Formula One racing group McLaren has unveiled a new road car that marks the creation of a new UK-based carmaker.
It plans to build the cars in a factory that it will build next to the group’s headquarters in Woking.
Plans to rival the likes of Ferrari and Aston Martin are part of a strategy to grow the business outside racing, where cost cutting pressure is fierce.
The move could help cushion McLaren’s racing staff from job losses if F1 budgets are cut. BBC News
A gull-winged 200mph British supercar dubbed ‘an F1 car for the road’ is launched today by UK racing specialists.
The £150,000 McLaren MP4-12C is Britain’s answer to Italy’s legendary Ferrari and is the long-held dream of McLaren and F1 team boss Ron Dennis to produce an ‘affordable’ supercar with the greenest credentials in its class.
With dramatic aerodynamic styling designed to keep it on the ground at high speed, the new McLaren two-seater will accelerate from rest to 60mph in just 3.4 seconds.
It is powered by a massive 3.8 litre V8 twin turbo engine which develops 600bhp - equivalent to about six Ford Fiestas. McLaren claims it is the world’s most efficient internal combustion engine and the pinnacle of British hi-tech engineering.
The new McLaren, which goes on sale in 2011, is being built at the company’s hi-tech factory in Woking Surrey, where the workforce is expected to expand from 500 to around 800 as production gets underway.
About 1,000 cars will be built in the first year. But the MP4 is just the first of a new range of sports cars that will see production increased to 4,000 a year within about three years.
The new McLaren uses lightweight aluminium and carbon fibre to keep weight down and performance high. Daily Mail
McLaren Automotive claims that “12C is the most efficient, most drivable high-performance sports car in the world”. The engine revs to 8,500rpm; 80 per cent of the torque is available below 2,000rpm. Although no official fuel economy figures are available yet, the car should end up with a CO2 g/km emissions figure somewhere in the 200s.
McLaren claims the car has more power per gram of CO2 than any car that’s not fully electric; not so surprising given that most hybrids concentrate on economy rather than power, but impressive nonetheless.
A handling feature called Brake Steer, a development of an electronic system used by the F1 team, brakes the inside rear wheel when the car is entering a corner too quickly, to stop the car understeering. It also works on acceleration out of the corner when the inside rear might spin.
Inside, driver and passenger sit close to minimise the car’s width. There are climate controls on each door, a digital display and huge central rev counter in the middle of the instrument cluster, a free-floating tunnel console with transmission buttons and launch control, and cup holders beneath it. Telegraph.co.uk
It also includes Airbrake - another innovation that made its debut on the F1 supercar and was also incorporated into the SLR. A rear fin deploys hydraulically under braking, or when the driver wants increased downforce.
Inside there’s a full quota of airbags, fully automatic dual zone climate control, sophisticated telematics and audio systems, parking sensors, trip computer, cruise control and electric memory seats.
Around 25% of sales will be made in the UK, 25% in the USA and the remainder to the rest of the world, notably Germany and mainland Europe, the Middle East and some Far Eastern countries.
The MP4-12C is the first of new trio of McLaren supercars: the two other cars are expected to be launched by 2015: the first is expected to be a Porsche 911-rival priced at around £60k, while the second will be in true supercar territory costing in excess of £300k. Channel 4 News
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