McLaren 12C Spider

McLaren has revealed its lineup with the addition of its second model, the new 2013 McLaren MP4-12C Spider, which will start at $268,250 when it goes on sale in late December in the U.S. Pricing includes a $2,500 destination charge.

Power for the MP4-12C Spider comes from the same twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 engine as that in the MP4-12C. With recent upgrades, the M838T-designated unit now delivers 616 hp arriving at 7,500 rpm. Torque peaks at 442 lb-ft between 3,000 rpm and 7,000 rpm.

In the 0-100km/h sprint, the McLaren MP4-12C is claimed to reach the chequered flag at the same time as the fixed-roof version but ahead of the rival Ferrari 458 Italia Spider – 3.1 seconds versus 3.4.

The 12C Spider is equipped with a Unique Retractable Hard Top (RHT) that operates at speeds up to 19 mph (30 km/h). McLaren asserts the carbon MonoCell body structure is identical to the 12C coupe.

The car comes equipped with Brake Steer, ProActive Chassis Control and McLaren’s own Airbrake. The Spider also features a passive Roll Over Protection System to maximise safety in addition to the steel buttress that absorbs impact energy, which protects driver and passenger.

Inside there’s plenty of semi-aniline perforated leather and Alcantara, along with a big in-dash LCD display, together with custom luggage that comes as standard. Vehicle Lift is also an option, raising the Spider by 40mm at the front and 25mm at the back just in case you’re facing any nasty speed humps.





Press Release


McLAREN FORMULA 1 DNA MEETS THE THRILL OF OPEN TOP DRIVING IN THE NEW 12C SPIDER

• Unique Retractable Hard Top (RHT) of new 12C Spider may be operated at speeds up to 30kph (19mph)
• Shared Formula 1 technology DNA in 12C and 12C Spider means performance is similarly impressive for both derivatives
• McLaren 12C Spider configurator launched online at: www.configure.mclaren.com
• 12C Spider now available to order through 38 McLaren retailers in 22 countries worldwide

McLaren Automotive today announces the launch of its second model in the MP4-12C family: the stunning new 12C Spider. With a lightweight, high powered engine developing an incredible 625 PS (616 bhp), unique RHT folding roof system that may be operated while on the move, and carbon ‘MonoCell' chassis identical to that of the groundbreaking 12C, the 12C Spider is a luxury convertible sports car that offers prospective owners a unique combination of spectacular performance with remarkable usability.

The new 12C Spider will be priced from £195,500 in the UK and is now available to order from bespoke new McLaren retailers across the globe. First deliveries to customers are planned for November this year.

Antony Sheriff, McLaren Automotive Managing Director said: "I am really excited to announce that the new 12C Spider is now available to order at new McLaren retailers worldwide. The launch of our second model is an exciting milestone in the growth of our company.

"While the 12C is the technological essence of a race car, the 12C Spider incorporates an additional dimension. 12C Spider owners will love the opportunity to lower the roof and hear the unhindered howl of a V8 twin turbo engine at full throttle. It undoubtedly enhances an already euphoric 12C driving experience.
"The 12C Spider delivers all the thrills characteristic of a high performance roadster, and yet transforms into a raucous track beast at the flick of a switch. I can't wait to see it on road and track with customers later this year."

Best-in-class performance

The 12C Spider's impressive 625 PS output from its bespoke 3.8-litre V8 twin turbo engine is transmitted to the car's rear driven wheels through a 7 Speed SSG dual-clutch transmission, which itself provides lightning-fast gear changes through rocker-mounted shift paddles affixed to the rear of the steering wheel. A clear view of the 12C Spider's lightweight M838T power plant is available through a glass screen positioned behind the tonneau cover.

Vehicle dynamics technology including Brake Steer, ProActive Chassis Control and the unique McLaren Airbrake combine to offer sublime comfort in all driving conditions; and yet deliver race car performance and handling on track. 

