We'd tell you to get your bank accounts ready if we didn’t know better, because at $229,000, not including a $2,400 destination and port processing fee, we somehow doubt you can afford the new McLaren MP4-12C without selling your house.
The British automaker not only informed us that deliveries of the MP4-12C "are now underway to customers in North America and Canada" (apparently, Canada split off the continent and nobody took notice) but the company also released a video of the first supercars driving off the cargo vessel Taisko in Baltimore, MD.
Last week, YouTube user "Jodito20" captured a pair of McLaren MP4-12C supercars at The Collection in Miami, Florida, on film. While the silver colored model was a regular MP4-12C, the other one turned out to be a customized version named HS for "High Sport".
The info came from a McLaren salesperson who told Jodito20 that only five models were built.
"I talked to a salesman and he told me HS stands for High Sport. He confirmed that there are only five cars in the world. BUT, these cars are NOT from the McLaren Special Operation program. They are not Bespoke Editions even if they have some customization in common," Jodito20 wrote on his video channel.
Venturing into the automotive business takes a lot more than building some prototypes, launching a new model and then waiting for the orders to come in. Even more so if you intend to compete on the top level and establish yourself as a supercar manufacturer.
This is why McLaren Automotive didn’t only build its first supercar after the iconic F1 of the ‘90s, but also invested close to £50 million (€58.2 or US$77.3 million) in developing a brand-new, state-of-the-art factory – or rather, as the company names it, the McLaren Production Center (MPC).
Carmakers don't use the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit only for testing prototypes, as you've seen many times in our scoop section, but also to time their cars and claim some bragging rights against their rivals.
This is one of those stories with the protagonist being the new McLaren MP4-12C sportscar that made its debut run on the Nordschleife with Horst von Saurma, Editor-in-Chief of German magazine Sport Auto, sitting behind the wheel.
McLaren’s expansion strategy is running like clockwork. After the flagship showroom in London’s Hyde Park, the British company opened two more retail shops in Germany, in Dusseldorf and Hamburg just before the local Formula 1 Grand Prix. Now, McLaren has landed in Italy. Read more »
If you are one of the few lucky people in this world to be able afford an MP4-12C, but you want the supercar to differ from the one parked in the garage of your obviously wealthy neighbor, the new Special Operations division of McLaren Automotive has a solution.
The new division, which was announced at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance show, aims to create bespoke versions in order to satisfy customer needs for differentiation.
Actor Rowan Atkinson, best known for his roles in UK TV series Mr. Bean and the Black Adder, may drive an original Mini on the screen, but in real life, he is a car enthusiast. So much that he once described in CAR magazine the process of ordering a Ferrari 456 GT and let's not forget that he owns one of the most exclusive and extreme supercars ever built: a McLaren F1.
Unfortunately, the 56-year old actor made headlines today for losing control of his precious F1, and crashing into a sign. No other cars were involved in the accident, which seems to have occurred when the McLaren met a wet patch on the road.
The 24-hour race of Spa-Francorchamps that will take place the following weekend will be the first time a McLaren racecar premieres at a 24-hour endurance event since 1995, when the F1 GTR made its maiden appearance in the 24 hours of Le Mans.Read more »
If the fact that Jay Leno was recently invited to drive the all-electric and open top versions of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as well as the 2012 VW Beetle hasn’t already made you green with envy, maybe this will: not taking into consideration the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren he owns, the host of The Tonight Show has just acquired his second McLaren model after the F1.
Leno’s latest toy is the British firm’s newest creation, the MP412-C - you know, the car that beat the Bugatti Veyron and the Ferrari 458 Italia in the hands of The Stig in Top Gear’s famous Power Lap.
We have already seen Fifth Gear’s Tiff Needell and Jason Plato pit the new McLaren MP4-12C against the Ferrari 458. Now, it’s time for BBC’s Top Gear TV hosts and in particular, Jeremy Clarkson and the Stig to get behind the wheel of McLaren’s finest and try it on the show's test track.
At Top Gear's famous power lap, the MP4 12C recorded an amazing time of just 1:16.2 minutes, which puts it in second place right behind the insane Ariel Atom V8 (1:15.1) and in front of some of the world’s fastest supercars such as the Bugatti Veyron S (1:16.8”), the Gumpert Apollo (1:17.1”) and most importantly, Ferrari’s rivaling 458 Italia (1:19.1”).
The MP4-12C GT3, McLaren’s first race car outside of Formula 1 since the legendary F1 GTR, will make its debut in front of the public at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Based on the new MP4-12C, the GT3 will appear in a revised form after McLaren’s team further honed the supercar. Read more »
The 458 Italia, Ferrari's V8 supercar, is the default choice in its category. Sexy, with a fabulous design and the latest in automotive technology, it is a pure driver’s car to be enjoyed by anyone who can afford it.
