looks beautiful and will age very well. McLaren took an already great 12C and made it even better. Prices have stabilised recently and demand for high specification cars has increased.
McLaren 650S MCLAREN 650S 2 Seats | Mid Engine | RWD
The McLaren 650S significantly raised the bar set by McLaren utilised advanced computational fluid the extremely capable MP4-12C. It is regarded as a dynamics as well as wind-tunnel testing and very versatile supercar, the Spider takes that one traditional design techniques to create the step further with a retractable hardtop that retains breathtaking contours of the McLaren 650S. Every the Coupe’s dynamics (thanks to the same carbon curve, every crease, every intake, every millimetre of fibre monocell) while opening up a new level of the McLaren 650S is honed for beauty as well as enjoyment. The folding roof is retracted in under 17 improve aerodynamic performance. seconds and remarkably does not obscure the The 650S represents to complete supercar engine bay. package and we expect it to age very well.
Engine 8 / 3799 Carbon Emissions 275 McLaren 650S cylinders / capacity CO2g / km
Power 641 / 7250 Miles Per Gallon NA bhp / rpm
235 / 35 / 19 Torque 500 / 6000 Wheel & Tyres lb ft / rpm Width / Sidewall / Diameter 305 / 30 / 20
Max Speed 207 Weight Distribution 42 : 58 mph Front : Rear
0 - 60 3.0 Track width 1656 / 1583 seconds Front / Rear
0 - 100 5.6 Wheelbase 2670 seconds
Weight 1330 Transmission 7-speed automatic kg
Power to Weight Drivetrain 482 Mid / Rear Ratio Engine position / Driven wheels
Dimensions Price New 4512 / 2093 / 1199 195,000 Length / Width / Height GBP
Years Produced 2014 - current Number Produced Still in production Global MODEL EVOLUTION
The McLaren 650S was unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in both Coupe and Spider format. It was based on the MP4-12C with 25% new parts. Just like the rest of the Super 2014 Series range of McLaren cars, the 650S shares the MP4-12C's carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer chassis, and is powered by the same McLaren A McLaren 650S Le Mans was M838T 3.8-litre V8, twin-turbo engine, power is revealed in early 2015 to transmitted to the wheels through a seven-speed near commemorate McLaren’s inaugural instantaneous shift dual-clutch gearbox. 2015 win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995. This edition marks McLaren’s 20th anniversary since this important win - it was also their first entry ever at Le Mans where five McLaren F1 GTRs finished 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 13th. Developed by McLaren Special Operations, the McLaren 650S Le Mans is limited to 50 units all in coupe variants. It is inspired by the No.59 McLaren F1 GTR that won the 1995 Le Mans. Hence the 650S Le Mans is finished in a metallic Sarthe Grey exterior color and fitted with ‘Le Mans Edition’ lightweight wheels. Other distinct features from the entry 650S model include a functional roof-mounted engine induction ‘snorkel’ and subtle louvres on the front wings. In 2015
McLaren 650S a version of the 650S based on the Can-Am series was offered in a limited production run of 50 vehicles.
What the motoring press said
“The calm only serves to make “What's so impressive about ”Stepping into a McLaren for the storm all the more the 650S, though, is that it the first time feels like shocking of course. Pressing backs its titanic new levels being indoctrinated. the ‘Active’ button so that of performance with such a Everything is done their own it glows orange and switching mighty set of brakes and such particular way. There are no the dials to ‘Sport’ or even a well rounded set of common parts – you won’t ‘Track’ stiffens the 650’s responses from its steering, recognise an indicator stalk sinews and slices its gearbox and suspension that from an Audi, for instance. response times. I got to the it never feels like it has Everything is built for this end of several fast runs too much poke for its own one brand. Of the McLaren feeling in awe of and good. However fast it can go, cars that you’d only have to slightly giddy with the it can stop, steer, and sell your flat to afford, the speed.” change gear every bit as 650S Spider stands out as the well.” most dramatic.” EVO, 2014 Autocar, 2015 The Guardian, 2016 OPTIONS
Ideal Specification
Options included a 10 speaker Meridian audio system, parking camera, parking sensors, front lift, tracker, air conditioning and orange seat belts. There were a number of carbon upgrades, including wing mirrors, air brake, front splitter, rear bumper, side intakes and engine covers. McLaren Special Operations (MSO) created exclusive custom parts to suit customer requirements. A number of MSO standard options were offered on the exterior and interior too.