Technical specification highlights

McLaren is a carbon pioneer. In 1981 McLaren gave a debut to a carbon fibre monocoque chassis in Formula 1 with the launch of the MP4/1 race car, and in 1992 the legendary McLaren F1 introduced the advanced composite technology to the world of road cars. It was natural then for McLaren Automotive engineers to apply its carbon expertise when developing the groundbreaking one-piece moulded chassis of the 12C. With the 12C designed originally as a convertible, its 75kg ‘MonoCell' requires no additional strengthening for it to feature in the 12C Spider. The result is a sports car almost identical to its fixed roof equivalent in performance terms, and weighing only 40kg more with the addition of a convertible roof system.

The Retractable Hard Top of the 12C Spider is operated using a switch in the lower section of the centre console inside the cabin, taking less than 17 seconds to raise or lower. Unlike many other convertible models, the roof can be operated whilst the 12C Spider is moving at speeds of up to 30 kph (19mph).

Behind driver and passenger sits a rear windscreen which may also be electronically lowered and raised. With the roof lowered this acts as wind deflector to minimise disturbance to the 12C Spider's occupants. With the roof raised the rear window can be lowered, allowing the exhilarating noise of the 12C Spider's V8 twin turbo engine to flood the cabin on demand at any time.

With the roof raised the area under the tonneau can be used as an additional luggage area which provides 52 litres of useful storage space. Bespoke luggage has been designed specifically to fit this space and is supplied as standard with every 12C Spider.

The 12C Spider also features a passive Roll Over Protection System to maximise occupant safety. Each buttress contains a steel structure designed to absorb impact energy and protect both driver and passenger.

Creating one in a million: 12C Spider personalisation highlights
Launched in Volcano Red - one of 17 exterior paint finishes currently available for the 12C and 12C Spider- both 12C derivatives will also be available in optional Volcano Yellow, a striking new high quality paint which features in the ‘Elite' range of exterior finishes.

Inside, an exclusive new interior trim has been developed for the 2013 model year 12C and new 12C Spider. High quality semi-aniline perforated leather and Alcantara may be selected in a variety of combinations to suit an owner's personal taste.

A new wheel design, and ‘Diamond Cut' finishes for existing lightweight and super lightweight forged wheel designs may be selected for the 12C Spider. Standard Silver or Stealth finishes are offered for all wheel designs.

Vehicle Lift will be available as an option on 2013 model year vehicles. The system allows the 12C Spider to be raised front and rear for improved ground clearance. This technology permits the vehicle to be raised by up to 40mm at the front and 25mm at the rear of the 12C Spider, and may remain in position at up to 60kph (37mph).

Prospective customers and sports car fans alike are encouraged to visit the new 12C Spider online configurator, and discover a range of exciting options that may be specified in literally millions of unique combinations. The 12C Spider configurator is now live at: www.configure.mclaren.com
The McLaren 12C Spider is now available to order at all of McLaren's 38 retailers in 22 countries worldwide, with deliveries to first customers planned for November 2012.

McLaren MP4-12C Spider technical specification

Drivetrain layout	Longitudinal mid-engine, RWD
Engine configuration	V8 twin turbo
Engine material	Aluminium block and cylinder heads
Oiling	Dry sump
Compression ratio	8.7:1
Valvetrain	32-valve, DOHC, dual VVT
Redline ( rpm)	8,500
Bore x Stroke (mm)	93 x 69.9
Engine displacement (cc)	3799
PS / rpm	625 / 7500
Torque Nm / rpm	600 / 3000-7000
PS per litre	164
Transmission	7 Speed SSG
Body structure	Carbon fibre MonoCell with aluminum front and rear frames
Wheelbase (mm)	2670

McLaren MP4-12C Price Confirmed

McLaren has announced the pricing for the McLaren MP4-12C, which starts at €200,000 in Germany and £168,500 in the UK.