Yet McLaren plans to spoil Ferrari’s party claiming that its own brand-new supercar, the MP4-12C, can beat it. On paper, little separates them. But the question for car fanatics remains: which one is better?
To find out, Channel 5's Fifth Gear presenters Tiff Needell and Jason Plato decided to pit the Ferrari against its new challenger from Britain. Their verdict? To find out, just follow the jump and watch the video…
McLaren has announced full technical specifications of its MP4-12C GT3 racing model, which much surprisingly, has 100 horses less than the road car it's based upon. The racer uses the same 3.8-liter twin turbo V8 engine (codenamed M838T), but in a de-tuned state deliver 500 horsepower (down from 600HP) in order to “provide optimum power for a performance-balanced race car,” according to McLaren.Read more »
McLaren, a pioneer of carbon-fiber technology, which it successfully uses in Formula 1 and on its MP4-12C road car, has teamed up with U.S.-based Specialized Bicycle Components [SPC] for an unusual project: building the ultimate road bike.Read more »
After a photo preview at the end of last year, the racing version of McLaren's all-new supercar has been revealed in England, where the car undertook its first shakedown tests. Built by McLaren GT, a new company set up by the McLaren Group and CRS Racing, the MP4-12C GT3 had its debut test outings at the MIRA proving ground facility and the Silverstone Circuit.Read more »
It would probably take more words than you’d be willing to read if we were to write down all the memorable quotes heard in the first two videos of Dan Kennedy and his wife picking up and then driving their McLaren F1, but here’s a taster:
“Honey, what happened to the steering wheel?”; “Where does the luggage go?”; “Ms. Kennedy: What are you trying to do me? Mr. Kennedy: Do you like that? Ms. Kennedy: I like it, it was really fun! Ohhhhh, Ohhhhh, Ohhhhh!”
The story has it that the first videos were shot in 2001 (but uploaded on the net much later), with Dan selling the McLaren in 2004. It also noted that he had the car repainted from its original silver finish to “a wild candy orange” by the factory in Woking. The third video is from a program that aired on the Discovery Channel called "Million Dollar Motors" and featured Dan’s F1. For more details on the story check out the links after the jump.
Even before McLaren released the final specifications on the brand-new MP4-12C, we knew that the British firm's supercar was fast, but if we are to believe this video that mysteriously popped up on Youtube, then the MP4-12C has a serious speed edge over some of its most famed rivals - at least in a straight line race. The video shows the McLaren MP4-12C clearly beating both the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Porsche 911 Turbo MkII [997] in a drag race believed to have taken place at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal. You can watch the short clip along with a couple more fresh videos released by McLaren right after the jump.Read more »
McLaren Automotive's brand new MP4-12C has reached another milestone with the start of production at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, England. The British sports car maker said it plans to build up to 1,000 examples of the MP4-12Cs this year, with most cars to be manufactured in a bespoke new £40m McLaren Production Centre, which is due for completion in May on a site neighboring the MTC facility. Read more »
Working with world-renowned supercar manufacturer McLaren, Turin's Istituto Europeo di Design [IED] has created a variety of concepts representing the potential future of the British marque's lineup. Each has been designed with the following requirements in mind: a hybrid, mid-engined four-wheel drive sport-utility riding on a McLaren chassis with space for two travelers.
After getting some one-on-one face time with McLaren at its Woking, UK facility, the IED students developed thirty-three concepts. After that, the number of proposals was whittled down to eleven cars deemed worthy of "further development" and students were put into teams to battle it out and earn a position on the short list.
The three winning vehicles approved for 1:4 scale model production are called the HOLON, the TOROK, and the BIO RENOVATIO, and can be viewed below along with some of the other concepts.
Continuing its series of short films on the development of the all-new MP4-12C, McLaren has released a second video of the latest Experimental Prototype (XP) 12Cs undergoing intensive testing in Spain's Applus IDIADA facility. Featured in the film are the XP8 and XP10 Beta-phase prototypes.
According to McLaren, the key differences between the first XP and these XP Beta cars concern the revised M838T twin-turbo V8 engine, upgraded transmission featuring new gear ratios, a more efficient cooling package, new suspension geometry and upgraded electrical architecture.
Mark Vinnels, McLaren Automotive Programme Director, who is leading the core engineering team that comprises of 20-25 Vehicle Technicians said:
"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," Vinnels added.
The new MP4-12C is due to be launched in early 2011.
