[MUSIC PLAYING]
ALISTAIR WEAVER: Welcome to the Goodwood Festival of Speed
in sunny England.
Every year, 200,000 people visit the home
of the Duke of Richmond for a slice of automotive nirvana.
It's Britain's answer to the Pebble Beach Concours
d'Elegance.
But here, the cars get driven.
Making its debut at Goodwood this weekend
is the McLaren 600 LT. And it'll be exclusively driven up
the famous hill climb by me.
I've been charged with demonstrating
these $240,000 car to the tens of thousands of people
here at Goodwood and the millions more watching
on television.
It'll be the fastest first drive Edmond's has ever done.
So, no pressure.
The 600 is based on the 570S, but McLaren
states that up to 25% of the parts are new.
LT stands for long tail.
This car has grown by all of 2.9 inches, which is about that.
There there's a new fixed carbon fiber rear
wing for aerodynamic downforce, upgraded suspension pinched
from the 720S, carbon ceramic brakes and bespoke Pirelli
tires.
Then, of course, is the signature feature
shared with the 675 LT. These exhaust now
protrude from the engine bay instead of being sat
underneath with the diffuser.
They're hot, and yet very, very cool.
Inside it's really a case of less is more.
Ditching most of the carpet it has helped save 13 pounds.
And these optional seats, pinched from a center hyper
car, save an extra 50 pounds.
In this trim that you can see here,
McLaren reckons the 600 LT is 220 pounds lighter
than the equivalent 570S--
about the same as a bulbous buddy.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hour to go before the run starts,
so time to get the onesie on.
This is the famous Goodwood Festival
of Speed Drivers Club, where you tend to get changed
next to somebody famous.
Last time for me, it was Emerson Fittipaldi.
And I tell you, never meet your hero in tired, blue underwear.
It's not good.
McLaren's insurers are demanding that I'm
joined by one of their race drivers, Rob Garofall.
But what he's supposed to do from the passenger seat
is anyone's guess.
Maybe he's just here to witness the crash.
[ENGINES REVVING]
The engine is McLaren's familiar 3.8 liter, twin turbo V8.
But it's been re-tuned to deliver 592 horsepower
and 457 pounds feet of torque.
McLaren's claiming zero to 60 in 2.8 seconds,
and a quarter mile in just 10.0.
Enough to challenge Lamborghini's Huracan
Performante.
So it's hard to estimate just how big this event has become.
It's just extraordinary, terribly British, as well.
This is Lord March, or the Duke of Richmond as he is now.
He's been promoted.
This is his private driveway.
It's 1.16 miles long.
And the record was set by Nick Heidfeld in a McClaren Formula
One car back in 1999.
But no danger of threatening that today.
[ENGINE REVVING]
Man, this thing's fast.
[ENGINE REVVING]
[INAUDIBLE]
Full bull ahead.
Trying to keep it out of the hay bales.
I remember which way it goes.
Finish line flat.
Fourth gear.
Oh, boy.
So that is the Goodwood hill climb.
I thought I'd better shut up and concentrate.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So there we go.
The Goodwood hill climb, in all of 60 seconds.
Last, probably.
ROB GAROFALL: Short and sweet.
ALISTAIR WEAVER: Short and sweet.
Kept it out of the wall, bit of smoke off the line,
but what a toy this is.
That's probably the fastest road test I've ever done.
That's a little taste of what it can do.
Fabulous.
A real privilege.
ROB GAROFALL: Good job.
Well done.
ALISTAIR WEAVER: So that was a hell of an experience.
And this is clearly a hell of a car.
McLaren is only going to build around 600 versions of the LT
coupe, and then another 600 that the Spider version will
launch later in the year.
So it may well appreciate in value just like the 675LT did.
If any car can be a $240,000 bargain, this might just be it.
We'll have to wait till we get it back to the US on road
and track to give you a definitive judgment.
But I can tell you this.
If you're lucky enough to buy one of these cars,
don't just lock it in a garage.
Drive it, please.
If you want to see more fun stuff like this,
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And for more about the 600 LT, check out Edmonds.com.