McLaren MP4-12C 2014 News

The British pretender to the Italian crown of the Ferrari 458 Italia is going after just three years to clear production space in Britain for McLaren’s newest model, the 650S.It is being dumped as McLaren also builds its insanely fast P1 hybrid flagship and moves quickly on a plan for a cheaper sports car that will go head-to-head with the Porsche 911.The death of the oddly-named 12C is a surprising move as it was only introduced in 2011, although poor sales in Australia - and most other countries - led to a price cut of nearly $100,000 last year.But there is a farewell bonus for owners, with a free upgrade package that includes new active aero software to improve stability and cut high-speed drag, a improved infotainment system and external window switches. McLaren also promises discounted upgrades on 650S equipment including a reversing camera and satellite radio.“Yes, the 12C is going. In future, 100 per cent of production is being focussed on the 650S,” the brand operations manager for McLaren in Australia, Jay McCormack, says.“The only cars coming now will be bespoke build through McLaren Special Operations, but this will be less and less.”The death of the 12C is announced from Britain by McLaren’s chief executive, Mike Flewitt.“We have decided to cease in light of the success of 650S. We will focus all our capacity at the McLaren Production Centre on 650S.”There is already a six-month waiting list for the car - priced from $441,500 as a coupe, and an extra $44,750 for the Spider - and McLaren says there are forward orders from Australia until the end of 2014.“The first customer 650 gets here next month. We hope to fulfil all our existing orders by the end of this year,” says McCormack.There are also a handful of 12Cs, as the final sales total for Australia tops 50 cars thanks to the price cut.“We are still selling 12Cs for 2014, and I have my hands on a few of those. They are predominantly Spiders, but I have one coupe,” says McCormack.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover

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.       

Special-edition cars to mark anniversaries are nothing new, but for McLaren, having its own production car around to commemorate the occasion is. The brand borne from racing is capitalising on the opportunity, with the new McLaren 50 12C and McLaren 50 12C Spider, celebrating the brand's 50th anniversary.These special-edition models will be limited to a run of just 50 cars each for coupe and spider. Unique styling and specification elements by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) mark them apart from the normal versions.Upgrades for the McLaren 50 models include: a remodelled, CFD-optimised front bumper; new carbon fibre and Kevlar exterior elements; a black F1-inspired heritage badge; standard carbon ceramic brake discs; unique 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels that save 2kg total; and a full leather upgrade inside the cabin, with carbon fibre accents and floor mats. A special dedication plate numbers each of the limited-run cars.Three colours will be available for the McLaren 50 12C and 12C Spider: Carbon Black, Supernova Silver, and McLaren Orange.Each also gets its own monogrammed black and silver car cover, a limited-edition key in a carbon fibre presentation box, and a specially commissioned art print signed by McLaren Automotive's design director, Frank Stephenson.Global deliveries of the McLaren 50 12C should begin something after the official anniversary date of September 2. So far, only UK pricing has been announced, with the coupe priced from £196,000, and the spider from £215,500.www.motorauthority.com 

McLaren has sharpened the pricing pencil to slice massive amounts off the price of the 12C and 12C Spider, in what may be the biggest price cuts in car history.The hardtop 12C now carries an RRP of $398,000 (from $493,100), and the Spider drops to $441,780 (from $543,900), with the 19 per cent cut arriving exactly 12 months after the model’s local debut.Effective from today, McLaren says the new pricing brings transparency to the 12C’s segment, which it says is prone to premium-pricing policies, with vehicles being sold discretely beneath their advertised prices.The 12C’s nearest rival, Ferrari’s 458 Italia carries an RRP of $526,950 in hardtop guise, making the 12C somewhat of a value leader in the mid-engined V8 supercar echelon.The 460kW twin-turbo V8 12C and 12C Spider are the first road cars to be developed by the legendary British racing brand since the hallowed F1 of the 90s, and will be joined internationally by the 673kW hybrid P1 flagship by the end of the year.“McLaren (is) leading the way in the super luxury sports car segment by benchmarking its pricing against competitive international markets,” said Ian Gorsuch, Regional Director Asia Pacific at McLaren Automotive.Whilst subject to different tax structures, the new 12C and 12C Spider Australian prices are still over $150,000 greater than their US pricing, despite near parity between currencies.McLaren has sold a total of 30 12C models (to April 30) in Australia since it went on sale in May last year, with seven sold in the first four months of 2013.  But existing 12C owners won’t necessarily be short changed, with McLaren pledging to offer an unspecified ‘special trade-in allowance’ if they trade-up to a new McLaren in future.The new pricing applies to any new MP4-12C ordered from today, and includes all existing Australian stock.

