McLaren 650S Reviews

Named after the Circuit de la Sarthe where the famed 24 hours race is held, the brand says the supercar is inspired by Le Mans prototypes from the 1980s. But there’s a definite resemblance to the McLaren MP4-12C, especially around the gills.The Sarther’s 45 per cent front/55 per cent rear weight distribution is centred on mid-mounting the 380kW/650Nm GM-sourced V8.The engine is mated to a six-speed transaxle – combining transmission and differential into the rear axle – rather than the high-tech computerised transmission you might expect in today’s supercar.It’s a bit spare on electronic technology everywhere under the skin, with ABS brakes really the only departure from a thoroughly old-school approach that might appeal to purists.And with a light tubular steel frame, carbon fibre body and honeycomb aluminium floor keeping the weight down to an anorexic 1387kg, you can have some faith in Vencer’s claims of a 0-100km/h time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 328km/h.However it will still trail behind the Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren MP4-12C who can do the distance in as little as 3.2.Vencer hasn’t released any details of when – or if – it will go into production, and at what price point they will pitch it.

I've never driven an F1, the landmark McLaren supercar of the 1990s, so this is my first experience of the brand.However I have driven its Ferrari rival, the 458 Italia, and that is a very exciting car. Stunning to look at and with a glorious sound, it's a four-alarm fire for your hair follicles. British reviews of the McLaren MP4-12C find claims for the MP4-12C borne out by their own tests. It is quicker than the Ferrari. But many came away without goosebumps.Clarkson said if the 12C was a pair of tights, the Ferrari 458 Italia was a pair of stockings. That's a powerful metaphor and there's truth in it. The 458 has more dramatic design and greater musical range. It's more of a luxury statement inside.Even the name is more sonorous. MP4-12C is difficult to say. Driving out of the McLaren showroom in Sydney this week, I caught sight of a Lotus Evora and mistook it for another 12C. It's impossible to imagine confusing a 458 with anything else.It's true but it's not the whole story. I'm going to wander into the dangerous territory of national stereotypes here. You have been warned. The 458 is flamboyant and it's loud.If it had arms, it would be gesticulating wildly. It's Italian and it's an affair to remember. If the Brits did something like that, we'd wonder what they'd been ingesting.The 12C is as restrained as the 458 is extravagant. Its virtues are less in-your-face. It invites polite curiosity rather than shrill attention. And there's something, well, British, about its knack for understatement. This isn't stockings and tights; it's Keira Knightly versus Sophia Loren.The exterior doesn't shout, but up close it's special. Those restrained curves offer plenty to dwell on. The doors open, thanks to a proximity sensor, with a caress of your hand.The interior is a beautiful mix of leather and alcantara and fascinating in its unfamiliarity. Controls are logically placed but not necessarily where or how you've come to expect them; the aircon switches are in the arm rests and the control screen is a vertical touchscreen panel.There's judicious use of carbon fibre and an absence of adornment. Although less sumptuous and more functional than the Ferrari, its details -- right down to the spokes of the air vents -- are impressive nevertheless.There's a small steering wheel that disdains the recent fashion for buttons. The seats are great, instruments clear and pedals solid.McLaren set out to avoid the supercar bugbear of poor vision and to a large extent it has succeeded because forward vision is excellent. When the airbrake deploys it fills the rear window, momentarily at least. But how quickly does it stop!The 12C sits lower to the ground than you expect although the way its nose and tail are chamfered makes this less of an issue than with some.The engine fires up without a contrived "explosion into life'' and there are push-buttons for gear selection -- D, N and R -- that can be found by touch alone. The engine sounds like a V8 -- a busy baritone rumble with turbocharger accompaniment. It's incredibly flexible, holding high gears up hill and quiet with the driveline selector in N for normal.Everything that's been said about the comfortable ride is true. Compliant and civilised, it could put to shame some luxury sedans. It feels solid and tight too, without the creaks and groans that are usually part of the supercar deal. As an everyday proposition, the 12C makes more sense than any of its rivals.Its spectrum of abilities is remarkable. Move the driveline and handling selectors into S (for Sport) and everything gets louder and quicker. The front doesn't lift under acceleration and the body stays flat through bends. The 12C turns in so quickly it surprises you the first time, and the steering has the delicacy of the best.The chassis responds to a corner by finding the right attitude and staying there. It's unflappable. It simply tracks around corners at phenomenal speeds and on public roads you cannot even approaching its dymanic limits.Everything goes up another notch when you select T for Track. And on a track, I would run out of ability long before the car. On outright performance there are few cars that could stay with the 12C. Zero to 100km/h is quick at 3.3 seconds, but it takes only a further 5.8 seconds to reach 200km/h as the engine gets into the meat of its mid-range. It sounds best here. Even though its lacks the spine-tingling aural qualities of a naturally aspirated V8, unless your other car really is a Ferrari you're unlikely to notice the difference.Yes the 12C does seem business-like next to a 458. But virtues are no less great for being less obvious. And qualities that reveal themselves over time can be so much more satisfying.

