Thank goodness one exotic carmaker has a connection to this region.
Because of it, I got to thrash a trio of McLarens, including the furious 750S.
鈥淎 McLaren is special because we鈥檙e really the only brand that鈥檚 a race team that produces vehicles for the road,鈥� Nicolas Brown, president of McLaren, the Americas, told me.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be intimidated by the looks. It really is a very driver-friendly car,鈥� he added.
At the same time, the 750S is described in McLaren鈥檚 media materials as 鈥渢he lightest and most powerful series-production McLaren鈥� and 鈥渦nashamedly a supercar for the purist.鈥�
My drive on an empty industrial tarmac went much like this:
ZOOOOOOOOOM!
(Mild expletives/slight blaspheming)
Once I had composed myself a bit, I added:
鈥淭here was a second there where I thought, 鈥淥h, I鈥檝e got this,鈥� and then it just kept turning on more and more power… it鈥檚 like we鈥檝e been strapped to a lightning bolt.鈥�
I also drove the (ever-so-slightly) more sedate GTS and Artura models.
McLaren describes the GTS as 鈥渆ngineered to delight drivers who demand the dynamic excellence and driving excitement of a McLaren and the ride comfort, refinement and luggage space suited to routine drives and extended journeys.鈥�
The British company calls the hybrid Artura a 鈥渘ext-generation supercar鈥� meant to 鈥渄eliver the highest levels of dynamic performance鈥s well as meeting the requirements of regular driving and offering the near-silent electric-drive that is beneficial in urban environments.鈥�
A 750S coupe (I drove the convertible) has a total recommended starting MSRP of $367,400. For the GTS, that number is $323,200, while it鈥檚 $262,700 for the Artura. Those numbers can shoot up faster than, well, a McLaren, when you factor in options.
As for that regional tie-in, McLaren relies on the Baltimore area as part of the importing process.
Soon, Baltimore County will be home to a 鈥渟tate-of-the-art鈥� vehicle processing center for the automaker, where workers will prepare the supercars to be shipped to 26 dealerships across the U.S.
