McLaren 650S GT3 test nears end

Final stage of development will happen at the 2014 Gulf 12 Hour Race. By Chris Ng

Count on McLaren to test their cars in extreme environments. Already, the 650S road car has been subjected to horrible road and weather conditions, but what else can you do when it comes to a GT racer? Well, just compete in one of the toughest endurance races in the world, of course. The race: 2014 Gulf 12 Hour Race that’s happening on 12 to 13 December, 2014.

The McLaren 650S will be competing against some of the biggest names in GT racing and 30 cars are expected to race in the GT3 category of the Gulf 12 Hour. Should the race go well, the Woking-built model will be signed-off for production in time to join the 2015 grid with customer-teams.

Andrew Kirkaldy, Managing Director McLaren GT, explained: ‘The development programme of the 650S GT3 has been extensive already, with the team testing over thousands of kilometres in various conditions. The Gulf 12 Hour will give us the opportunity to fully evaluate the 650S GT3 in a real life race environment, which presents a very different challenge. It will be the toughest test the 650S GT3 has faced so far – a real race situation with a highly competitive grid in high ambient temperatures.

‘Any endurance race is a true test of a car, but we are pushing the boundaries with the 650S GT3. We have worked hard to enhance all areas of driver engagement, and optimised cooling with no adverse affects of performance. This has broadened the performance envelope to make the 650S GT3 more of a drivers’ car, with its performance more easily accessible to all drivers on the growing GT grids we are now seeing around the world.’

No confirmation to the teams driver line-up, yet. It is something we will keep a close eye on. Click here for more photos