McLaren News

You'll need a long look, and a keen eye, to pick up the teaser clues from what appears to be a wind tunnel shot of the car currently known only as the P12. The supercar's lines are disguised by a blacked-out background and a string of fluoro lights, but it seems to be much more rounded and radical than the first of McLaren's 21st century road rockets, the MP4-12C. The world will discover the truth on September 27 when the pinnacle car from McLaren, the road car division of the super-successful grand prix team, is unveiled at the Paris motor show. The P12 was originally expected to go public in the week before the Monaco Grand Prix, but McLaren confirms its intention with a firm unveiling date at Paris before a private function afterwards for special guests. "McLaren Automotive will use this stage to showcase future plans, and unveil to the world its strategy to fast-forward the world of automotive," the company says. It's going to have a tough task, both to better the original McLaren F1 and to overcome current opposition led by the V12-powered Ferrari F12. The F1 was created in the 1990s as the world's ultimate high-performance car and set a string of new benchmarks, including a 391km/h top speed in 1998 that stood for more than a decade - and until the Bugatti Veyron - as the record for a road-registered car. The P12 is expected to eclipse the F1 by building on the foundations of the MP4-12C, the first road car from the new McLaren Automotive division. It's been a worldwide hit, including in Australia, thanks to everything from its Carbon MonoCell chassis to a twin-turbo V8 engine that makes 441 kiloWatts and fires the car to 100km/h in 3.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 333km/h. The basic and chassis are expected to be carried through to the P12 - or whatever it is called after September 27 - but with much more radical bodywork, even more power and performance, and a price that's way higher than the minimum $543,900 needed to land a 12C in Australia.  But one thing is certain, the radical three-seater cabin layout from the F1 - which put the driver ahead of two passengers who sat slightly behind in an arrowhead formation, will not be carried over.  

The halo concept is being suggested in some media as the successor to Gordon Murray's legendary McLaren F1, with thoughts the P12 working title may be changed to P1 - a tempting reference to pole position as well as an echo of the F1 nameplate. McLaren promises it will be something special, and while their regional director for Asia Pacific, Ian Gorsuch, won't confirm a name he's happy to talk about numbers. "Naming is always a highly emotive and difficult topic. But we will release the name -- which we believe is right for the car -- when we are ready to release the car," Gorsuch says during a visit to Australia this week. "We have lots of working titles that we use. And we tend to use alphanumeric working titles and also alphanumeric names." However he didn't deny that P1 would be both an emotive and a logical possibility, with its links to the F1 and pole position. "Well, part of our DNA is that we want to win," he said. Gorsuch says the production run of the P12 will be limited to the demands of market response and bespoke build times - although the limits are flexible. "We are being deliberately vague, because what we don't want to do is say there will be 200 cars and then have 250 people who want it and they're the right people. We don't want to annoy 50 people by not building them cars, or build an extra 50 and annoy 200 people who were told it was just 200. But it will definitely be no more that 500 cars for the world. "That's not to say that everyone who wants one will get one, because we have a very limited build window. There are other complications because his is a unique bespoke car so some might take longer to build than others, depending on what the customers specify." Gorsuch says the Paris show car will be an "extreme example" of McLaren's advanced technology, built on the monocell rolling chassis underpinning the MP4-12C, 12C Spider and one-off X-1 concept unveiled at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, sporting the signature dihedral 'butterfly' doors and powered by the same 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 - although it may get a higher-tune. "We are not revealing the power yet, but we don't get into the game of competing on numbers," Gorsuch says. "This is going to be extreme in technology: how it delivers power, how it handles. Technology is delivering performance with finesse." Gorsuch says McLaren's team is well-equipped for that delivery. "Because we have our own wind tunnel, some of the world's best aerodynamicists and one of the world's most sophisticated simulators, we can use all of this technology to create ultimates in automotive engineering," he says. "What is being shown in Paris is just a wonderful extreme example of how we can do this. I remember speaking to an engineer when we were looking at it and he said "every molecule of air that touches this car has a job to do". However Gorsuch says the P12's "extreme" basis doesn't resort to bizarre design for the sake of attention. "What we don't do is what other manufacturers have done -- create a really extreme thing, call it a concept car, get lots of flash bulbs going off and then not go near it again. "We wouldn't build extreme looks just to be extreme. A hawk is beautiful, not because it sets out to be beautiful, but because it's aerodynamic. It's geared for flying. So that beauty is in aerodynamics and aerodynamics tend to make beautiful things. "So P12 because of its use of aerodynamics is a beautiful and understated car because with no compromise. "In a more normal - if I could say that about the 12C - road car, there are various compromises you have to make: price and benchmarking against the competition. That's the market the 12C is playing in. With the P12 we don't care what market we are playing in. This is just extreme. "Whether it's a spiritual successor to the F1?" he leaves the question floating...  

McLaren has unveiled the X-1 supercar built for an anonymous client who already owns a trio of the brand’s finest efforts, but hankered after something unique.

The one-off track-ready concept will be unveiled this weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. Based on the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 race car – but taking nearly every aspect to a new level – the Can-Am is powered by a revised version of the 12C’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 that develops 470kW. Weight has been kept down to 1200kg (dry), helped by extensive use of carbon fibre, while an aero kit including front splitter, rear diffuser and rear wing increases downforce by a claimed 30 per cent. The car is fitted with a race roll cage, and has nabbed the GT3’s F1-derived steering wheel, backed up with race seats and harnesses. The Can-Am is finished in signature McLaren Orange, set off with the carbon fibre features and black satin forged alloy wheels with Pirelli racing slick tyres and Akenobo brakes.  

Driving simulators such as Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo and Need for Speed are well-known--and well-loved--here at Motor Authority.However, there is a new title in the works that may upset these video game heavyweights, and that’s GRID 2 from Codemasters.The sequel to 2008’s GRID, the focus of the new game is having arcade-style fun rather than creating a totally realistic driving experience.Nevertheless, the graphics are still as realistic as that of any of the rival games and the lineup of cars looks promising.The list includes the likes of the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, McLaren MP4-12C and the Pagani Huayra. The game’s creators say the total list of cars spans four decades and three continents.GRID 2 will be released early to mid-2013 and will be available for the Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and PC.Motor Authority  

The gruelling 24-hour Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the headline event in the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series, and one of the most demanding events on the motorsport calendar.McLaren GT 'works' driver Rob Bell gives his views on the challenging 7km circuit, its hurdles and highlights, and what makes the 24 hours of Spa so appealing.