McLaren 650S Exterior Colours
There were twenty colours on offer when new Napier Green McLaren Orange Solis Chicane Silica White Delta Red Onyx Black Titanium Silver Storm Grey Mantis Green Aurora Blue Sapphire Black Volcano Red Volcano Orange Volcano Yellow Fire Black Pearl White Super Nova Silver Ice Silver Tarocco Orange
Interior Colours
The interior could be specified in full Alcantara, full leather or a combination of both. The contrast stitching was available in: Carbon Black Stone Grey Harissa Red McLaren Orange Almond White Napier Green 2016 McLaren 650S Coupe FIGURES 3,000 miles, Titanium Silver with Red leather, Harissa Red Stitching, carbon fibre interior Buying one package, front Prices for the 650S Coupe start at £150,000 and the lift. Spider can be found for just over £160,000. Options and mileage play a big part in the advertised price of each car. The limited edition Le Mans Coupe is valued £152,990 at around £225,000 currently and makes a good purchase for the collector. Our advice is to buy a Coupe or Spider in the exact specification you desire, whether 2015 McLaren 650S Spider it be a road focussed or track orientated spec. 12,000 miles, Aurora Blue with Black Alcantara and leather, carbon fibre race seats, FUTURE VALUE ANALYSIS Meridian McLaren 650S Coupe Sound System, front PRICE lift. £161,990 2016 April 2017 £195,000£153,000 2016 McLaren 650S Spider UK VALUE NOW EQUATES TO 78% 4,000 miles, McLaren Orange with Black Alcantara and
OF ORIGINAL PRICE McLaren McLaren 650S Orange PROJECTED UK VALUE IN 3 YEARS stitching, carbon £140k-£180k interior, sports exhaust, front lift. £174,950 £125k £150k £175k £200k
Projected value is based on storing the McLaren 2015 McLaren 650S Le Mans Coupe 650S, or running less than 2,000 miles per year 455 miles, Sarthe Grey with Black Alcantara and with annual McLaren servicing to maintain the leather, service record. This analysis is a guide only and Meridian is based on our opinion of the market place, this Sound value may be significantly different to actual value in 3 years time. System, sports exhaust, front lift. £224,950 BUYERS CHECKPOINTS
No issues have occurred with the McLaren 650S and Brakes been publicly reported. Speaking to owners, it is clear No reported issues with the carbon ceramic brakes. that they are incredibly well engineered and very little Check the wear on the brake discs and pads. goes wrong. However, if you are going to invest in a McLaren 650S it is recommended to get a full Wheels & Tyres inspection carried out at McLaren. All cars are still Check that the original alloy wheels are fitted and tyres covered by a warranty, providing they have been are in perfect condition. Make sure the tread is even maintained according to the schedule. across all four tyres.
Engine Bodywork & General The 3.8 litre twin turbo V8 is capable of long term Check panels and carbon underside thoroughly for any trouble-free running. Providing all the necessary regular damage and make sure that all the original equipment maintenance and checks have been carried out the is present and in full working order. Make sure the McLaren 650S engine should provide no issues during ownership. doors are fully operational, they can be adjusted by McLaren if there are any issues with them. Suspension & Steering No reported issues with any of the suspension or Ownership steering components. The recommended service interval is 10,000 miles or every two years, whichever comes first. If you intend to Clutch & Gearbox track the car then McLaren require it to be checked No reported issues with automated gearbox. over before and after.