Why McLaren’s 600LT Spider could be a prudent investment

McLaren’s new 600LT Spider could become the supercar club’s latest go-to investment after officials confirmed the new model would be strictly limited to "less than 50 units" in Australia.

Reaching dealers this week – to which McLaren took its new whip along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road to celebrate – the 600LT Spider is the fifth member in a storied line of ‘Longtail’ models from the British marque, pioneered by the legendary F1 GTR.

Historically, each LT model released by McLaren has been highly sought-after by enthusiasts. But now, the 600LT Spider might just have another reason: limited Australian production.

"Unfortunately, Australia is not going to get so many cars," McLaren’s Asia Pacific managing director, George Biggs conceded to carsales.com.au.

"We have to respond to demand around the world. I think if I was to say less than 50 cars, that would be accurate."

Biggs said the US, Europe and Japan were the biggest markets for the 600LT Spider, with demand at each of those locations ultimately dictating the global supply of cars, along with consistent requests across the Asia Pacific.

While he admitted "...ideally we would have brought more to Australia," Biggs agreed continued demand for the beguiling drop-top will translate to the used market, potentially joining other appreciating modern classics like the Ferrari 458 Speciale and Porsche 911 R.

The 600LT Spider arrives as McLaren gets set to hybridise each new vehicle it makes by 2025.

"From our perspective, when we look at the limited history of 675LT, P1 and Senna, those have performed well in terms of value and appeal," Biggs said.

"Our customers do understand the limited production – we communicated that when we first announced the 600LT Spider.

"What’s unique about McLaren customers is they are primarily purchasing the car to drive it, not as an investment.

"Although it’s an element of the decision making process, those that are lucky enough to secure a 600LT Spider are doing it for the right reasons."

In the engine bay, the new McLaren 600LT Spider packs more punch from its 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged flat-plane crank petrol V8. Power is up 22kW to 441kW (600PS, hence the rounded-up badge) and torque now peaks at 620Nm.

Tellingly, McLaren initially cites the Ferrari 488 Pista Spider and Lamborghini Huracan Performante Spyder as the LT’s chief rivals.

Dig a little deeper and engineers concede the light-weight ethos of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS is in fact the car’s objective target.

So, how do you jump the queue to get your hands on McLaren’s new $496,000 machine?

"That’s a process we work with our dealers on, we make sure the appropriate customers get their vehicle," Biggs said.

"We have to understand the pre-order enquiries, and we make sure we supply the right levels to match the demand. Therefore it’s a case of appropriately deliver the right amount of cars to each market."