The McLaren 540C Is The 'Most Attainable McLaren Yet', But It Still Has A Mighty 533bhp

What you’re looking at here is the least expensive new McLaren ever sold. Dubbed the 540C, it’s the latest car in McLaren’s ‘Sports Series’, and it sits below the recently revealed 570S. The price? £126,000, just over £17k less than the 570S and not much more than you’d pay for a used 12C. Or more relevantly, around the price of the new Audi R8.

As you probably guessed from the price we quoted in good old British Pounds Sterling, the 540C isn’t available only in Asia, as was the case for the 625C, the calmer sibling to the 650S. It may be cheaper than the 570S, but it’s still quick enough for most: the now familiar 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 is good for 533bhp and 398lb ft of torque, not a huge drop from the 562bhp and 443lb ft enjoyed by the 570S.

So if you mash your foot on the throttle, you surge forwards at a rather decent pace. It’ll do 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds - 0.3sec down on the 570S - and top out at 199mph. 0-124mph is dispatched in a similarly impressive 10.5 seconds.

As well as sharing an engine with its big brother, it’s also built around the same carbonfibre MonoCell II chassis. It shares near-identical styling, save for a few aerodynamic tweaks and a different set of wheels.

Want one? It’s available for pre-order now, with first deliveries taking place early next year.