It has been more than a decade since the British racing legends made history with their iconic F1, the fastest production car ever made (at the time). Only 106 of the hyper cars were made but Chairman Ron Dennis has made a striking statement “Since 1966, when McLaren first raced in F1, 106 teams have come and gone – and that tells me that if we stay solely as an F1 team it will lead to extinction.” Their new car, the stunning MP4-12C is said to be a bid to fight off the financial curse of F1 teams, by becoming a fully fledged road car manufacturer.
Dennis says McLaren are planning to build over 1,200 of the cars in the first year alone, putting it in the leagues of the manufacturers it will be competing with. It is estimated to cost around 150,000 which is standard supercar money and there have been 1,600 pre-orders already.
The factory which is set to be producing the car by 2011 has not yet been built, but when it is it will create 300 new jobs. The MP4-12C was revealed by McLaren at a press conference at their futuristic headquarters outside of Woking, it was uncovered by its first two test drivers, team F1 racers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
“The 12C won’t take you to the edge of what’s possible; it will take you to the edge of the edge. It’s what we call an ‘and’ car. It’s powerful and efficient; lightweight and safe; fast and comfortable” Explained Antony Sheriff, Managing Director. Its lightweight construction will be built around a revolutionary Carbon Monocell which is astoundingly strong and will be capable of reaching 60mph in “under three seconds”.
Nobody is denying the supercar status of the new car but it’s not going to cause as much of a stir as the F1.The bigger question is whether the success of this car and this brand will wear off along with their exclusivity? Will every millionaire want one if they know the wont own the only one on the roads? It’s a question that only time will answer but one that could determine the future of this Formula racing giant.
The new McLaren is bound to cause a few driving bans as many of the owners of the previous F1 were convicted of driving offence solicitor within months of receiving the car.
categories: cars,motoring,driving,racing,formula 1,grand prix,concept,speeding
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