There is a more affordable McLaren on the way. Equally, those for whom a 330km/h top speed is insufficient, there’s a Mega-Mac coming, too. It’s all part of British supercar maker McLaren’s plan to go to war with Ferrari as a “full range supercar company”. “We’re not about making one-offs and then disappearing,” spokesman Mark Harrison told CarsGuide during a tour of McLaren’s L18 million new manufacturing facility in Woking near London. “We are committed to offering customers a full range of performance cars by mid-decade.” McLaren is best known as the successful Formula One team behind world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button. McLaren’s first road car was the F1 released in 1992.  This high-performance supercar used innovative design and engineering and a 461kW BMW V12 to smash all existing supercar records. To this day, the F1 is still among the fastest sports cars. McLaren also partnered with Mercedes-Benz to produce the SLR, a gullwing supercar that Harrison says “taught us a lot about achieving high levels of quality”. Last year McLaren began producing the MP4-12C performance coupe in its new facility. With annual demand for the 12C expected to peak around 1,000 units, there’s plenty of room for more models in the factory’s 4,000 annual capacity. Derivatives of the 12C, such as a convertible with a folding hard-top and a track-focused GT3, are planned. McLaren will also revive the F1 icon with a hypercar, due in 2014, but just handfuls of this $1million-plus machine will be built each year. That still leaves close to 3,000 capacity, but don’t expect sedans or SUVs. Harrison says McLaren will stick to what it knows best — performance coupes at the higher end of the performance and price envelope. “Something to compete with the Porsche 911 Turbo, for example.” There’s no doubt the Ferrari California will also be in this model’s sights. So, three completely new cars in five years sounds like a lot of work for Britain’s only mainstream supercar maker. But with McLaren’s pedigree in motor sport and experience building world-class supercars, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and Europe’s other fast car makers have a reason to fear the British again.  

Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche all have headline performance cars with more than 525 kiloWatts and 330m/h top speeds almost ready for the road.  McLaren will set the target in late May with the unveiling of the 21st century successor to its F1, the radical three-seat, V12 powered road rocket that set the world speed record for production cars at 391km/h back in 1998. Only 106 cars were built and that ensures prices for secondhand cars now regularly top $3 million. The new mighty Mac shares its heart with the latest MP4-12C, the first in a series of McLaren sports cars intended to take the brand into a head-to-head battle with Ferrari.  But the supercar will be vastly more powerful and quicker than the 12C, which has created an 18-month waiting list in Australia following the opening of a dedicated McLaren showroom in Sydney by the Trivett Group.  "The car will be unveiled in the week before the Monaco grand prix," a McLaren insider reveals to Carsguide. "We also have the MP4-12C convertible, which should be ready for sale from June."  Ferrari will follow McLaren with the successor to its Enzo supercar, building on the work for the latest V12-powered F12.  The new Enzo - its name is still secret - is expected to have a hybrid power pack capable of generating close to 600 kiloWatts to propel a radical road-racer body to 100km/h in as little a 2.1 seconds and on to a top speed close to the 400km/h of the Bugatti Veyron. Meanwhile, Porsche is deep into testing the 918 Spyder hybrid supercar that will top its range from 2013. Its performance claims run from a 2.8 second sprint to 100km/h to a 325km/h top speed with incredible fuel economy of 3.0-litres/100km thanks to an electric drive system for low-speed city running.

