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New Mclaren Finally Revealed: To Be Called The MP4-12C

K keshy
Posted onSep 10, 2009 at 10:10 AM

It’s finally here, after waiting nearly two decades, Mclaren has finally released it’s all-new and all-Mclaren roadcar – the 2011 MP4-12C. The car features modern styling that was designed to be timeless and relevant for years to come. And while the car may look generic and like every other Ferrari, Lotus or whatever you can come up with, Mclaren points out that virtually every aspect was designed to be fully functional. The new car also carries traditional Mclaren cues, but that’s mostly limited to the F1-inspired dihedral doors and air scoops that resemble the Mclaren logo. At the rear, the car features LED taillights and center-mounted dual exhaust tips.

2011 Mclaren MP4-12C (6)2011 Mclaren MP4-12C (7)2011 Mclaren MP4-12C (16)2011 Mclaren MP4-12C (28)2011 Mclaren MP4-12C (29)2011 Mclaren MP4-12C (4)

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Inside things are rather different than the original F1, the MP4-12C comes with a luxurious cabin with a slim center console, and a 7-inch touch screen. Other design features include a low cowl for improved visibility, a button-less sports steering wheel, and door-mounted climate control knobs.

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The MP4-12C is powered by a mid-mounted 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine which produces around 600bhp and 600Nm of torque. And thanks to a dry sump and a flat plane crankshaft, the engine can be effectively placed extremely low in the chassis for a low center of gravity which naturally improves handling. And putting all that power to the tarmac is a seven-speed “Seamless Shift” dual clutch gearbox (with the usual normal, sport and high performance modes).

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Till now Mclaren has not released any performance data but they did state that they focused on “useable measures such as in-gear acceleration times, braking performance, the efficiency of power delivery, and achieving the lowest possible fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.”

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As you would expect, McLaren drew heavily on their racing knowledge when developing the MP4-12C. For example, the car rides on an 80 kg (176 lbs) one-piece carbon fiber chassis – dubbed the Carbon MonoCell – which was specially designed to be lightweight, strong, and durable. The supercar also features an advanced Brake Steer system, which helps to cancel out understeer when entering corners as well as providing improved traction on the way out. Other performance features include forged aluminum brake hubs, an Airbrake system and a Pre-Cog transmission function that “primes” the gearbox for the next shift.

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More information on the MP4-12C as it approaches its 2011 launch date.

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Post Views: 519
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Nice update keshy.. been following your updates for sometime already.. good job =) love reading your post.
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    minivan
  • Sep 10, 2009
looks like the smiley car theme is popular nowadays....
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    vincent
  • Sep 10, 2009
so are those high mounted exhaust exits.
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Thanks MetalHead.. Appreciate the support..
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    ravingill
  • Sep 10, 2009
well , tis maybe the ultimate supercar, has good power - 600hp , small displacement engine 3800cc compared to other supercars. As a mclaen handling is going to be superb and its very very light body frame weighs ony 80kg which is gona make tis car fast. One of the key ideas to produe tis car was having good fuel consumption in mind , well thats a first for supercars currently porsche has the record with 10km/liter so lets see how well tis does.

Overall with that price tag tis car is gona be selling fast and there are posibilities it may come to malaysia and singapore. Estimated base price in Malaysia should be around RM 1.5 million and this is much better then the ferrari california and ferrari 599gtb which retails above RM 1.8 million.

Well just have to see wad happens when this baby hits the road, wonder wads its top end , im guesinng 200mph hopefully , Nissan R35 GTR already does 193 mph so this car has more hp.
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    Dracryst
  • Sep 10, 2009
It is said that the price tag of this car will be higher than the F458 and LP5650-4 due to the extensive usage of CFRP, especially the body frame.
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    netmatrix
  • Sep 11, 2009
Ravingill, how can you speculate/ estimate the price based on a proto car? Also just because there is a name McLaren does not mean it would be the best handling supercar out there. Mind you their old Mc F1 is a mid seater car. Everything is almost balanced to a +. This one you sit on let of right depend on market. That would affect the handling too. Don't get too excited about it. Even the designer say this would not replace the original. And he damn well knows why.