Power for the 2011 McLaren MP4-12C comes from a 3.8L V8 twin-turbo engine producing around 600-hp mated to a 7-speed Seamless Shift dual-clutch gearbox (SSG). 0 to 60 mph is expected to come in the low 3 second range with a top speed of more than 200 mph. Sales in the United States begin in the summer of 2011 with prices to range between $225,000 and $250,000.

The McLaren MP4-12C can sprint from 0 to 200 Km/h (124 mph) in 10 seconds, (0 to 62 mpg in 2.8 seconds) while CO2 emissions are under 300 grams per Km.

The MP4-12C is expected to go on sale in the U.S. next summer at an estimated $245,000, after a spring launch in Europe. McLaren Automotive said that pricing for North America, Canada, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and South Africa will be confirmed at a later date.






Press Release

McLAREN AUTOMOTIVE ANNOUNCES MP4-12C PRICING FOR UK AND EUROPE

• McLaren MP4-12C priced at £168,500* and from €200,000 in EU

• McLaren-designed one-piece carbon chassis (the carbon MonoCell) introduces new performance, safety, and weight standards to the ‘core' sports car segment

• 'Pure' McLaren concept offers unique innovation and service to high-performance sports car buyers

WOKING, UK (24 November, 2010) - The McLaren MP4-12C, the first in a range of high-performance sports cars from McLaren Automotive, goes on sale in the UK and Europe in spring 2011 at a groundbreaking price for a carbon chassis-based car. At £168,500* in the UK, and from €200,000 in the EU, it will be the only car in its competitor set to:

• offer a carbon chassis (the MonoCell)

• be conceived, designed and developed within a Formula 1 factory

• offer the heady combination of 600PS, from a 3.8-litre engine producing less than 300g/km CO2 in a car with a dry weight of around 1300kgs

Antony Sheriff, Managing Director of McLaren Automotive said: "When we embarked on this challenge to design, develop, build, sell, and service the world's most exciting and high-quality high-performance sports cars - from a brand new factory at our Formula One headquarters - we knew expectations would be high. To deliver a true McLaren sports car, and, frankly, a reason to exist amongst great competition, it was clear we needed a unique concept that offered tangible advantages. With a unique carbon chassis as the foundation, and a powerful, but highly efficient McLaren engine at its heart, the 12C offers staggering value: no other carbon-based car can compete at this price-point, or with the 12C's technology and performance.

"Add to that a focus on ensuring that our customers will be offered spectacular care by a focused, financially strong global dealer network, and I believe we have launched a new type of car company, not just a new car. Announcing such competitive prices is a major step for us and another milestone achieved," Sheriff concluded.

The 12C's MonoCell introduces genuine innovation to the automotive industry and new performance standards below £200,000. It is ‘pure' McLaren, with all parts, from engine to switchgear, designed by McLaren.

12C prices in UK and European markets, inc. VAT:
United Kingdom £168,500*
Germany €200,000
France/Monaco €201,000
Italy €201,680
Belgium €203,360

*RRP includes VAT at 20%: on-the-road price adds road fund licence (£950) and first registration fee (£55)

The 12C can be specified with a wide range of personalisation options, pricing for which will be confirmed at launch. There are 17 high-grade exterior paint finishes, including ‘McLaren Orange' - a solid hue that was made famous by the McLaren racing cars of the 1960s and ?70s.

A choice of 14 interior trims can be specified inside the cabin. Performance upgrades include a sports exhaust system, carbon ceramic brake discs, polished-finish callipers and two lightweight forged wheel options. The ‘standard' 12C features just one piece of carbon - the MonoCell - but carbon fibre options will include mirror casings, engine bay panels and engine cover.

