Launched in 2015 as McLaren'->ke284s first sports car->ke506 priced under $200,000, the 570S is also the company's first model to become a safety car. The brand's entry-level coupe->ke141 was chosen by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) as the official safety car for the 2016 British GT Championship. The 570S Safety Car will support each of the nine rounds over seven race weekends and pace a grid that includes cars such as the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, BMW Z4 GT3, Lamborghini Huracan GT3, and the Audi R8 LMS.

This year's British GT Championship will also feature the McLaren 650S GT3 and the brand-new 570S GT4, which will run its development season in the series.

"Motorsport is a key element to the make-up of McLaren – both in terms of our hugely successful history but also the extremely exciting future. This latest partnership with the British GT Championship underlines the common links between McLaren road-going and track-dedicated models," said Ansar Ali, McLaren Automotive's newly-appointed Motorsport Director.

Much like any safety car, the 570S received a few exterior upgrades such as a light bar on the roof, "Safety Car" graphics on the doors, and "British GT" and "Pirelli" decals. Inside, the only addition is a radio system. Everything is stock under the hood, meaning that the safety car uses the twin-turbo, 3.8-liter V-8 to put 562 horsepower and 443 pound-feet on the ground. This should be more than enough to pace the powerful race cars competing in the British GT Championship.

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Why it matters

Having a safety car in a motorsport series outside famous competitions such as Formula One, IndyCar or NASCAR doesn't do much to boost sales and McLaren isn't the type of manufacturer that would need such marketing. However, the move is an important step for both the British automaker and the new 570S, which are making their debut in the safety car world. It's worth mentioning that the 570S is McLaren's first-ever safety car since it began manufacturing street-legal vehicles, not including the SLR co-developed with Mercedes-Benz. The partnership with SRO also means that McLaren will field three different vehicles in this year's British GT Championship.

McLaren 570S Coupe

Read our full review on the McLaren 570S Coupe here.