Also with the current economy. Supercar sales are dropping like flies everywhere. You can say people will line up to buy it. But later you can see cancellations. And then this car would probably be McLarens downfall. I presume, this car would go with market flow, rather than watchers & admirers market.

80kg is only the bare chassis! Not the whole car! You can only calculate the power to weight with nett weight of the car.

Don't be blinded by McLaren badge so easily. Especially when nowdays its so modern and there are so many supercars with better packages coming out.
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    A1Diablo
  • Sep 12, 2009
I think they are right to price above 458 Italia, LP560-4 etc. None of the MP4-12C's rivals can boast a carbon cockpit. Even the next higher segment cars - 599GTB, LP640 don't feature it. Only the top most segment feature it - ENZO, CarreraGT, Zonda etc

McLaren is also not pinning it's hopes on this car to fulfill expectations created by the Mc F1. They have made it clear which market this car is intended for. Polishing the McLaren brand will be done by another model intended to go against the ENZOs, Zondas etc.. That would be the exciting one. In that context, this MP4-12C is already an impressive product even though outward styling is a little conservative. The looks don't do justice to what's underneath
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    Von
  • Sep 14, 2009
3 points on the design,

1. Is that particular design the most efficient and effective as a car that goes really quick?

2. Did the Lotus design ppl get lousy paychecks and move to another town and join Mclaren instead?

3. Are the Mclaren design ppl worse than the Porsche's, i.e. copy from other people instead of copy from your predecessors?
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    ravingill
  • Jul 9, 2010
bro netmatrix , before u flame me , firstly i am an avid fan of mclaren cars, i know how they work , they dun make rubbish like Ferrari and Lamborghini for profit, they make engineering marvels , Chief designer of the Mclaren f1 ,Gordon Murray who owns and spearheads Gordon Murray Design today has had his say with the car , he is indeed surprised by the results because he did not expect it to perform so well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDuWiIhVTqU

The car has many expectations to meet especially for avid fans out there, the Mclaren f1 is a totally different car , its story is over Gordon Murray has already said he made the best car in the world and its pointless to make something better. If u say Bugatti veyron is the fastest car in the world , well that car has 4 turbochargers and is not as reliable as the Mclaren f1. Practicality was refined in that car. Remove the 4 turbo's from Bugatti and challenge the F1 again, even now with 4 turbochargers Bugatti cant touch the Mclaren f1 until it hits 240km/h. For a natural aspirated engine the Mclaren f1 is still King of the throne.

The mp4-12c is a totally different car, its main idea is again practicality and fuel consumption , it isnt interested in the speed game anymore. This time they wana make it special in its on way, and so far results have been good. You talk about weight issue saying the previous car was mid seated and this is left/right seated car, dun u think the engineers took tht into account, the nissan r35gtr is also a right seated car but it outperformed a porsche on the track holding the tittle for one of the best handling cars. Basically if done right it will be right , they are not engineers from a company that wants profits making tht car, they r men with a passion to develop another masterpiece.

U should follow up on the car , i just gave a review based on my opinions on d car , i estimated the base price on my own assumption i did not guarantee tht is the price, so why u getting so hyped up for , u cant afford it at least appreciate the engineering. If u wana talk about economy well the rich are still rich and if the previous car sold , and mclaren slr mercedes sold this will sell too, its not very expensive for them, the price is targeted to be around price of Ferrari 458 italia and mind u the first italia in malaysia is already sold , and the car is yet to arrive. Now i dont see the economy effecting tht buyer.

Flaming me wont get u anywhere , we are a automotive forum not a club where u decide who has better commenets, u like the car u comment u dun like u comment, dun flame me, im just a fan.
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It is truly a great and useful piece of information. I?m happy that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
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    Anonymous
  • May 21, 2012
I really want to know the price in malaysia?been searching everywhere for the price.o cannot found it.trith price.please help me someone.
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