Newest McLaren Goes Soft for China
McLaren announced a new iteration of its sports car today designed specifically for Asian customers.
The 625C serves a softened sibling to the 650S with less horsepower and driving dynamics designed to be friendlier for daily driving. McLaren says sales of its products in Asia grew more than any other market with a 20 percent spike in 2013 and a projected increase of over 33 percent this year. But the 650S suffers from small dog syndrome; it’s constantly trying to take a bite out of bigger, badder supercars and it seems like that isn’t appealing to enough of China’s nouveau riche.
McLaren swapped in softer rear springs to make it more comfortable to drive and de-tuned the 3.8-liter turbocharged V8 to make 625 metric horsepower as the name suggests. Despite the more pliant suspension, McLaren claims the 625C is actually more refined with further optimized driving dynamics. In fact, the company claims in “Sport” and “Track” modes, the car doesn’t sacrifice any handling or performance relative to the 650S.
Even in its more docile state of tune, the littlest McLaren is still a performance beast with acceleration capable of rivaling some of the world’s best. The 0-62 MPH sprint takes place in 3.1 seconds, or just a tenth of a second more than its meatier cousin. Not that it matters, but the engine is also supposed to be more efficient in this application than others the company currently offers.
Initially the car will only be sold in Hong Kong as both a coupe and a convertible, but McLaren will announce more markets over the next several months.
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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McLaren 025C is the even MORE docile version for the Scandinavian market ;)