Woman learned to drive in New York City in a $235K McLaren supercar
- This nervous learned to drive in New York, New York, US
- What’s more, she did it in a $235K McLaren supercar
- However, she claims giving it back was the hardest thing
Published on Aug 22, 2024 at 8:01 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Aug 23, 2024 at 3:16 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
This nervous learned to drive on the mean streets of New York, New York, US – and she did it in a loaned $235K McLaren supercar.
She’d never got behind the wheel in the Big Apple before.
However, despite her anxiety before she put her foot down, she claims that the hardest part was giving the car back at the end of the day.
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The McLaren 570S Spider
Writer, Morgan Korn, borrowed for the day from the Classic Car Club of Manhattan.
She was braving the cabbies, tourists on Citi Bikes, and confusing traffic laws that had previously brought her out in a cold sweat.
The British-built McLaren 570S Spider is said to ‘ bring you closer to the elements in a design that’s equally stunning with the roof up or down’.
The elements here being the chaos of NYC.
She brought her car-enthusiast dad with her, who immediately advised against opting for the ‘flashy’ orange option.
Seems this car belongs in a metropolitan environment, too, with the mystery of a bright pink McLaren 570s that hasn’t moved from a London hotel in four years finally solved.
Per the website: “The front of the 570S Spider is strikingly low, creating a poised stance that emphasises the mid-engined layout.
“The crisp contours of the bonnet pierce the air and channel it over fluid, sculpted surfaces towards the side intakes and rear of the car.”
Exclusive and quite rare, with each model taking four weeks to be assembled at the factory near London Heathro in the UK, only 20 can be made per day.
McLaren Automotive launched in 2010 as a distinct entity from the McLaren racing team.
It’s said that founder, Bruce McLaren, was determined to produce a race car for the streets.
The supercar’s performance in New York
Behind its dihedral doors, the McLaren 570S Spider sits low to the ground and requires a little maneuvering.
According to Korn, the 3.8-liter, twin-turbo 562 hp V8 engine was powerful and it was impossible to open her up to her top speed of 328km/h/204mph.
Driving up the West Side Highway and across the George Washington Bridge towards New Jersey, she claims that she received more attention than she’d like.
“I love your car,” one male driver shouted as his passenger recorded the McLaren as she was heckled by a crowd and turned heads enough to nearly cause a collision.
While front visibility was perfect, mirrors or her co-pilot dad had to be relied on to see behind.
What’s more the subdued acceleration made her fret that she’d left her car in neutral.
With the engine positioned right behind the driver, she decided to enjoy its rumble rather than testing the $2,280 12-speaker audio system from Bowers & Wilkins.
“The hardest part of the experience was relinquishing the 570S at the end of the day,” she told ABC News.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
