Over a decade ago McLaren entered the record books with the fastest production car ever made, their iconic F1. Just 106 of the cars were ever built and the exclusivity ensured their notoriety but this year Chairman Ron Dennis has made a 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 latest creation, the MP4-12C is not just an attempt to experiment with new driving technology, but to fight off the curse that has fallen so many of their racing rivals.
McLaren plan to produce 1,200 of the cars in the each year, which should mean it can compete with the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and other supercar companies it may rival. It will cost around 150,000 which is standard supercar money and there have been 1,600 pre-orders already.
McLaren will be building a new factory to produce the car which is set to go into production in 2011, when production begins it will create 300 new jobs. McLaren revealed the MP4-12C at a press conference at their futuristic headquarters outside of Woking; it was uncovered by its first two test drivers, McLarens star F1 racers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Antony Sheriff, Managing Director, explained “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.” The car will be built using a revolutionary new carbon monocoque chassis based on their F1 cars and they claim it will be able to reach 60mph in “under three seconds”.
Although it could be one of 2011s biggest supercars it will likely not cause as much of a buzz as their F1, however the bigger question is whether the success of this car and this brand will be affected by the one thing they held very dear, their exclusivity? Will the rich and famous still queue up to buy one if it they won’t be the only one driving it? It’s a question that only time will answer but one that could determine the future of this Formula racing giant.
The speed the MP4-12C is capable might persuade McLaren to provide a driving offence solicitor with each car. Their previous F1 required almost every owner to enlist a speeding solicitor at some stage
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