And the new warrior will have just one job to do: steal back the performance crown from the 430km/h Bugatti Veyron. And to do that it will be the most powerful, most innovative, and fastest McLaren road car ever.  "The job is to set the performance bar to new levels and stay there for as long as it takes for us to come up with the next one," McLaren design chief Frank Stephenson told CarsGuide.  But don't expect the Mega-Mac to have a bigger or more powerful engine than the quad-turbocharged V16 Veyron; Stephenson says the 21st century F1 will be an innovative and intelligent hypercar. "This car is not about more power or more performance," he says. "It's actually about how it achieves that power and performance by using an intelligent drivetrain that pushes boundaries." Stephenson describes the cars styling as looking like a concept of a concept car. "It's that different. It will shock people because its stuff that has never been seen before. I designed it and I still get goosebumps when I see it. "But none of it is there for show; it all has a functional purpose. The cars aerodynamics will achieve incredibly high levels of downforce through unusual solutions." Stephenson is no stranger to headline-making designs. His previous work includes the New Mini and the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. The world will get its first Mc attack at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June or the Monaco Grand Prix in May the latter seems more likely given many of the tax haven's mega-rich residents would be McLaren's target customers for the million-dollar hypercar. The mid-engine coupe's mechanicals are still being developed and tested ahead of its 2014 production start. McLaren is said to have tweaked the 12C's twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 engine for 600kW and added regenerative electric motors similar to the KERS system employed by McLaren in Formula One. This certainly fit with Stephensons claims of intelligent performance. Rear-wheel drive may struggle to convert that kind of power into a 0-100km/h time to match the Veyrons 2.5sec, so McLaren may employ an all-wheel drive system. Either way, the McLaren will use a lightweight but expensive carbon fibre frame, like the F1, and like the MP4-12C performance coupe which arrives in Australia next month.

None will ever challenge Jenson Button or Lewis Hamilton for a grand prix race place, but they will be wheeling one of the world's great supercars later this year. And they will have paid at least  $526,800 - drive away, no more to pay - for the privilege. They are the members of the waiting list for the McLaren MP4-12C, the grand prix company's first road car since the benchmark F1 of the 1990s, and they won't have too much longer to wait. "There are 14 cars on the way to us. Ten for customers, two for demonstrator work and two for showroom purposes," says Greg Duncan, executive chairman of McLaren Sydney. "We've got 10 customer cars in production. On top of that, we've got about 20 deposits from people who want to drive the car." That means more than $15 million in orders for a car that has not even reached the road in Australia, but has been very favourably compared with the Ferrari 458 Italia. Duncan admits the McLaren program is running a little late but says the Trivett group has just spent more than $5 million on the fit-out, alone, for the prestige dealership that will house the brand. It's on O'Riordan Street in Alexandria, close to Sydney airport, and will also house Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and Bentley. "They are running late and for two reasons. They had some early problems that they decided to fix, and now the car is right they set up a new regional office in Singapore which has complicated things a little," says Duncan. "But now it is humming along. They are producing cars probably a bit quicker than they thought they would." The first two 12Cs are painted in McLaren's historic racing orange and plain white, although Duncan says customers are going first for black and the global preference is for a deep red. "They are flying two cars out for us. We wanted to make a bit of a statement. We've optioned them a little differently so people can see what's available. The orange car is a bit sporty and the white car is a bit GT or luxurious." The dealership is set to open on March 15, when McLaren chairman Ron Dennis will attend a function in Sydney just ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

