McLaren Reveals Its Most Affordable Sports Car Ever

The word "affordable" is relative when you're talking about a high-end sports car that boasts a 3.8-liter twin turbo V-8 good for 533 hp and 398 lb.-ft. torque, a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds with a top speed of 199 mph, and a badge that says " McLaren."

Then, when you add that the car weighs just 2,890 lbs. dry and features the same carbon fiber tub as its bigger brothers, you realize the 540C is no watered-down variant; rather it remains a pure McLaren, only one that costs $165,000.

That puts it squarely in-line with the Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi R8 V-10 and Mercedes-AMG GT S. The McLaren 570S, revealed a few weeks back in New York, lies closer to $180,000, which is at the upper-limits of these models' price range. The 540C only loses 29 hp when compared to the 570S, but it brings the price down to a level that may entice those merely "very rich" individuals (as opposed to only the "super rich").

And just look at what you get if you do. The 540C appears as if it's a supercar worth twice its price. Like the 570S, McLaren's "Sports Series" lineup does without the trick suspension that forgoes roll bars and adopts a more traditional set up. Exactly how this back-to-basics layout translates to the road will have to wait until we get behind the wheel later this year.