McLaren continues carbon innovation; 30 years since McLaren MP4/1 introduced carbon monocoque to motor racing; carbon MonoCell contributes to performance, efficiency, cabin space and driveability

McLaren introduced a carbon monocoque to motorsport in the 1981 MP4/1 Formula 1 car. In 1993, the McLaren F1 debuted a carbon chassis on a road car. In 2009, the last of over 2,200 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLarens was produced at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC); the best-selling carbon-based car ever. Now McLaren's expertise in working with this lightweight and strong material has led to the industrialisation of carbon chassis construction: where production of one McLaren F1 carbon chassis took thousands of man hours, each 12C MonoCell will be moulded in less than four hours. This step-change in manufacturing makes this technology available to sports car buyers in a new segment, and McLaren Automotive is committed to building all of its future cars around a carbon chassis.

The 12C is the first ‘pure McLaren' road car, with every one of its components designed specifically for the 12C. No compromise has been taken in developing the 12C. An intelligent design philosophy means performance is delivered in abundance, but not at the expense of efficiency: nearly 600 hp at less than 300 g/km CO2 are unprecedented statistics. The MonoCell also contributes to a spacious driver-focused interior that defies the 12C's compact exterior dimensions.

Designed, engineered, developed and manufactured by a team featuring extensive experience in McLaren's racing successes, up to 1,000 12Cs will be built in the car's first full year. A £40m manufacturing plant, the McLaren Production Centre (MPC), is currently under construction on a site adjacent to the MTC and will be fully operational by the middle of 2011. The future range of around 4,000 high-performance McLaren sports cars will all be built annually at MPC.

An initial network of 35 retailers with a passion for McLaren's plans, and a reputation for excellent customer service, will be appointed to represent McLaren across 19 countries worldwide. In the UK, McLaren will be represented initially in Birmingham, London, and Manchester, with details of all retailers on the McLaren Automotive website:

http://www.mclarenautomotive.com/uk/insider/archive/2010/11/09/RetailerContactDe

Video:Mclaren MP4-12c Press Launch

McLaren has released an official video of last week's MP4-12C press launch.

The 12C is powered by a bespoke McLaren ‘M838T’ 3.8 litre, V8 twin-turbo engine producing around 600bhp, driving through a McLaren seven speed Seamless Shift dual clutch gearbox (SSG). It is targeting not only new standards for power and performance in its sector, but also class-leading fuel economy and CO2 emissions; supported by McLaren’s experience of active aerodynamics to aid cooling, grip, handling and road holding.

The MP4-12C will likely accelerate from 0-100 km/h in less than 3.8 seconds and have a top speed in excess of 300 km/h (186 mph).

It will be priced between £125,000 ($186,155 / €139,447) and £175,000 ($260,487 / €195,225) and "will feature innovative technical and customer-focused engineering and design that will offer new levels of performance in its price bracket."

via:world car fans





Press Release

On 18 March 2010, McLaren Automotive held a press conference for global media entitled ‘Inside McLaren - the Launch of a New Car Company'. The video footage includes the new McLaren MP4-12C high performance sports car, McLaren Automotive Executive Chairman Ron Dennis, McLaren Automotive Managing Director Antony Sheriff and 2009 and 2008 Formula 1 World Champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

Notes to editors:

The McLaren MP4-12C goes on sale in spring 2011 from bespoke McLaren Automotive retailers in 19 countries across the globe. It sits in the market of ‘core' sports cars that cost between £125,000 and £175,000 and will feature innovative technical and customer-focused engineering and design that will offer new levels of performance in its price bracket.

The 12C will be built initially at the award-winning Fosters+Partners-designed McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, England. In spring 2011, the innovative combination of hand-built and ‘lean' production processes will transfer to the new £40 million McLaren Production Centre next door to the MTC.

The McLaren Automotive retail network will be confirmed through the second half of 2010, along with pricing of the 12C and final performance figures for the car.

Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss Edition and Hakkinen Shooting Commercial in Barcelona

Somebody at Daimler must have been a big fan of recent photos showing the Audi A1 S-line in Barcelona's Raval district.  The company has been working on a new video shoot for the Mercedes-Benz SLR Stirling Moss Edition a few kilometers away from the A1 location, and close to scenes used in a video of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

The SLR Stirling Moss Edition was the last version that became the SLR McLaren, and was filed in 2009. Is inspired by the 300 SLR that Stirling Moss took the victory in the Mille Miglia in 1955, along with journalist Denis Jenkinson, ie, which has no windscreen or roof or anything like it.

