McLaren 600LT Will Change Your Idea of Fast, According to Doug DeMuro

The 600LT, the McLaren 570S’s high-performance cousin, is a race car for the road that will make you rethink what a fast car really is.

With one glance, it’s easy to tell the McLaren 600LT is an exotic supercar. It’s all swoops and curves that sit low to the ground and end in a large rear wing. But what’s it like to live with? That’s something you can only learn by driving it…or watching Doug DeMuro dissect it and get behind the wheel.

If McLaren’s alphanumeric naming scheme is confusing to you, don’t worry. Just picture the 570S and add power and subtract weight. As DeMuro puts it, “Consider it basically the GT3 RS of the McLaren world.” In McLaren speak, LT stands for Long Tail, which is an homage to the McLaren F1 GTR Long Tail race car from the 1990s and shorthand for the high-performance version of a McLaren model. According to DeMuro, the 600LT weighs 212 pounds less than the 570S, but its twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 is tuned to generate 592 horsepower and 457 lb-ft of torque. Flat out, the LT can hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 204 mph.

That enhanced engine sits under a mesh cover in the middle of the 600LT…that can’t be opened without tools. The good news is that the V8 breathes through a cool pair of top-mounted pipes. DeMuro calls the setup “one of the coolest exhaust placements in the entire car industry.” We have to agree.

As you can probably imagine, the interior of the 600LT is focused on performance. There are dials that control the settings for the powertrain and handling (Normal, Sport, and Track), grippy carbon fiber buckets, and minimal but not non-existent storage. McLaren got creative with giving 600LT owners storage space and put it wherever they could, including in the narrow center console, nets around the cockpit, and even slits in the front of the seats.

On the road, the 600LT drives mostly as its looks imply it would. In other words: like a race car. Its lap time-focused suspension is flinty and makes for a rough trip over uneven pavement. The performance driver’s seat is a tight fit. True to form, the 600LT’s steering is precise.

Then DeMuro puts his foot down. He only does it for a few seconds, but that’s enough time for the 600LT to make a strong impression on him. “That is 918-Spyder-kind-of-territory fast. That is eyes-go-back-into-your-skull kind of fast.” In fact, the LT is more than just quick. It makes DeMuro realize there’s a level of fast above what he once thought was fast. Just wait until he drives a Speedtail or Senna…

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

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