McLaren 540C vs 570S - what's the difference?

The McLaren 570S was the baby Mac at one point, but then a younger 540C came along and took the crown of the most affordable McLaren.

Lets start with the outside. No matter how hard you study and compare the cars together you'll struggle to find any difference because there's only one - the wheels. The 540C came with 19" wheels that featured more spokes than the 570S. Apart from that, both share the same front fascia, LED lights, splitter and winged doors. They're basically identical.

The same theme runs into the interior. The Sports Series is the softer of the McLaren groups designed for every day usability in mind therefore featured a modified, smaller carbon tub making it easier for the driver and passenger to enter and exit the vehicle. Again, apart from that you'll struggle to find a difference.

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The Sports Series are more GT than supercar therefore a softer suspension is used compared to the likes of the 720S and the 675LT. Out of the two, the 540C has the softest ride with revised dampers to soak up the bumps. Both 540C and 570S don't feature carbon fibre bodies but instead aluminum to save money, allowing more to be produced.

The most fundamental differences, given away by the names, is the engine. Both house the traditional 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8, but as expected, the 540C produces 540PS (532bhp) against the 570S's 570PS (562bhp).

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Despite being the baby, the 540C is still a very capable car. 0-60 in just 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 199mph isn't to be sneered at, and can still give most other cars on the road a run for their money. Naturally, with more power, the 570S trumps the 540C with a 0-60 time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 205mph.

It's no surprise that the prices are different with the cheapest option being the 540C which starts at £126,000, £17,000 cheaper than the 570S's £143,000. In comparison to the 675LT's price tag of £259,000, they're a bargain.