1 Jay Leno: Duesenbergs What a Doosey of a way to start this top 10 star cars feature! One of the world's most expensive cars and most sought after by Hollywood legends over the years is the American luxury Duesenberg. Talk show host Jay Leno has one of the biggest stables of exotic cars in the world, including six Deusenbergs, each worth more than $1.5m. They are so luxurious, they gave birth to the expression "What a duesy/doosey"! They have been owned by celebs such as Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Greta Garbo, and Mae West. they have also been owned by millionaires Howard Hughes and William Randolph Hearst, criminal Al Capone and royalty. 2 Simon Cowell: Bugatti Veyron They cost about $2m and are one of the fastest production cars on the planet with a top speed of 431km/h. The Veyron also launches to 100km/h in 2.5 seconds. The TV talent show judge is a good judge of a car with a garage that also includes a Ferrari F430 and Rolls Royce Phantom. He has also paid a deposit for the Rolls-Royce 100EX Cabriolet which is still just a concept. 3 David Beckham: Custom Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead The V12-powered Roller is worth about $1.3m in "standard" trim. But there is nothing standard about this Roller for the soccer superstar and husband of Posh Spice. For a start, it has custom-made 24-inch Savini forged wheels which cost several thousand dollars each. Beckham's number 23 is embroidered on to the leather seats. 4 Jerry Seinfield: Porsche 959 The reclusive comedian built a $1.4m multi-storey garage in New York just to house his 46-car collection, most of which are Porsches. The most expensive is his rare 959. Only 337 were built and only 200 of those were street legal. A 959 is estimated to cost more than $1m. Bill Gates also owns one, but neither he nor Seinfeld can drive them on the streets as they don't pass US emissions tests. 5 Jay Z and Beyonce: Maybach Exelero Rapper Shawn Corey Carter (Jay Z) and Beyonce Knowles paid about $8m for this one-off German luxury sports car. It was commissioned by Fulda Tyres to test their widest tyres, but now Maybach is building the Batmobile-esque cars for general sale. The 350km/h two-seaters are powered by a 522kW twin-turbo V12 engine. The Exelero features in Jay Z's Lost One video. 6 Kim Kardashian: Ferrari 458 Italia Now that she has filed for divorce from her husband of 10 weeks, Kris Humphries, her collection of cars could also be split up. The reality TV star has several cars, including a Bentley Continental GT, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Range Rover and Ferrari F430, to which she has added the F430's successor, the 458 Italia. In Australia they cost more than $500,000, but Kim's has apparently been specially pimped. 7 Paris Hilton: Bentley GT Continental Of course, it's pink! The body, the grille, wheels, seats and interior trim. If that's not bling enough, it features a diamond-encrusted dashboard that is reported to be worth more than $250,000. In Australia, they cost about $400,000, but with a diamond-encrusted "PH" badge on the front, this one cost a whole lot more. The heiress bought it as a Christmas gift to herself in 2008. 8 Nicolas Cage: Ferrari Enzo The Hollywood actor's addiction to cars caused his financial ruin. At one stage he owned nine Rolls-Royces. But his most valuable and valued car was the legendary Ferrari Enzo which was gone in less than 60 seconds at auction for a bargain price. The V12 sports car, named after Ferrari's founder, had a top speed of 350km/h. Only 399 were built. They can sell for up to $20m. 9 Ralph Lauren: McLaren F1 LM The American fashion designer owns a huge collection of classic cars including the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe, Porsche 550 Spyder, a Bugatti Veyron, two Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas and a rare 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, of which 39 were made. While some might consider the 250 GTO the greatest Ferrari of all time, fetching up to $15m at auction, it's not as rare as the McLaren. Only five were built to honour the five McLaren F1 GTRs that finished and won the 1995 Le Mans 24-hour race. 10 Patrick Dempsey: Jaguar XK120 The hunky actor from Grey's Anatomy has great taste in cars, especially race cars. The aspiring racer has driven the pace car in Indy 500 and has raced sports car and off-road buggies. He is a co-owner of an IndyCar team and also owns a classic Jaguar XK120. They were built between 1948-1954 and successfully raced at Le Mans.  

The McLaren MP4-12C tops the list of Dad's dream cars.

When it comes to used dream cars, the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III takes the cake.

The airfield, a former military base hidden in lush green countryside about an hour south-east of central London, is best described as shabby.Yet there is no denying the magic in the place, thanks to Top Gear. Dunsfold is the place where the world's favourite motoring show is filmed and also houses the test track where The Stig - whoever or whatever he is this week - does his stuff.Hitting the Top Gear track in the McLaren MP4-12C, with a British touring car race winner along to point the corners, is a win-win-win in anyone's book. Best of all, there are no limits. So long as the car comes back undamaged, the McLaren men are happy to have their car pushed right to the edge. After watching the Stig-ring for years on the television I think I knew it well.But the first surprise is discovering that it's actually a figure-of-eight layout, with a crossover where Chicago corner goes right and the 'tyres' take you left.The second surprise is the runway surface, which is bumpy, broken in places, skittery across some painted markings, and gives you almost zero marker points for braking and turning.So it's not an easy place to drive. It's a giant challenge in a car that cranks the speedo round past 230km/h in places and corners at well over 160.But the McLaren at Dunsfold is F-U-N. We're not playing with Top Gear slides and burnouts, just trying to learn the car and get the maximum speed and grip over every lap, and my adrenalin is pumping.Anything that gets into the 1 minute 20-second bracket on the Power Wall is quick at Dunsfold, and the McLaren settles there easily thanks to its twin-turbo V8, track-tuned adjustable suspension, giant carbon brakes and lightweight race-style construction.It whacks out of corners with a big surge of turbo thrust, brakes incredibly late, and gives you metre-by-metre feedback and grip in every corner. The back slides wide on me a couple of times, once under power and once when I misjudge my braking, and there is some turbo lag, but the 12C is basically a thoroughbred racing car with the comforts of a luxury limo.I get my last big surprise during a full-on race launch when the car rockets to 100km/h in less than four seconds before pushing me over the blind brow that hides the left-handed first corner at more than 200km/h. It is spooky fast.Just when I think it cannot get any better, Jackson chimes in from the passenger seat. "One-nineteen point four. Not bad," he says. At that point we park. Job done.