It may be a relative newcomer to the supercar ranks but don’t underestimate the allure of the McLaren brand. Since it set out to emulate Ferrari by branching out of its long time commitment to Formula One racing into full-time road car production back in 2010, the British car maker bearing the name of New Zealand motorsport legend Bruce McLaren, has seen impressive levels of growth. Last year it sold a record 3286 cars, an almost doubling of sales from 2015 to achieve its fourth consecutive year of profitability.

From ambitious beginnings just seven years ago, McLaren’s road car division has quickly established itself as a creditable rival to traditional supercar makers such as Ferrari and Lamborghini. And while it lacks the overall reach and sales of more volume focused sportscar manufacturers such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz’s burgeoning AMG performance car operation, the company’s impact and standing among big name competitors speaks volumes for the cars it produces.

While its initial range topping P1 hypercar and more recent 720S have hogged the limelight, the exponential growth of the British supercar maker, headquartered in a space age complex situated in outer laying London suburb of Woking, has largely been driven by its Sports Series models. The 570S Spider driven here is the fourth variant in McLaren’s most popular line-up, joining the 540C, 570S Coupe and 570 GT.

Developed alongside the 570S Coupe, the 570S Spider is expected to become the best-selling McLaren model yet. Like its fixed roofed sibling, it is based around McLaren’s patented MonoCell carbon fibre chassis. The super stiff structure, manufactured by Austrian firm CarboTech, is claimed to weigh just 75kg. As well as being light relative to the competition owing to the fact that it doesn’t rely on the roof for torsional rigidity, its integrity is such that it requires no additional strengthening measures to accommodate the new McLaren model’s open top design – a feat more conventional steel or aluminium-based open top supercar rivals fail to match.  

Consequently, McLaren says the 570S Spider is no less rigid than the highly rated 570S Coupe. However, the packaging of its electronically operated composite plastic roof, which folds and stows behind the snug two seat cabin in a speedily 15sec, sees it hit the scales 46kg above its mechanical identical sibling at 1359kg. Not that you would ever know it. With a mid-mounted twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 engine mounted up back developing the same 419kW at 7500rpm as all of McLaren’s previous 570 badged models as well as a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox to dole out the heady reserves, the rear-wheel drive 570S Spider is claimed to hit 100km/h in just 3.2sec – the same time quoted for the 570S Coupe, no less. From there, it requires just another 6.4sec to hit 200km/h, which is reached in 9.6sec. The new mid-engined McLaren also run to 328km/h flat out in seventh gear with its roof closed, providing it entry to a very exclusive club of 320km/h plus road cars. With the roof open, added turbulence knocks 13km/h the its top speed, reducing it to a no less impressive 315km/h.

You’ll need to be an ardent McLaren fan to spot the visual differences separating the 570S Spider from the 570S Coupe. The panel gaps within its folding roof structure and tonneau cover at the rear are obvious giveaways. Otherwise, the styling changes are virtually undetectable; there’s a 12mm increase in the height of the rear spoiler to offset a slight reduction in downforce when the roof is down, though I doubt anyone will ever notice. Familiar looks, then. Which is a good thing. It might lack the visual drama of the Ferrari 488 Spider or traditional beauty of the Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet to name but two rivals, but to my eyes Woking’s new open top is the prettiest of the 570S models yet.

Getting into the new McLaren is no less of a gymnastic act than with its fixed roof stablemate, though. The sills on the latest evolution of the MonoCell chassis are commendably slim, so you can thread your legs into the footwell fairly easily. However, the driver’s seat is mounted very low. Even with the best of intentions, you tend to find yourself awkwardly folding backwards into the 570S Spider. Entry is helped to some extent by the dihedral doors, which open out and swing up to provide a fairly large aperture. But even with the roof retracted, I suggest it is rarely going to be an elegant affair climbing into the new McLaren.

If you’ve opted for the optional carbon fibre racing seats like those fitted to the 570S Spider we drove in Spain earlier this month, the effort will be worth it, though. They’re racing grade body hugging affairs with carbon-fibre backs and tremendous lateral support. For the most part, the interior adds to the occasion. For a start, the dashboard and trims are well up to the quality standard offered by the supercar competition. The clarity of the digital instruments and simplicity of the steering wheel also help to make you feel at home the moment you climb in. The controls and switches within the centre console provide a further highlight, offering a delicately damped action and intuitive usage that speaks volumes for the level of detail McLaren’s design and quality experts have achieved with its latest line of models.

One of those switches centred around the gearbox controls the two part roof, which can be lowered and closed on the run at speeds up to 40km/h. The electric motors used to operate the roof are probably a touch louder than the really should be given the outstanding engineering prowess evident in other parts of the car, though there is no faulting the folding and stowing process, which is performed with speedy efficiency. Altogether less successful, though, is the control system for the 570S Spider’s IRIS infotainment system. Unnecessarily complex and lacking the ease of use found in some rivals, it spoils an otherwise highly engaging driving environment.  On the move, it’s hard to pick any real differences in character with the coupe around town. With a relatively low set dashboard and thin pillars, forward vision is great. But with two high buttresses and a tiny rear window, rear vision is near to non-existent. Happily, the new McLaren sports a reversing camera, which helps to ease parking to some extent. However, the lack of over-the-should rear three-quarter vision is sometimes an issue in heavy city traffic.   

