All posts tagged mclaren mp4-12c
McLaren MP4-12C GT3 extra pics
McLaren has released more pics of its MP4-12C GT3 weapon and a few details about further modifications it has made to its GT3 class competitor. Its racing debut is planned for 2012 and the MP4-12C GT3 track testing which is underway is gradually providing information on how to improve the model for its racing career.
While the MP4-12C GT3 will go on show at Goodwood in new livery, technical modifications being made include a new front radiator and engine and transmission cooling system. A redesigned aerodynamic pack will be fitted with front splitter, rear wing and extractor all in carbonfibre.
The competition model has the same carbonfibre shell as the roadgoing model, and borrows steering wheel technology and set-up from McLaren F1 racers. Track testers for the MP4-12C GT3 are Andrew Kirkaldy, Alvaro Parente and Oliver Turvey and it’s expected that the team will continue to work on development until the end of 2011, so we’ll be seeing more modifications in the future.
McLaren sold-out but MP4-12C China launch in 2013
McLaren has no problems stating its very modest production ambitions for the next few years, bringing some British sense to the supercar industry, and taking a leaf out of the Italian luxury book, too. In reports from Asiaone, McLaren regional director Ian Gorsuch says:
“We are looking at sustainable production. We want to produce less cars than the competition. The key is making the dealership profitable. We will produce less cars but the dealers must have more cars than the competition because the long-term goal is profitability.”
The report comes with some interesting insight into McLaren and its Asian operations. With production numbers set at 1,000 units per year, the next three years of the MP4-12C are already sold out. McLaren has had to build an entirely new dealership network for its roadgoing supercar, and China is currently without a dealership among the 35 present in 19 countries around the world.
Heading to Asia in the future will probably be essential to McLaren sales, and a production increase might be required to achieve that. Currently McLaren is planning a China launch in 2013 because it doesn’t have enough cars right now to do that. Still, the slow but steady approach might pay off in a world where even luxury products aren’t quite as self-assured as before.
McLaren MP4-12C GT3 new pics and launch video
The McLaren MP4-12C GT3 racing car has been launched and we get to see the GT3 specs along with it. The vehicle will race in the 2012 FIA GT3 championship and is wider than the road-going model by ten centimetres, and is clearly lower. A new aerodynamics system has been studied for the car which gives it impressive looks, and the GT3 gets race-worthy brakes and suspension system. The key to the MP4-12C - its carbonfibre monocell - has been borrowed, and there is a Formula 1 set-up to the steering wheel.
It all makes for a formidable package on the McLaren MP4-12C GT3, which gets an updated 3.8-litre V8 twinturbo engine with 500 hp and a more track-focused sequential six-speed transmission. That figure makes the GT3 less powerful than the standard, road going MP4-12C, but McLaren says the racing DNA on its road model meant that they didn’t have to bump up power, focusing instead on other racing characteristics like the suspension and transmission. 20 of the new McLaren GT3 will be built and it will driven by Andrew Kirkaldy, Oliver Turvey and Alvaro Parente.
Continue reading: McLaren MP4-12C GT3 new pics and launch video
McLaren MP4-12C vs McLaren F1: video
Evaluating the McLaren MP4-12C by pitting it against the historic McLaren F1 GTR is probably no way to do things but frankly, who cares? Any excuse to see the MP4-12C on the track in a different context is fine by us and we’re all kind of curious anyway as to how this might perform.
English understatements aside, the two get flogged on the track and the comparison does bring us a little closer to understanding the McLaren MP4-12C and how it might perform in the cut and thrust segment of supercars. For such expensive vehicles, it’s remarkable what a crowded segment this is. But no worries, because McLaren is certainly carving out its own space, and this video (partly) shows us how.
McLaren MP4-12C GT3 track video
The McLaren MP4-12C GT3 track car has been homologated for FIA GT3 competition and in this video we see it in its first outing on the track, driven by Alvaro Parente. The MP4-12C GT3 has been developed with the collaboration of CRS Racing and is different from the stock car with its new aerodynamic kit, Ricardo racing transmission and more powerful brakes. Suspension modifications have also been carried out and tested in the Woking Technology Centre. The 3.8-litre V8 engine remains the same. We’ll be seeing the GT3 version of the McLaren road car debut in 2012.
McLaren MP4-12C vs Ferrari 458 Italia and Porsche 911 Turbo
The first of the McLaren MP4-12C video challenges has emerged in this drag race against the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Porsche 911 Turbo. The challenge takes place at the Portimao track and was organised by McLaren - clearly confident of the results of its new weapon. The MP4-12C has a declared sprint time of 3.3 seconds to reach 100 km/hr, which drops to 3.1 seconds when using the optional Corsa tyres.
The Ferrari 458 Italia, already considered one of the queens of the 100 km/hr race has a time of 3.4 seconds. The McLaren is supposed to be lighter, though, and quicker despite the Ferrari’s higher top speed of 325 km/hr. The challenge was organised during the media presentation of the new MP4-12C and while we find the video slightly disappointing (obviously the time it takes to wave the starting flag is longer than the overall acceleration of the vehicles), see what you think in the video.
