McLaren 540C 2016 News

McLaren expects its personal best of 93 Australian sales in 2016 to topple in 2017 for another record year.

McLaren, the grand prix powerhouse, is aiming at Porsche as it cuts the starting price for its supercars in Australia.

McLaren has revealed its most affordable model yet at the Shanghai motor show in the form of the entry-level 540C.The second member of the McLaren Sports Series, the 540C is clearly based on the recently unveiled 570S model, but McLaren claim this latest car is less track-focused and more comfortable for daily use.It uses the same basic components as the 570S, but is less powerful while featuring a softer and more comfortable suspension setup.The 540C doesn’t differ much from the 570S visually, with redesigned 19-inch alloy wheels being the most obvious visual distinction.The 540C can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds, 200km/h in 10.5 and flat out it’ll do 320km/h.Powering the 540C is McLaren’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, which also features in the 570S, 650S and P1 models in varying states of tune.Here it develops 397kW (540hp, hence the name) and 540Nm, compared to 419kW/600Nm in the 570.The basic engine is identical to that of the more powerful 570S which features 30 per cent new parts compared to the 650S unit, though a calibration change dials down the power.On the European cycle both the new 540C and 570S models average 11.1L/100km.The 540C can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds, 200km/h in 10.5 and flat out it’ll do 320km/h (a whisker shy of the magic 200mph).The 540C shares its lightweight carbon fibre tub with the 570S, so you get narrower sills for easier entry and exit compared to the 650S and more interior space.Curb weight is almost identical to the 570S at 1311kg, which is significantly lighter than the 540C’s main rivals.The new car also does away with the complicated hydraulically controlled active anti-roll bars fitted to the 650S, P1 and now-discontinued 12C in the name of reducing costs.Instead of the active anti-roll bars, the 540C uses a conventional fixed setup with adaptive dampers that are tuned more towards comfort than in the 570S.Being a sports car at heart though, you can still dial up the suspension and powertrain from normal mode through to sport or track modes for sportier driving.