McLaren 540C officially unveiled in Shanghai

McLaren has taken the wraps off its new 540C sports car at the Shanghai motor show. The 540C is McLaren’s new entry-level sports car and is their most affordable model yet. This new model will be in the same league as the Audi R8 and Porsche 911.

The 540C sits below the recently revealed 570S. It acquires a subtly revised aerodynamics package, as well as unique 19-inch wheels at the front and 20-inch wheels at the back and is available with a silver or stealth finish.

Under the hood, the 540C gets the twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8 used in the 570S, but generates 533bhp instead of the 570S' 562bhp. The peak power arrives at 7,500rpm, and the maximum torque of 55kgm is achieved between 3500rpm and 6500rpm.

The mid-mounted engine sends power to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. The car sprints from 0-100kph in 3.5 seconds, 0-200kph is handled in 10.5 seconds and flat-out, it could do 320kph.

The 540C is built around a carbon-fibre chassis called MonoCell II and features aluminum body panels. It weighs 1311kg, which is just 2kg lighter than the 570S, and about 150kg lesser than the next lighter sports car, the R8.

In the cabin, the 540C has premium leather upholstery covering the seats, dashboard and the door panels. The car also boasts a 7-inch infotainment system with Bluetooth and GPS navigation.

There are small aerodynamic changes compared to the 570S. There’s also revised damper tuning, designed to make the 540C more comfortable for daily driving. The ‘C’ in the nomenclature is understood to stand for Clubsport.