McLaren MP4-12C master thread, details

Funny, my spec was like 22K.

 

For all the weight CF panels may save, I'll make up the difference with my body weight and the likely hood I'm not always on a full tank.

 

Paint, wheels, nav, cf interior, stitching, leather/alcantera, and exhaust would do it for me.

Funny, my spec was like 22K.

 

For all the weight CF panels may save, I'll make up the difference with my body weight and the likely hood I'm not always on a full tank.

 

Paint, wheels, nav, cf interior, stitching, leather/alcantera, and exhaust would do it for me.

 

Yep its all the carbon at 2-5k each peice that did it, just because it looks nice!

99% of my time spent looking at the interior or overall exterior.

 

Last time I looked at wheel arches and door sills it was because I noticed a bunch of mud on them. Last time I looked at the engine compartment it was because I was checking oil levels. Splitter I scrape the hell out of and rear diffuser is, well, at the underside of the rear end of my car.

 

Unless you are worried about the next guy, I'd save a few (tens of thousands) bucks and go for the core/useful options.

 

BTW mods, any chance of seeing a McLaren forum soon? There aren't a ton of threads on it, but I imagine there will be soon.

MotorTrend's turn at the wheel here. They start with the overview they published last September, then jump into the Portugal Press drive on page 3:

 

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/exotic...rive/index.html

 

Lovely image here in the Ice Silver paint. Looks like Porsche's "Polar Silver" to me and might be the colour to have on the 12C?

 

 

>8^)

ER

Peloton, since you seem to be the source of McLaren info, do you know if the orange is the same as the F1 LM? Looks slightly different, but all the pictures of the LM are pretty old. I'd really like the LM color, but I don't know if it's the same or if they'd paint it.

Peloton, since you seem to be the source of McLaren info, do you know if the orange is the same as the F1 LM? Looks slightly different, but all the pictures of the LM are pretty old. I'd really like the LM color, but I don't know if it's the same or if they'd paint it.

 

According to a well informed source the color has changed over time because paint formulas have been forced to change since the F1 was in production. Also, the color on the LMs isn't even true to the original hue that Bruce McLaren was putting on his cars 4 decades ago, again due to a change in paint formulation. That old paint was cellulose based and the colors it offered 'can't be generated with today's water based pigments'.

 

Take these two F1 GTRs, both resprayed in Papaya Orange at different times within the past decade or so - same photo, same lighting, same angles and it is pretty clear they could not swap body panels. The car in the foreground is more 'Yellow' and the one in the background more "Red".

 

 

I think the color seen now on the 12C leans more towards the red version, but I haven't seen it in person.

 

>8^)

ER

McLaren have released their own short video as well:

 

 

>8^)

ER

that car is really a step up.

 

a marvel of engineering.

McLaren have released their own short video as well:

 

 

 

>8^)

ER

 

I love how the car "glides" around the corners, handling is very high on my priority list, this car delivers in that department, I am very excited.

 

Exciting things coming up in the supercar world, McLaren moved the goal posts now everyone has to follow.

 

The minimalist interior sends tingles down my spine, the exterior still has me gagging granted not as much as the 458.

 

Many have said that it has a lot of presence in real life so I am going to reserve final judgment on its looks until I see it.

 

Silver seems to suit it best.

 

My main concern is that the tests so far have been under closed conditions monitored by McLaren.

So independent tests are to come whereby the car needs to be run in the real world, run against it's competitors and timings done in normal conditions.

Reading about today it looks like people are questioning how it can produce those figures with more weight and less power then some but I think the transmission and power delivery is key.

 

I quite like the styling and like it even more after seeing the test mules on the road. Funny how people think a DB9 is stunning yet is, to most of today's design standards very simply styled.

I think Macca have tries to be simple in their design, let underneath do the talking.

 

I would love to hear what the competition say about it this week.

 

 

BTW mods, any chance of seeing a McLaren forum soon? There aren't a ton of threads on it, but I imagine there will be soon.

I have asked - I dare not create a new group as last time I nearly killed the forum, well I say I mean I watched Tommy do it.

I am thinking this is going to be THE car to have.

 

I would love to hear what the competition say about it this week.

I dont know what ferrari will be doing with this new competition, but since the Gallardo's replacement is a year or 2 away, we can say for certain that its well into development. Perhaps lambo can make some adjustments. Im hoping the G replacement has a CF tub too given how this car has stepped up the game.

