McLaren MP4-12C 2011 News

McLaren has collaborated with the creators of the upcoming driving simulator Forza Motorsport 5, to create a flipbook-style animation from a series of still images strung around the edge of a race circuit. Titled ‘FilmSpeed’, the footage was appropriately captured from the back of a McLaren MP4-12C supercar. It's hard to imagine a more impractical medium for highlighting the in-game action from Forza 5, but the result is certainly impressive.  The frames featuring the MP4-12C's big brother P1 supercar were attached to hundreds of carefully-spaced aluminium boards, and the MP4-12C was driven by stunt driver Tanner Foust at meticulously controlled speeds of up to 193km/h. The resulting zoetrope-effect gives an Alice in Wonderland-like view of Forza 5' gameplay, with the P1 lapping a virtual race circuit.    Watch the video here.       

If you’ve ever driven Colorado’s highway 6 across Loveland Pass, you know it can be a bit intimidating in the best of weather. With a maximum elevation of 11,990 feet, the road bears the distinction of being the highest mountain pass in the world to remain open year-round. Though the scenery is spectacular, the switchback corners and steep drops are more than a bit puckering for those unaccustomed to mountain driving. In short, it’s not a place to make an error behind the wheel, regardless of what you’re driving or when you’re driving it. When you add an icy road surface into the mix and want to film a race down the pass, pitting professional snowboarder (and Winter X Games medalist) Chanelle Sladics against the McLaren MP4-12C Spider, it’s best to hand the keys to someone with plenty of experience in mountain driving. Someone like Pikes Peak record holder Rhys Millen. For his part, Millen calls it "an honor" to drive the MP4-12C Spider in the video, especially in light of McLaren's 50th anniversary in 2013. Like the company's founder, the late Bruce McLaren, Rhys Millen is a native New Zealander with plenty of experience in hill climb competition. The stunt was filmed to promote the start of McLaren MP4-12C Spider deliveries in the United States. It also highlights the 12C Spider’s unique power-retractable hard top and superb handling balance, though we’d guess that Millen opted not to use the 12C Spider’s “Winter” driving mode for optimized traction on slippery surfaces. Even with all the electro-nannies turned on and winter tires mounted, piloting a mid-engine, rear-drive sports car with 616 horsepower on tap down an icy mountain pass requires a fair amount of skill and the driver’s complete attention. We'd have loved to give it a try, but our run wouldn't have been nearly as impressive as Millen's on video. www.motorauthority.com  

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.

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

The company was keen to downplay the incident, but witnesses initially reported seeing the car on the circuit at high speed, then hearing a crash followed by sightings of a lorry leaving with a damaged – but covered – car on its tray. Other unconfirmed reports detail MP4-12C hitting the guard rail hard during a high speed curve. McLaren has allegedly indicated the car has been badly damaged but that the driver escaped major injury. There has been speculation that the attendance of a medivac chopper suggests the situation was more serious, but it’s possible the helicopter was the one being used for a camera crew filming the car on the track.

