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These are the first pictures of McLaren's new supercar, the MP4-12C, which goes on sale in early 2011 with a price tag of about £150,000. Telegraph Motoring viewed the car at McLaren Automotive's headquarters in Woking last week and was briefed on the plans for a range of sports cars from the new company, headed by former F1 McLaren boss, Ron Dennis.
The 12C follows the McLaren F1 supercar, which had a top speed of 240mph in the mid-Nineties, and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, which ended production earlier this year. A McLaren spokesman said this week: "The rules in the sports car world are about to be rewritten."
At the 12C's heart lies a carbon fibre monocoque (a tub light enough for two men to lift), a structure that McLaren insists means new standards in handling, ride, performance, safety, economy and practicality. Behind the rear seats sits a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with 600bhp, that is driven through a McLaren seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, controlled via steering-wheel mounted paddles.
McLaren Automotive claims that "12C is the most efficient, most drivable high-performance sports car in the world". The engine revs to 8,500rpm; 80 per cent of the torque is available below 2,000rpm. Although no official fuel economy figures are available yet, the car should end up with a CO2 g/km emissions figure somewhere in the 200s.
McLaren claims the car has more power per gram of CO2 than any car that's not fully electric; not so surprising given that most hybrids concentrate on economy rather than power, but impressive nonetheless.
A handling feature called Brake Steer, a development of an electronic system used by the F1 team, brakes the inside rear wheel when the car is entering a corner too quickly, to stop the car understeering. It also works on acceleration out of the corner when the inside rear might spin.
Inside, driver and passenger sit close to minimise the car's width. There are climate controls on each door, a digital display and huge central rev counter in the middle of the instrument cluster, a free-floating tunnel console with transmission buttons and launch control, and cup holders beneath it.
Frank Stephenson, design director at McLaren Automotive, said: "Many sports cars and supercars present an 'in-your-face', 'look-at-me' image that can become wearing and boorish. I hope that with the 12C we have produced a car that will still look great in years to come."
As for the difficult economic conditions, Ron Dennis said, "What we are offering is a new approach to the market, through a skilled, solid, debt-free and risk-managed company. McLaren is right to take this step now and support future growth of high-technology manufacturing and engineering jobs in the UK."
The 12C faces stiff competition from the new, well-received Ferrari 458, which McLaren admits is the benchmark, as well as the Porsche 911 Turbo, Bentley Continental GT and Aston Martin DB9.
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09 Maxima SV, Winter Frost
09 370Z, Chicane Yellow, and yes it's a manual!
I don't know shifting gears in milliseconds and still having the advantages of a manual seems to be the best of both worlds...
What advantage? The only real performance advantages a manual had over an auto dried up when they invented 8 speed autos with smart locking torque converters. It's just more fun and engaging when you get to shift gears yourself.
What advantage? The only real performance advantages a manual had over an auto dried up when they invented 8 speed autos with smart locking torque converters. It's just more fun and engaging when you get to shift gears yourself.
What advantage? The only real performance advantages a manual had over an auto dried up when they invented 8 speed autos with smart locking torque converters. It's just more fun and engaging when you get to shift gears yourself.
But I'll out accelerate you all day, supercars are meant to haul arse not do silly donuts on youtube.... You can still shift just have a computer operating the dual clutches.
This isn't an auto..
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09 Maxima SV, Winter Frost
09 370Z, Chicane Yellow, and yes it's a manual!
But I'll out accelerate you all day, supercars are meant to haul arse not do silly donuts on youtube.... You can still shift just have a computer operating the dual clutches.
This isn't an auto..
Please jesus dont start this debate back up.......If it doesnt have a 3rd pedal its not a manual.
But I'll out accelerate you all day, supercars are meant to haul arse not do silly donuts on youtube.... You can still shift just have a computer operating the dual clutches.
This isn't an auto..
I'm not even going to respond to this. Let's just leave it at that.
But I'll out accelerate you all day, supercars are meant to haul arse not do silly donuts on youtube.... You can still shift just have a computer operating the dual clutches.
who wants to bet its still slower than the original f1? or for that matter the benz mclaren which i absolutely hated! and why the heck dont they do what they did in the f1 with the 3 seater! center drivers position! made a more balanced car. and it looks like they need to bring the front wheels forward a few more inches like the f1. and is anybody else seeing lotis from the side? i dun like it that much.
who wants to bet its still slower than the original f1? or for that matter the benz mclaren which i absolutely hated! and why the heck dont they do what they did in the f1 with the 3 seater! center drivers position! made a more balanced car. and it looks like they need to bring the front wheels forward a few more inches like the f1. and is anybody else seeing lotis from the side? i dun like it that much.
you de realize that you are comparing a sub 300k car to a car that cost 1 million plus back in the early 90's...
except we don't know jack about the mclaren besides the pictures and vague specs...
true but you don't buy a car like this because it's "faster" then some thing else. 99% of the people who buy 100k+ cars for the street couldnt get 20% out of them.
you de realize that you are comparing a sub 300k car to a car that cost 1 million plus back in the early 90's...
hmm. didnt know they were gonna let it go for that cheap... this to me is like putting the v6's in mustangs and camaros... just seams like such a waste of car...
except we don't know jack about the mclaren besides the pictures and vague specs...