Email from Mclaren, nothing revolutionary, thought i'd share though

 

It's a tense but thrilling moment in the development of any new car: the day on which its engineers finally hand the keys over to someone outside the project for a critical, independent assessment. For us at McLaren, that moment came at the end of January in southern Portugal, at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, known simply as Portimão. The global press drive won't take place until early summer but a small group of journalists from some of the world's most respected car magazines were invited to test our new MP4-12C on the track and surrounding public roads. The four cars at Portimão were still production prototypes, excused their duties from our exhaustive test programme at the IDIADA track near Barcelona; I drove one down to Portugal myself. I suspect that few car makers would have given the press access to their prototypes, but we felt that the cars were ready, and we knew that enthusiasts around the world were keen to find out how our new car feels to drive.

 

In this, our second e-briefing, we'll take you behind the scenes at the Portimão test, give you a sneak preview of what one independent expert thought, and reveal the views of another very special tester; someone used to driving one of the few cars that's faster than the 12C.

 

And today we're revealing the 12C's official performance figures. We're proud to bring you the news first, and I hope you'll be impressed. But the 12C has always been about more than simple, straight-line speed; our intention from the outset was to produce a complete, perfectly-resolved, high-performance sports car. At Portimão, we asked some of the world's toughest critics if we've achieved that. We were delighted by their response, but it's your reaction that really counts.

 

Kind Regards

Antony Sheriff

Managing Director, McLaren Automotive Limited

 

 

Do you think in miles or kilometres? Either way, the 12C's performance figures are breathtaking. It will accelerate to 60mph in three seconds dead when fitted with the optional Corsa tyres; 0-100kph is dealt with in 3.1 seconds, or 3.3 seconds on standard tyres. 200kph comes up in 8.9 seconds, or 9.1 seconds on standard tyres. That's faster even than McLaren's seminal F1 road car, a car that redefined fast in 1993 and cost at least £540,000. Top speed is 330kph, or 205mph. Aided by the Airbrake, the 12C stops as hard as it goes, decelerating from 100kph to standstill in just 30.5m, or less than seven car lengths.

 

 

Most car launches use routes and circuits designed to flatter the car. Not this one. McLaren's engineers chose Portimão and the surrounding roads because they challenged the 12C. The circuit, a thrilling mix of fast, blind corners and tight hairpins allowed the testers to work their way through the 12C's impressive technical arsenal: like the Brake Steer system, developed for F1 but banned because it was so effective, braking the inside rear wheel through corners to suck the nose tight into the apex, or the pre-cog system on the new SSG seven-speed gearbox that allows you to pre-load the clutch by part-pulling the hinged, F1-style paddle shifter, making the actual shift virtually instantaneous when you issue the command. And the road route beyond the circuit was designed to be just as tough, if a little slower, deliberately taking in tight, potholed roads through a village to demonstrate the 12C's all-road visibility, and show that the ProActive Chassis Control system that holds the 12C so flat on the track delivers limo-like ride comfort too.

 

 

The car soon starts delivering what Ron Dennis promised: performance from half a segment or a segment above where the 12C's price suggests it competes. That turbo torque – constant between 3000 and 7000rpm – means you don't have to work for it or wait for it. You get an instant tightening of the chest, an adrenalized, fight-or-flight physiological response; the concern that you've crossed the line from fast to too fast, that as a driver you might not be up to the job. The change from first to second happens too quickly to analyse but the way the seven-speed, twin-clutch 'box shifts from second to third might be unmatched by any road car. It happens so fast – the rate of acceleration surging again as you drop back from the 8500rpm redline into the meat of the torque – that it ought to be violent; instead its seamlessness is disorientating.

 

 

I was just as impressed with the 12C's completeness. In auto mode, this 330kph car just bimbles off into the traffic, the gearbox changing early and imperceptibly, the ride unbelievably compliant over bad surfaces, the visibility perfect both past the narrow A-pillars and even backwards. Despite being so low, the headroom is huge; the cabin feels airy and the driving position is straight and perfect. Frankly, it doesn't feel like a supercar at all. Aren't there supposed to be compromises? Aren't you meant to hit your head on the way in, and suffer some contorted driving position, and live in constant fear of scraping a flank on a pillar? Not in this car. McLaren's official spokespeople have been wary of over-promising. The one thing they did promise was a broader range of ability than any other supercar, and that, they've delivered. This is a supercar you'll feel comfortable in faster, and drive faster sooner, than any other."

 

 

 

The Portimão session attracted one very well-known tester: Jenson Button, here to see how the car had developed since the last test. After some very hot laps, he sat down for a long meeting with the 12C's engineers for a debrief. "The guys working on this project really know what they're doing, but for track use I think our input as racers has been useful," he said. "It's the small things. For instance, I asked them to look at the 'click' action on the shifters and they've made it much more positive.

 

"You would expect me to say this but I honestly don't know another car you could drive like this on the track, but be comfortable in on the road. The brakes are amazing – you can just jump straight on them and they're there, just like our F1 cars. So is the handling. I love this Brake Steer function that just sucks the car into the corner." And he talks about how he's configured his personal 12C. "Black paint, black wheels, black cabin, red brake calipers and red stitching on the seats. It looks terrifying."

in original format

 

I'm getting a hard-on.

