First Look: McLaren MP4-12C Supercar - SACarFan

It’s been a long time coming, but today we can finally bring you the first official photographs and news of the new McLaren MP4-12C. It’s the supercar known until now by its P11 codename, but make no mistake: the MP4-12C is the first bespoke McLaren road car since the seminal F1.

The two-seater MP4-12C doesn’t go on sale until early 2011, when it’ll wade into what McLaren Automotive calls the ‘core sports car market’ spanning from GBP125 000 – GBP175 000. Expect a pricetag of around GBP160 000, pitching it a notch above Ferrari’s new 458 Italia.

No kerbweight has yet been issued, but it’ll be in the region of 1 300 kg’s, helped by conventional brakes whose forged aluminium hubs save 8kg and – incredibly – weigh less than ceramic stoppers.

The new McLaren is powered by a 3,8-litre 90-degree V8 mid-mounted engine producing ‘around 447 kW and 600 N.m’. “It delivers the highest horsepower to CO2 ratio of any car on the market today with an internal combustion engine – and that includes petrol and diesel hybrids,” boasts Antony Sheriff, MD of McLaren Automotive. Expect a CO2 output somewhere just south of 300g/km.

Contrary to earlier speculation, this is McLaren’s own V8, dubbed M838T. FThe twin-turbo motor drives the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (no manual is available). The V8 has a dry sump and a flat-plane crank like a race engine, to lower the centre of gravity and allow a higher rev limit of 8 500 rpm.

Every single component of the MP4-12C is unique, vows McLaren. Not a single switch or part is pilfered from a rival’s parts bin.

McLaren claims that 80% of the MP4-12C’s torque is available below 2 000 rpm, so it’ll be damned quick. Actual performance figures aren’t available yet, but we hear the 0 – 100 km/h time will be in the low 3 second bracket and it seems certain that the MP4-12C will top 320 km/h with ease.

There’s also a new gadget on the twin-clutch Seamless Shift Gearbox (SSG – another acronym like DSG!). It has two wet clutches and something called Pre-Cog. Rather than guessing which ratio you’ll pick next – like most dual-clutch ‘boxes – you half press or pull the paddle to warn the car, like on an auto-focus camera. That ratio is then selected and – bang – you’re into the desired cog almost instantly.

If you’re wondering where the name comes from, the MP4 bit is the chassis designation of all McLaren Formula 1 cars since 1981 – harking back to the merger from Ron Dennis’ Project 4 organisation. The twelve refers to McLaren’s internal benchmarking system for rating its own cars and rivals, ranking power, weight, efficiency and so forth. The C apparently refers to carbon, although we wonder if it shouldn’t stand for coupé as there will be a roadster MP4-12 too.

At the rear, the MP4-12C’s rump is dominated by the V8′s cooling needs; the diffuser aids rear downforce, twin exhausts exit high and central, and most of the back end is left open to extract hot air, while the rear lamps are cleverly hidden in the top two horizontal black bars. An air brake pops up at speed to improve stopping ability. Cleverly, it’s raised by passing air flow once triggered, rather than relying on heavy mechanicals.