This makes an impression with me at least...
"At the 12C's heart lies a carbon fibre monocoque (a tub light enough for two men to lift), a structure that McLaren insists means new standards in handling, ride, performance, safety, economy and practicality. Behind the rear seats sits a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with 600bhp, that is driven through a McLaren seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, controlled via steering-wheel mounted paddles."
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09 Maxima SV, Winter Frost
09 370Z, Chicane Yellow, and yes it's a manual!
"Ooh, where to start? The MP4-12C is built around an extremely light and rigid carbon fiber tub. But rather than the heavier multi-piece tubs used by its competitors and predecessors, the MP4's is made from a single piece, weighing a spritely 176 pounds). The body panels are all carbon fiber and composites, making the new McLaren more expensive to build than its competitors and resulting in an expected £160,000 ($265k) price tag – higher than either the new Ferrari 458 Italia or the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, but lighter in weight, too.
Behind the tub sits a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 engine producing around 600 horsepower and 433 lb-ft of torque, offering what McLaren claims is the highest horsepower to CO2 ratio of any internal combustion engine on the market – gasoline, diesel or even hybrid. Contrary to earlier speculation that suggested Mercedes could continue furnishing its erstwhile partner with at least the engine blocks while producing its own SLS supercar and furnishing Pagani as well, McLaren says the unit was developed entirely in house. The bespoke mill features a flat-plane crank, dry sump and can rev up to 8,500 rpm, though 80% of the torque is said to be available from as low as 2,000 rpm. That ought to be good for a 0-60 time in the low threes and a 200+ mph top end."
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09 Maxima SV, Winter Frost
09 370Z, Chicane Yellow, and yes it's a manual!
"While you might have expected carbon ceramic brakes to keep all that power and speed in check, McLaren says its conventional discs actually weigh less. They're aided by a Brake Steer system that brakes the inside rear wheel to combat understeer. But the real trick system is in the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, where Pre-Cog lets the driver load up the next gear by half-squeezing the paddle and then engaging with gunshot speed.
With the new MP4-12C, McLaren's betting the economy will bounce back soon. It's planning on building 1000 units in 2011, a quarter of which will go each to the domestic UK market and over here to the United States. The C designation also suggests that they're planning a roadster version to join the coupe. But for now, we'll just enjoy this first batch of images in the gallery below and peruse the lengthy press release after the jump."
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09 Maxima SV, Winter Frost
09 370Z, Chicane Yellow, and yes it's a manual!
Weight is the enemy of performance in every area of car design. It affects acceleration, speed, handling, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions – everything. McLaren Automotive engineers pursued weight saving obsessively. For example:
• The Carbon MonoCell not only reduces the weight of the structure but also allows for the use of much lighter weight body panels.
• The close position of the driver and passenger allows a narrower, lighter body while giving improved visibility with a clearer perception of the car's extremities.
• Brakes with forged aluminium hubs save 8 kg and weigh less than optional carbon ceramic brakes.
• Lightweight exhaust pipes exit straight out the rear of the car, minimizing their length and weight.
• Airflow-assisted Airbrake deployment dramatically reduces weight of the Airbrake activation system.
• Small, compact downsized engine coupled to lightweight compact SSG minimizes vehicle length, weight and polar moment of inertia.
• Significant weight was pared off the alloy wheels through intensive Finite Element Analysis of wall thicknesses.
• The engine cooling radiators were mounted at the rear, as close to the engine as possible, to minimize the pipework, the fluids contained within them, and therefore weight. They were also mounted in car line to minimize vehicle width.
"We have spent most of the programme 'adding lightness'," said Mark Vinnels, McLaren Automotive Programme Director. "If the cost of reducing weight brought performance gains in speed, handling or economy, we did it. However, if the expense could deliver improved performance elsewhere we didn't pursue it. We never set weight targets as such; we set cost-to-performance targets and examined everything in this way.
"A good example of this philosophy is that we considered carbon fibre body panels. They would have reduced weight but added little benefit as the new one-piece Carbon MonoCell provides all of the torsional strength the body needs. The costs saved were used elsewhere for greater weight reduction and efficiencies overall. This was the holistic approach to weight saving that we used all the way through development," he concluded."
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09 Maxima SV, Winter Frost
09 370Z, Chicane Yellow, and yes it's a manual!
shame
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