The Engineer drives: McLaren takes its track expertise to the road

• Engine 3.8L V8

• Maximum speed 328kph (204mph)

• Acceleration (0–60 mph) 3.3s

• Fuel consumption 26.6mpg

• Dry weight 1,350kg

• Body structure 75kg MonoCell II carbon-fibre chassis

• Power 562bhp @ 7,500rpm

• Torque 600Nm @ 5,000–6,500rpm

• Transmission seven-speed seamless shift dual-clutch gearbox

• Basic price £154,000

Getting behind the wheel of a supercar can be an unsettling experience: particularly when you’ve just stepped straight from a sedate family saloon.

But what’s instantly remarkable about McLaren’s 570GT is that it manages to make this sudden leap from laboured workhorse to dazzling speedster seem like the most natural thing in the world, without sacrificing any of the excitement.

Launched at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, the 570GT is the most recent model in the Woking carmaker’s sports series, the most affordable and accessible of its three ranges.

Also comprising the 570S Coupé and the 540C, the sports series accounts for in the region of two-thirds of McLaren’s total annual production, which last year was around 3,000 vehicles. In contrast, the firm made just 375 units of its P1 hypercar, which ceased production in December 2015. While many of the vehicles rolling off the lines at the company’s futuristic Norman Foster-designed production centre are destined for a pampered, glamorous life of track days and multi-millionaire ownership, the 570GT is a very different beast.