With a weight of 200 kilos less than the conventional SLR, and a little more power (650 horses on the original 617), accelerates from 0 to 100 in 3.5 seconds and can take the 350 km / h. S'en only 75 produced, which were offered only to customers who already have a SLR to your garage. The price? Well 750.000 .- €. Almost nothing.
via:worldcarfans

McLaren Automotive reveals details of its next generation of prototypes [Video]

Development of the groundbreaking McLaren MP4-12C is entering its final phase. The bespoke high-performance sports car is due to launch in 2011, and right now the latest Experimental Prototype (XP) 12Cs are undergoing intensive appraisal at a number of test locations around the world.



One such site is Spain's Applus IDIADA facility, the most comprehensive independent proving ground in Europe. McLaren Automotive recently obtained special permission to capture on camera the XP Beta cars in action at Applus IDIADA, and on public roads in the foothills near Tarragona. The result is the second in the 'Inside McLaren Automotive' series of short films. This gives viewers a unique insight into a performance car testing programme from the perspective of the development team responsible for the 12C.





Featured in the short film are XP8 and XP10, two XP Beta-phase prototypes. Wrapped almost entirely in matt black vinyl, XP Beta cars are clearly discernable from 2009's XP cars, which were seen in the 'Inside McLaren: Developing the MP4-12C" video sporting a black and white contrasting camouflage exterior.



The XP Beta test cars feature significant technological advancements that take the 12C nearer to production. A revised iteration of the M838T twin-turbo engine, transmission featuring new gear ratios, a more efficient cooling package, new suspension geometry and upgraded electrical architecture are the headline features of current prototypes, denoting key differences between XP and XP Beta cars.





Indicative performance figures generated by the XP Beta cars are expected to be announced in March, but feedback from February's testing suggests that McLaren Automotive's aspirations to out-perform its competitors appear well-founded.



A core team of 20-25 Vehicle Technicians travel with the XP Beta cars and are on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week to support a test programme that mirrors the intensity of developing a Formula 1 car. Meanwhile, a further 12 Vehicle Development Engineers are responsible for specific technologies and systems being appraised while out on test.





Mark Vinnels, McLaren Automotive Programme Director, is leading the engineering team and said: "There is an extensive list of subjective and objective targets set for our prototype vehicles. These XP Beta cars are already achieving outstanding results in many of the subjective areas, which includes ride quality, handling and many other aspects of dynamic performance.



"The benchmark competitor vehicles we have tested become nervous and twitchy at higher speed, but the 12C feels more stable than anything I have driven. Because the bump rejection is so good, the ride is smooth and the steering is solid."





"Between now and production the vehicles and the team are working flat out. All this is geared towards not just achieving our unprecedented levels of performance but also guaranteeing the levels of quality, reliability and durability with which we expect to delight future McLaren customers."





More Photos

McLaren MP4-12C GTR Rendered

Jonsibal.com has published a new rendering featuring a proposed McLaren MP4-12C GTR. Jon drew up the idea in several different classic liveries, including Fina, Gulf, and Marlboro.


"I gave the car wider fenders to house four OZ wheels (with some lip) the previous F1 GTR ran back in the days," said the artist on the website. "I also added splitters in the front and rocker panels to keep the air moving underneath as fast and clean as possible."


The artist was a big fan of the Gordon Murray design for the McLaren F1, and the GTR version that followed. Photos of the F1 GTR are included on this page. The follow-up rendering to the MP4-12C GTR will be a Long Tail variety, an homage to the GTR '97 Long Tail. Once Jon sends it out, we will bring it to you.


The 2011 McLaren MP4-12C will be launched next year with a 3.8-liter V8 engine that produces 600 hp (447 kW) and up to 422 ft-lb. Pricing will be set at £150,000.


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