The good news is the 570S Spider rides and handles with the same sublime characteristics as the 570S Coupe once you get a chance to stretch its legs and dial yourself into the Active Dynamics Panel, which offers the choice of three driving modes: Normal, Sport and Track. Running in Sport, it feels wonderfully damped and responds to your inputs with imbibing purity, whether tooling along the highway on a constant throttle or charging hard over challenging back road. If there is an open top car on sale today offering quite the same level of on-the-limit delicacy and sheer whip-crack responsiveness, I have yet to drive it.

But it is well beyond legal speeds where the race grade aerodynamics really come into play and the new McLaren is at its very best. The carbon fibre chassis provides a super rigid basis for the aluminium intensive double wishbone suspension, allowing the springs and dampers to instantly soak up nasty nuts and potholes without any comfortable secondary shudders to upset your progress. Grip from the standard issue Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres (225/35 R19 in profile up front and 285/35 R20 at the rear) is always in great abundance, the only limiting factor to cornering speeds seemingly being your own commitment. The inherent balance and poise results in outstanding agility, and the exemplary damping ensures masterly body control with a stern resistance to lateral forces even when you’re hard on it through constant radius curves.     

McLaren insists the 570S Spider is not focused on ultimate track performance. It possesses it, no doubt. But it is arguably even more accomplished on the road, and much of its appeal can be traced to its steering, which really is a defining feature of the new car. Unlike many of the electric systems introduced on rival supercars in recent times, it works with combined electric and hydraulic assistance, McLaren chassis experts believing it delivers the best in terms of feedback. Communicated through a perfectly proportioned steering wheel without any multi-function buttons of any kind, it delivers wonderfully detailed turn-in traits and rabid off-centre response, with well-judged weighing and a good degree of self centering to boot. The thin rim jiggles in your hands as the suspension faithfully follows the camber of the roads, writhing ever so slightly as it picks up on the imperfections in the surface. This high level of feedback provides instant confidence and great appeal. It doesn’t take long to conclude that this is a very special kind of road car.

If there are dents in the 570S Spider’s armoury, its engine is among them, although this is largely down to the fact that the rest of new McLaren is so darn good that even the slightest frustration tends to become exaggerated. The V8 is hugely responsive and wonderfully tractable, delivering 600Nm of torque at 5000rpm for both truly heart stopping acceleration in lower gears and terrifically refined cruising ability in taller ratios. It also boasts a delightfully linear delivery with very little in the way of lag as its turbochargers spool up, either on part loads or in full attack mode.

However, the flat crank unit ultimately fails to connect with the driver on the same emotive level as some of the engines fitted to rival supercars. It is hugely effective but sadly low on all important emotional appeal. This is also reflected in the sound it makes. Even when fitted with an optional sports exhaust – as sported by our test car, it never reaches the same sonorous acoustic heights as those achieved by some of the competition. Driving it out on the open road, you often yearn for a more engaging soundtrack, especially at middling revs where the sound of 570S Spider disappoints.

That said; there is little to criticize the new McLaren elsewhere. Its seven-speed transmission works well in automatic mode, picking off ratios in a crisp and efficacious manner. Switch the dual clutch unit into manual mode and it proves even more capable, firing off upshifts and downshifts with great shift speed and efficiency.   Traction is also very impressive over a variety of different surfaces, too, despite the lack of a limited slip differential to juggle power to each individual rear wheel. The brakes, featuring standard carbon-ceramic discs, are enormously powerful. However, they initially require quite a bit of pedal pressure before responding. Once they heat up, though, they wipe off speed in a very determined fashion.

With the roof retracted and the automatically operated rear window acting as a wind deflector behind the seats, the cabin is happily devoid of any nasty buffeting. You can sustain a conversation with your passenger at highway speeds without resorting to shouting. With it up there is some residual wind noise, though most of it is deflected off the exterior mirrors. It is difficult to really judge, though the 570S Spider appears to give little away to the 570S Coupe in refinement.

When the roof is up, there is an added 52 litres of boot capacity underneath the tonneau cover behind the cabin at the rear. This combines with a deep 150 litre well up front to provide an overall 202 litres of luggage space, making the new McLaren surprisingly practical.

The McLaren 570S Spider is a stunningly capable and enormously exciting car. Its ability to provide relaxed and loping progress out on the highway one minute and then slip into race car mode with thrilling incisiveness and precision the next places it in a very rarefied field indeed. Yes, its engine could provide greater emotional appeal and aural entertainment, but it is never lacking for sheer speed or performance. On the right road with its Active Dynamic Panel dialled to track, it is frightfully rapid. But at the same time, it is communicative enough to allow you to confidently explore its heightened dynamic talents without any great fear of reprisal. On top of all this, it boasts outstanding ride quality and sufficient practicality to allow you to consider it for everyday use.     

You’ll need to dig deep, though. At $435,750, it is pitched $56,750 above the 570S Coupe in Australia. At that price, the latest McLaren model will face competition from the $470,800 Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 Spyder and $411,800 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet. Next to the $631,038 Ferrari 488 Spider, though, it’s a bargain.

2017 McLaren 570S Spider price and specifications

Price: From $435,750 plus on-road costs

Engine: 3.8-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol

Power: 419kW at 7500rpm

Torque: 600Nm at 5000rpm

Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, rear-wheel drive

Fuel use: 10.7L/100km

• For more information, visit our McLaren showroom.