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  

That's the day the top comes off the MP4-12C coupe and McLaren unleashes its first convertible.

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 world's newest supercar company is moving fast on its plans for five models to rival Ferrari. The McLaren MP4-12C has only just been previewed in Australia and already Carparazzi has a clear picture of how the super-quick coupe will look as a convertible. It could be previewed as soon as the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but with the 12C Coupe as the big mover for 2012 it could be a little further into the future. The second rival for Ferrari, the $500,000 MP4-12C convertible is due here early 2013.

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 McLaren MP4-12C features technology banned by Formula One for being "unfair". The 330km/h McLaren MP4-12C will hit the Trivett Sydney showroom at about $500,000 in October. Trivett, which also deals in Rolls Royce, Aston and Bentley, will open a showroom in Melbourne next year and other capital cities "as the need arises", says boss Greg Duncan. "We're still negotiating the exact price. McLaren is yet to determine a price for this region," he says. The lightweight carbon-chassis supercar comes from the same garage that produces the McLaren F1 team race cars and fairly bristles with F1 technology and DNA. The 12C is powered by McLaren's 3.8-litre, V8 twin-turbo engine producing 441kW of power and 600Nm of torque. It features "Brake Steer" technology which is a variation on McLaren's electronic driver aid used successfully in Formula 1 on the 1997 McLaren MP4-12. It was later banned as giving an unfair advantage. Basically it assists a brave or over-confident driver who has entered a corner too fast or has a lead foot and applies too much throttle on corner exit. The system applies brakes to the inside rear wheel on entering a corner to prevent understeer and reduces wheel spin on the inside rear so the driver can put power down more quickly when exiting a corner. McLaren regional director Ian Gorusch says the 12C is more "exclusive" than its main rivals, the Ferrari 458 (from $526,500) and Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 (from $475,000). "We want to produce less cars than our competitors," he says. "We will not be pushing volume. We will always have too few cars to meet demand." The 12C was launched to the world in January as McLaren announced it would begin production of road cars with a separate plant opening last month and more road models to come. "We plan to be around for many decades and for a viable business model we can't do it with one model," Gorusch says. "The other models will use the core element, but there will be no four seaters and no SUVs. We will stick at what we're good at." And what McLaren is good at is making fast cars. Their first car, the legendary McLaren F1 from 1992-98, was powered by a 468kW, 6.1-litre BMW V12 and was the world's fastest production car for many years. Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson copped several speeding fines in his F1 which had a top speed of 386km/h and would launch to 100km/h in just 3 seconds. The new C12 is no slouch either, being only 0.3 seconds slower to highway speed. But McLaren's road car is not just about uncompromised speed and power. There is luxury and refinement inside the two-seater with a host of leather and suede. This is no pretend Le Mans car like the McLaren F1 with a central driving position and race-based interior. It doesn't even come with a manual gearbox. The C12 features an F1-style seven-speed, dual clutch transmission with different settings for normal driving, sport driving and track days. It has a nifty trick of blipping the throttle like a racing driver as it automatically changes down gears under heavy braking. As with the transmission, drivers can also select the ride and handling to match their mood. Gorusch says "usability" is the key to the supercar. "On the open road it's just fantastic and engaging; on the circuit the `oomph' is awesome and when you are in Sydney traffic jam it's totally relaxed with a new suspension system that's actually comfortable," he says. Duncan confirms they will have a demo model available at their Alexandria showroom from October with deliveries starting in late November. "We will build some in advance to what we think will be customer spec, but more often than not they will arrive 'specced' up to customer requirements," he says. "We won't need to fly people from interstate like casinos do with high-stakes gamblers. We have Rolls customers in Perth who are in Sydney from time to time and will have a look at a car and organise a test drive." He says they will be allocated 10-15 cars this year. "We're hoping for 40 next year as there's quite a lot of demand for the car." MCLAREN MP4-12C Price: about $500,000Engine: 441kW/600Nm, 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8Transmission: 7-speed, dual-clutchWeight: 1434kgEconomy: 11.7 l/100kmCO2: 279g/kmMaximum speed: 330km/hAcceleration: 0-100 km/h 3.3 secsBraking: 100-0km/h in 30.3m MCLAREN F1 Price: over $1mEngine: 468kW 6.1-litre V12Transmission: 6-speed manualWeight: 1138kgAcceleration: 0-100 km/h 3 secsMaximum speed: 386km/h