The same fight that has put the fire into Formula One for more than two decades will ignite on Australian roads this year when McLaren goes up against Ferrari. The British grand prix company is close to rolling its first in-house supercar onto the road, starting a new era in McLaren's history and severing its last ties to Mercedes-Benz and the ill-fated Mercedes- McLaren SLR project.McLaren already has more than a dozen orders for its all-new MP4-12C coupe from Australia despite an unknown pedigree and a $500,000-ish pricetag. The super-quick 12C coupe is into final testing in Europe and, with a global sales rollout set for the second half of 2011, it has partnered with Trivett Prestige to handle its business in Australia.Trivett already holds the local agencies for Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin in a diverse portfolio that includes everything from Harley- Davidson motorcycles to the 400km/h Bugatti Veyron. The McLaren plans begins this year in Sydney but, as the British lineup grows, Trivett expects to grow everything in the operation."The first showroom in Sydney will be opening around July, to be followed next year in Melbourne and then in other capital cities as appropriate," says Greg Duncan, executive chairman of Trivett.He reports strong interest in the car with firm orders for a number of cars, with the first deliveries in November. "There are approximately 15 and growing. There's very strong interest in the car," Duncan says. "The Australian price has not yet been confirmed but I anticipate it will be around $500,000 RRP, drive away."He admits the McLaren will be shopped against the Ferrari 458 but is not worried by any comparisons with the benchmark Italian beauty. "I don't see this as a battle. The MP4-12C is an amazing car. It's already exciting everyone who loves cars, especially high performance sports cars," says Duncan. "This car is more for enthusiasts than extroverts. Also, it is McLaren's business plan to produce less cars than Ferrari so not only will it perform better but it will be more exclusive."Even so, McLaren intends to grow quickly. It is finishing construction of a purpose-built manufacturing operation at its headquarters outside London and is working on two additional models to follow the MP4-12C."McLaren has announced that it will build up to 1000 12Cs in its first full year and this will increase to around 4000 McLarens of all models annually. So the long term looks very bright for the Australian market."

The British company is ready to go with its all-new MP4-12C two- seater, a car aimed directly at the Ferrari F458.  But the battle will not stop there as McLaren aims for more than 4000 top-shelf sports car sales a year by 2015, all developed from the same fast-track technology base outside London that is responsible for the Formula One cars raced this weekend by Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.Up close, the 12C is much more impressive than it looks in pictures.  Every tiny detail has been considered and the overall result is a car which looks fast, but also has top-drawer quality. It is a jewel.The only thing missing - so far - is emotion. The twin-turbo engine guarantees 450 kiloWatts of power, a 0-100km/h sprint in less than four seconds and a top-speed of more than 300km/h, the carbonfibre monocell chassis is best in class, and there is everything from a seven-speed DSG gearbox to active aerodynamics."It's very difficult to create a car that feels alive at 200km/h and also at low speed. I won't lie," says Antony Sheriff, the boss of McLaren Automotive.  "It does not feel as viscerally raw as some competition. But you can drive it and not feel like you've been to hell and back. It's incredibly easy to drive."For now, I have to trust him on this stuff.  The only 'outsiders' beyond the development team who have driven the 12C are Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, and they are hardly impartial as they race for McLaren's F1 team.But, walking through the creative process for the 12C - from the choice of its name to plans for an all-new factory in 2011 - it is impossible not to be impressed by the effort. Still, when you're spending more than $500 million..."The success of this company is not going to be measured by how many cars we sell. The key word is exclusivity," says Sheriff.  "We think we can be successful. We are a company that's debt free. All of the people in this company feel incredibly lucky and incredibly challenged."That's why the company has still to settle on a final design for its corporate logo. It has to be absolutely right.Frank Stephenson, the design director at McLaren, explains in minute detail the approach to styling a car which has to be a McLaren flagship, but also cut through the air at more than 300km/h. And he explains the materials for the indicator stalks, and the way the seats are shaped, and the choice of paint and leather.Everything is new and everything has to be right.  "Everything in this car is bespoke. We even had to design our own heating-ventilation system," says Sheriff, explaining that a system from another brand would have made the car an unacceptable 10 centimetres wider.And so it goes. On and on. Visiting McLaren Automotive is a trip into a dream world where the right answer is always about excellence, not compromise or cost.  The first 12Cs are already built and look good, but they are only for testing. Including the car that went through three - yes, three - front-end crash tests without even cracking the windscreen.But why does McLaren need to build a road car? It created the massively costly F1 road car and lost money on the project, and was Mercedes-Benz's supercar partner until the marriage broke up."It's about launching a car company from nothing. There are a lot of good things for us to build on," says Mark Vinnels, program director.  "We need a business to support Formula One, as much as anything. We will have a range of cars. It's a massive project for us."More details will emerge from McLaren as the MP4-12C gets closer to production, including the final performance figures, specifications and pricetag. And, eventually, there will be cars to drive.Right now, the 12C has to be taken on what you can see and hear and touch. And it's impressive, but nothing will be certain until the car is ready for a test drive.  "We just have to nail it. That's an attitude that comes from Formula One. We've ended up with a car that is a McLaren and only a McLaren," says Vinnels.The home of the MP4-12C is massively impressive.  It's a $1 billion technology centre in the green belt outside London that is already home to the McLaren grand prix team and has been the production base for the Mercedes-McLaren SLR.Things are so organised that no-one eats at their desk, and the company canteen - overlooking a giant artificial lake - has a one-way traffic flow. There is also a jaw-dropping lineup of historic McLaren racecars - every one immaculate and ready to go - that cannot be ignored as you come in the front door.More than 200 engineers work in the development centre for the 12C project, which will also spawn two other models within two years, there is a giant 'reality wall' to check virtual development of the cars, and the assembly area is more like an operating theatre than an old-school production line.The price for the MP4-12C will be around $450,000 when it gets to Australia.  It is being set against the Ferrari F458 and will be sold through a single local dealer, although that is not a word in the McLaren vocabulary."We've got a revolutionary process. We're actually going to trust our partners," says Antony Sheriff."We want to create a sense of community. It doesn't matter how good the car is if you're treated badly.  We're not asking them for Taj Mahals . . . but a unique investment in customer service."McLaren has had more than 500 applications for agencies, including calls from two of the leading upscale dealer groups in Australia, Trivetts and Ateco.  "We've got about five or six candidates. We'll have an appointment made in July or August," says Ian Gorsuch, who is responsible for the McLaren business in Australia.The first cars are likely to be delivered early in 2011, but the order books will not even open until a dealer is appointed.

