What is it?
The MP4-12C is no less than McLaren Automotive’s brand new answer to the Ferrari 458 Italia, and quite some car it is too.
Priced to rival the 458 head on (it costs £168,500 whereas the 458 comes in at £169,545), yet toting more power, more performance and even greater technical sophistication than its nemesis from Maranello, the 12C is without question Britain’s most exciting new supercar.
It’s also one of the fastest cars ever to be offered for use on the public road, with a claimed 0-60mph time of 3.1sec, 0-100mph in 6.1sec and a top speed of 205mph.
See all the test pics of the McLaren MP2-12C
Now watch the video of the MP2-12C featuring Jenson Button
At the centre of the 12C sits a full carbonfibre tub, and that alone makes it different from, and theoretically superior to, any other rival at similar money. But it’s the car’s suspension that’s perhaps the most ground breaking. It features double wishbones and coil springs but no traditional anti-roll bars as such, and instead uses hydraulics and active dampers to provide its control. This system, claims McLaren, provides the 12C with as much as 25 per cent more grip than conventionally suspended rivals.
The 12C’s 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 engine was developed jointly by McLaren and Worthing-based Riccardo Engineering, and it develops a thumping 592bhp at 7000rpm and an arguably even more impressive 442lb ft right the way from 3000-7000rpm. To this is mated a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (made by Graziano), which features a 'Pre-Cog' selection mechanism that shifts gear faster and more smoothly than in rival systems.
All up the 12C weighs just 1301kg when dry and when specified with the lighter of the two alloy wheel designs. That gives it a kerb weight with a full tank of fuel and all its fluids of a whisker over 1400kg, which is at least 50kg lighter than the 458 (although in reality it’s nearer 100kg if you specify the two cars like for like). Braking is provided by huge steel ventilated discs front and rear, and also by an Air Brake system that deploys only when the car’s sensors detect that a really big stop is required. Carbon ceramic discs can be specified as an option.
What’s it like?
In a word, incredible. And very, very fast indeed. There are all sorts of elements that define the 12C dynamically and elevate it above its already esteemed competition, but the ride, handling and above all else the performance are probably the stand-out features.
The first time I put my foot down and held it there properly, the level of thrust that was unleashed through the rear tyres came genuinely and sincerely as a shock. It starts from the moment you nail the throttle at anything beyond 1500rpm, even in fourth gear, and by 3000rpm you can already feel your organs being squeezed hard into the seat.
From there until the cut out at 8500rpm there is then just a vast, constant wave of energy that catapults the 12C forwards – with more conviction than any road car you can ever remember this side of a Bugatti Veyron. Including the legendary F1. And the numbers would appear to support this impression, too; in all three acceleration disciplines – 0-60mph, 0-100mph and standing quarter mile – the 12C is faster than the McLaren F1. Only on top speed does the legendary old timer have the measure of the new car.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Re: McLaren MP4-12C
The McLaren MP4-12C is a very cool car that anybody could drive. It has a fantastic chassis made by a lightweight material borrowed from the aerospace industry, carbon-fibre. The chassis of this car is made by a carbon-fibre tub that weighs less than 80 Kg and is very rigid but also stiff and strong than a conventional metalic material. The 3.8 litre V8 twin-turbocharged M838T engine made by McLaren in partnership with Ricardo Engineering is a true masterpiece and has direct fuel injection. It produces 600 bhp at 7000 r.p.m. and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque between 3000-7000 r.p.m. with 80 percent (500 Nm) of peak torque is available under 2000 r.p.m. for extreme acceleration. In terms of performance, the MP4-12C accelerates from 0-62 mph (0-100 Km/h) in 3.1 seconds, 0-100 mph in 6.1 seconds and hits a top speed of 205 mph (330 Km/h). Steve Sutcliffe, the English journalist, when he tested the car for the first time, said that the MP4-12C is faster than the McLaren F1 and obviously he is right. In comparison with its predecessor, the McLaren F1, the MP4-12C is quicker than its predecessor from 0-62 mph, 0-100 mph and also from the standing quarter-mile. The MP4-12C features a 7-speed twin-clutch automatic gearbox, made by Grazianno, as standard with a Pre-Cog function which allows the driver to select the correct gear at low speed with lightning fast precision, accuracy and response without losing traction.
Re: McLaren MP4-12C
I've changed my mind!, the car IS worth the money, but to be only a few tenths up on the elder statesmen (Sutcliffe's description) on the benchmark figures is neither here nor there,and, from 170mph onwards the old girl glides away (another Sutcliffe-ism!), where it probably shows the old car a clean pair of heels is on a race track,where the leap forward in computer controlled suspension would show up the F1's bad points, but in a straight line, well, it's not that clear cut, is it?.
Re: McLaren MP4-12C