10.9@135 stock.... Minimal mods... ecu..exhaust.. air filters and warranty stays in tact.. Time to go hunting for TTG's on pump gas.. This car is going to rock it out... If Lambo doesnt turn to turbos soon, they are going to be left soo far behind the competition that they will be all but a distant memory. Ill buy myself a Countach to remember them by..

 

Since I love my 458 soo much I need to hurry up and make more money so I can trade in the Porsche!

 

Its funny though, both Alex and I were talking yesterday that with some of recent purchases we have realised that we should of switched long ago.. Our love of Lambo kept our eyes closed to the fact that other cars are truly ahead of the game..

i'll save space, autoblog write up; article

starts with Could This Be The Best Performance Car In The World Today?

im happy that you love your new car, but to say other cars are ahead of the game long ago is not true. what cars are ahead of the lambo in the under 500k range before 2009? i do agree that with the new 458, mclaren, 998, turbo s, etc. that Lambo has to catch up fast. but they do have the 700 that is right around the corner and the new G will be out sooner than we know it. lets not forget the G is a 7yr old plaform that has been doing pretty well over the years, especially with the 1k HP TT's running around literally bullet proof.

 

0-60mph in 3 flat, that has to be one of the fastest 0-60 ever for a rwd production car.

Top Gear got it. Not sure if this is old news or not.

 

Top Gear review

im happy that you love your new car, but to say other cars are ahead of the game long ago is not true. what cars are ahead of the lambo in the under 500k range before 2009? i do agree that with the new 458, mclaren, 998, turbo s, etc. that Lambo has to catch up fast. but they do have the 700 that is right around the corner and the new G will be out sooner than we know it. lets not forget the G is a 7yr old plaform that has been doing pretty well over the years, especially with the 1k HP TT's running around literally bullet proof.

Well as an example.. Alex's 599 vs his Murcielago... He said the 599 drives better, built better, shifts better.. thats 07 to 07...

 

AND if you ask anyone who has taken these motors appart, say Alex from SP, or UGR or anyone they will tell you that the actuallity is that the Fcar (motor) is better put together .

 

Sorry, the Lp700 is outdated before it arrives.. Its a blend of all aspects of old styling wise..murci,gallardo and revolting.. It will no doubt be a better car than what it is replacing but it will NOT be a world beater.. There have already been initial test drives of the car given to journalists world wide, and the initial Mclaren reports have just surfaced.. How many of the Lambo reports started with saying it was the WORLDS BEST CAR?

 

Inmo, Lambos only hope is the next Gallardo.. if they drop the ball on that ( problem is with whats available now, the Gallardo will have to immidietely outperform the Lp700) then they are sunk.. Dont forget once the new G drops, so will the new Porsche Turbo.. with current cars hitting 2.6 to 60 and 10.6 in the 1/4 the new cars will not be SLOWER... The manufacturers jumping on forced induction are going to be world leaders.. Hell look at my 458.. In the few short runs we did.. more of a real world run 1st to 3rd gear and the 458 couldnt get away from my old Porsche which is slower than a stock new Turbo S..

IMO i would take a LP640 over any 599 all day long! The G has beat the competition year after year until recently (even you have been a big fan)

for anyone that has seen the new LP700 will agree that it is one of the nicest exotics to ever hit the street period. (and im sure the performance will be equally as impressive). im 99% sure the factory wont let us down with new 700 and the new G. i have lambo tattoed on my arm for now, but only time will tell if they can stack up.

IMO i would take a LP640 over any 599 all day long! The G has beat the competition year after year until recently (even you have been a big fan)

for anyone that has seen the new LP700 will agree that it is one of the nicest exotics to ever hit the street period. (and im sure the performance will be equally as impressive). im 99% sure the factory wont let us down with new 700 and the new G. i have lambo tattoed on my arm for now, but only time will tell if they can stack up.

 

I owned both an LP640 and a 599, and I liked the Lp640 much better.

Well when i put the GTT up for sale, I went and drove Alexs TT Murci.. I thought for sure it would be my replacement. Although the car looks great, the TT system was incredible... I immidietely knew that no way was it for me.. Felt like going backwards 15 years..

IMO i would take a LP640 over any 599 all day long! The G has beat the competition year after year until recently (even you have been a big fan)

for anyone that has seen the new LP700 will agree that it is one of the nicest exotics to ever hit the street period. (and im sure the performance will be equally as impressive). im 99% sure the factory wont let us down with new 700 and the new G. i have lambo tattoed on my arm for now, but only time will tell if they can stack up.

im willing to bet that the lp700s performance will be at the lower end of the spectrum in all but top speed..