The world champions from the past two years were called up by McLaren Automotive to rip the covers off the company's production-ready MP4-12C sports car.The 12C is the British company's upcoming rival to Ferrari and the start of a plan to build more than 4000 high-priced, exotic sports cars within five years. It is has a top speed of more than 300km/h, is powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine, and is built around an F1-style carbonfibre monocoque chassis.The first production cars will be ready for customers later this year but Button and Hamilton have already had seat time during testing of 12C prototypes in Britain, lapping at the classic Goodwood circuit across the road from the Rolls-Royce factory.Not surprisingly, since both dream teamers are tied to McLaren, they have glowing praise for the car."The 12C is so easy to drive," says Button. "Its cockpit is a nice place to be and really makes you feel at one with the car. The driving seat is very comfortable and the layout of the controls is completely logical. The car’s dynamic capability is fantastic at both high and low speeds. Within just a few seconds, I felt really comfortable with the car – and after only a couple of laps I was able to begin to push it hard through the corners. Yet, even though I was pushing, I was amazed by the car’s great stability at high speeds. It’s very quick in a straight line, too. In fact, the biggest problem with driving this car on a circuit is that sometimes you forget it’s a road car."Hamilton is also an early fan.“The 12C is a real driver’s car; it delivered on all my expectations," he says. “It was clear when meeting the test team that they share the same competitive focus as our race team. We’re obsessed with winning and we’ll do all we can to make sure that happens. If the 12C team say they're aiming to make the best performance car on the market, then I’m convinced that's what they'll do."

