By Tim Pitt For its first 11 years in existence, every car built by McLaren Automotive followed the same template: two seats, a mid-mounted V8, a dual-clutch gearbox and rear-wheel drive. From the original MP4-12C to Ultimate Series exotics such as the Senna, these supercars majored on going fast and having fun. Only the McLaren GT really broke the mould. Granted, it used those same ingredients – and it was still fast and fun. But while the GT served up ferocious performance and typical McLaren agility, it also offered long-distance refinement and relative practicality. On paper, it was the be…