This single feature tells your everything you need to know about McLaren's high-performance cars
Porsche is German precision taken the race track. Ferrari is sexy Italian-ness ripped from the race track. Lamborghini is flamboyance rendered in shimmering, neon-colored, shiny metal. Pagani is out-there and esoteric. Bugatti is suavely potent, the fastest and most elegant car around. Corvette is all-American with the whiff of midlife crisis. Mustang is all-American without the whiff of midlife crisis.
McLaren is high-performance married with high-tech. It's no surprise that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk once owned a McLaren F1, or that the car maker and its scissor doors have been frequently name-checked on HBO's "Silicon Valley."
If you're into wine, poetry, and possibly gold chains, you gravitate to Ferrari and Lamborghini. If you fancy yourself a true driver, Porsche is there for you. But if you write code in your spare time and dream of retiring on Mars, McLaren is your bag.
McLaren has a lot of racing credibility, however. Its founder, after all, was the late, legendary driver Bruce McLaren, and the English company continues to be a presence in Formula One.
It isn't just an way-awesome ride with video-game acceleration and handling that's aimed at newly minted tech billionaires.
McLaren isn't exactly a supercar manufacturer with a sense of humor, so you aren't going to find any Easter eggs in its cars. But you will find a subtle reference to motorsport. In an unlikely place: the climate-control system.
Here it is, on the center touchscreen of a new 570S that we recently sampled:
As you can see, the little McLaren man can have warm or cool air aimed at various sections of his body, including - his racing-helmeted head!
Just a subtle reminder that McLarens crave track!
I have to say, I've seen the McLaren Man in two cars at this point, and I've gotten a kick out of it every time. Good work, McLaren!