The world's newest supercar company has Australia in its sights and is finalising a down under distribution plan for its first car, the McLaren MP4-12C.  McLaren Cars intends to have three supercars in production within five years and is going all-out to rival Ferrari and Lamborghini, tapping its winning experience in Formula One for everything from a new V8 engine to grand prix-style aerodynamics. The MP4-12C has already been revealed and McLaren executives have recently been in Australia to scout for a local agent.  One of the companies it targeted is the Trivett Automotive group, which is already the Australian importer and sole dealer for Rolls- Royce, the Aston Martin importer for NSW, Victoria and the ACT, and the Bentley importer for NSW and the ACT. "Yes we have spoken to McLaren. We are very keen, because I think it will be a terrific brand and I think it's a terrific product to fit alongside the brands we already represent," says the head man at Trivett Automotive, Greg Duncan. "It will be low volume but a terrific car. And there is a roll-out plan for three models.  We were contacted by McLaren and they indicated they had been referred to us. I believe they have talked to a couple of companies in Sydney and Melbourne." Duncan does not know the other companies involved in the McLaren pitch but he believes Trivett has a good chance.  "From what we can gather, their preference is to appoint an importer- dealer in Sydney, and then in due course that operation would roll out a dealership in Melbourne. They are the two priority locations for McLaren." Duncan says McLaren has big plans for its supercar operation, which is run by former F1 boss Ron Dennis. He is the front man for the 12C project and also led McLaren's previous road-car efforts with the McLaren F1 - which was the world's fastest road car for a decade - and the joint-venture Mercedes-McLaren SLR. "What they were able to show us as the insights into the McLaren company was very impressive. It's a business that makes money, and they are very aggressive," Duncan says.  "There are three models in the plan. They are talking about a volume planning of around 25-30 per cent of Ferrari's volumes.  The first model they will introduce into Australia, early 2011, is the mid-priced model. It's about $500,000.  The second model they would probably introduce within 12 months, will be left-hand drive only so no real interest to Australia. In the following year they will have their third model, the lower priced and highest-volume car." Duncan says Trivett expects a decision from McLaren early next year on its agency.  "They have gone back to think about it. They indicated they would be back in touch within two or three months with the party they want to progress with," he says.

The McLaren Automotive MP4-12C, the first of a range of machines from the world's most successful racing car company, is a carbon-cored, Formula One-inspired bespoke design that is not only rapid but boasts one of the lowest CO2 emissions in its class. McLaren, driven by chairman Ron Dennis, has already built two critically-acclaimed sportscars — the McLaren F1 (1993-1998) and the world's best-selling luxury supercar, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (2003-2009). The mid-engined MP4-12C takes the price tag down a notch, expecting to debut in the $250,000-$350,000 bracket. That puts it up against the Ferrari 458, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911 Turbo, Bentley Continental GT and Aston Martin DB9. The car doesn't share any components with other cars — even the engine is inhouse — and will be built in England at McLaren's factory. McLaren Automotive managing director Antony Sheriff says the company planned a range of sports cars that were true to its philosophy. "When we embarked on the 12C project, we wanted to re-write the rules of sports car design," he says "The 12C offers performance and technology that exceeds that of the world's most expensive and sophisticated supercars, while competing in a much more accessible market segment. To achieve this result, we designed every component from scratch to meet the extreme goals of the 12C and avoid any compromise. Forget what you know about sports car companies, McLaren is different." The car is built with a Carbon MonoCell — a carbon-composite construction pioneered by McLaren in the 1981 Formula One MP4/1 model — but to reduce costs, is moulded as one piece. It is the first time a chassis has been made this way. McLaren claims that this design allows a much narrower structure overall which creates a more compact car that is easier to position on the road and more rewarding to drive. The engine is a bespoke McLaren 1M838T2 3.8-litre, V8 bi-turbo that produces about 450kW/600Nm and drives through a McLaren seven-speed Seamless Shift dual clutch gearbox (SSG). Sheriff says the engine delivers the highest horsepower to CO2 ratio of any car on the market with an internal combustion engine "and that includes petrol and diesel hybrids". Although the recent economic downturn has affected the performance car sector, McLaren Automotive believes that the MP4-12C's market segment has grown from 8000 sales in 2000 to more than 28,000 in 2007. Sheriff says this highlights the potential that exists and that it will soon return to at least 2007 levels. "By the time the 12C is launched in 2011 we expect the economic conditions to be much improved," he says. "We have already seen significant interest in the car and the supply of the 12C will be relatively scarce; in its first year we plan to produce just 1000 cars which represents only 3.5 per cent of its market." McLaren Automotive will distribute the 12C and future models through a brand-new retail network in all global markets.