New McLaren MP4-12C videos and pics
The performance specs of the McLaren MP4-12C get the video treatment here as we see the new supercar in action, including a Jenson Button MP4-12C track drive with journalists. If you’re not into statistics, which I personally am not, you may feel that the focus on numbers detracts from the romance of the world’s latest new supercar. You’re possibly right, but then it could hardly be a supercar if we weren’t talking of sprint times and top speeds.
The Jenson Button drive of the MP4-12C will put some of that romance back for you as we hardly need a spec sheet to appreciate the sound and speed of this car. The first video above is for those of you who love the numbers game and it’s nothing short of overwhelming. The two videos after the jump feature the press launch and the Jenson Button MP4-12C drive (tough job he’s got, cruising around in a McLaren for a day), and the relationship between the MP4-12C and the McLaren Formula One simulator.
McLaren MP4-12C technical specs revealed
In announcing the first production units of the McLaren MP4-12C, the specifications of the new supercar have also been revealed. The McLaren MP4-12C has a 3.8-litre V8 engine with 600 hp at 7,000 rpm, and 600 Nm of torque between 3,000 and 7,000 rpm. The MP4-12C sprints to 100 km/hr in 3.3 seconds, gets to 200 km/hr in 9.1 seconds and can cover a quarter of a mile in 10.9 seconds, getting to 216 km/hr in the meantime. From a standing start, the MP4-12C does a kilometre in 19.1 seconds, with exit speed of that kilometre measured at 272 km/hr. Overall top speed for the McLaren is 330 km/hr.
The MP4-12C weighs 1,336 kg (dry) or 1,434 kg according to DIN standards. The power to weight ratio is 461 hp per tonne. Obviously on this kind of machine the braking system is equal to the rest of the figures, as at 100 km/hr the car comes to a halt in 30.5 metres (123 metres for 200 km/hr). These specifications of the McLaren MP4-12C are clearly for the statisticians among you, and can be compared to the Ferrari 458 Italia, considered one of the main rivals to the MP4-12C. It covers 100 km/hr in 3.4 seconds and has a top speed of 325 km/hr. Braking at a speed of 100 km/hr takes 31.9 metres.
McLaren: five new models in production plan
After its stunning MP4-12C model, McLaren is planning another five products to be released over the next five years. The announcement was made by McLaren North America head Tony Joseph as he tours McLaren dealers in the US and is part of McLaren’s plan to reach total production levels of 4,500 units.
McLaren is undertaking a transition from producing race cars to entering the street car market and has been developing this plan, and the models to be released, for at least six years. While the company might be the ‘new kid on the block’ for in the consumer supercar market, its racing tradition is providing it not only with quality technology, but also a brand image that should help to keep things grounded.
The company has said its racing roots mean “substance over flash” is their philosophy, and that it will focus on low, but quality, production. McLaren will have some work to do on the marketing side as it establishes itself as a real player but if it produces the kind of quality cars we’re expecting, driving purists who will be looking at McLaren anyway are sure to be further satisfied.
Only 1,000 of the first McLaren street-legal MP4-12C cars will be sold in the first year of production and as the company focuses on quality built in small units, that number will easily be reached. The challenge lies in increasing those figures, or even meeting the reported registered interest of 2,700 buyers. Most of those buyers, according to the company, are already Porsche owners who understand the substance over style philosophy, meaning that McLaren is not just out to be beat Ferrari or Lamborghini (and not just on price, either).
Source | AutoGuide
McLaren MP4-12C at Goodwood with Hamilton and Button
44 seconds of the McLaren MP4-12C in the video above is just not enough to satisfy us! At the Goodwood Festival of Speed the new McLaren supercar does a smooth run and if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll even see the spoiler pop up as it brakes into a corner. In the video after the jump you can see F1 drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton drive the car at the festival (with Hamilton’s usual laid-back approach - there’s no way you’d catch me cruising along in the MP4-12C with just one hand on the steering wheel).
McLaren seems very aware that it comes from a racing tradition and has no guaranteed success in competing with the likes of Ferrari, for years in the supercar luxury road car sector. But there’s a lot of pride associated with the car, and more than enough pedigree to ensure that it should be equally as successful.
Continue reading: McLaren MP4-12C at Goodwood with Hamilton and Button
McLaren MP4-12C configurator online
The car configurator for the new McLaren MP4-12C is online to satisfy all our dreams of ever owning a personalised MP4-12C. Obviously you only get one engine choice but we’re more than happy to go with the twin turbo V6 and its 600 hp. Other games you can play with the McLaren configurator include exterior styling (racing green vs fire black…?), interior styling, including carbon fibre finish, and all the other bells and whistles you’d expect. See the MP4-12C configurator here.
Button and Hamilton video test McLaren MP4-12 C
After the presentation of the McLaren MP4-12C which included an interview with F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, we see the MP4-12C track testing at Goodwood with the two drivers. Hamilton and Button clearly have to draw the company line and are unlikely to say anything negative about the car, unless you include “remember that it’s a road car” in that category. We get more of an idea of the MP4’s supercar driving characteristics and clearly McLaren have concentrated on building a technologically impressive vehicle, while also making sure that driving feel is part of the equation.
Follow us
eurocarblog is part of the Blogo.it network of blogs. Contacts About us.
© 2005-2010 Blogo.it, P. IVA 04699900967, some rights reserved under a Creative Commons license.