One of the saddest truths about the high-end automotive market is that so many of these brilliantly designed, ultra-exclusive supercars will spend almost their entire lives tucked away in a mausoleum of a garage. Because in reality, they’re just like any other toy—they want to be played with. Hard driving is their raison d’être. But an off-road camping trip? Things could get messy.
That prospect didn’t stop Mike Tornabene and Zac Mertens with GNARPM.com from borrowing a couple of McLaren 570GTs from McLaren of Beverly Hills and striking out for the dirt roads of Lone Pine, California, amid the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. A dubious choice in many ways, except one—as The Drive’s Will Sabel Courtney talked about during his test drive, the McLaren 570GT features an incredibly spacious, comfortable interior and more storage space than a Toyota Corolla.
After stuffing the frunk and side-hinged rear hatch full of camping gear, the pair set off for Lone Pine and quickly run out of pavement. But with a mid-engined setup and its twin-turbo V8 sending 562 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels, the McLaren 570GT looks surprisingly at home as they turn the sandy trails into a desert rally stage and kick up an impressive dust storm.
And the fun doesn’t stop when the sun goes down—thanks to a homebrew light bar rig strapped across the top of the windshield, Tornabene and Mertens get a little night rallying in too. That might be the craziest part of the whole expedition, with nothing but inky darkness visible outside the reach of their lights as they rocket down the trail.
Aside from needing a thorough detailing at the end, the 570GTs handle the adventure with aplomb. Further proof that cars like these are made to be driven, not hidden.
