McLaren raises the bar

Every part of the 12C has been designed with the river in mind, starting with the one-piece carbon-fibre structure. Photo / Supplied

Every part of the 12C has been designed with the driver in mind, starting with the one-piece carbon-fibre structure.McLaren Automotive has unveiled its latest MP4-12C supercar at a knees-up in California, the first leg of a world tour to promote the car itself and a new range of sporty flyers the company will roll out over the next five years.

The 12C was the star attraction at the glitzy Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, down the coast from San Francisco. Among the 1000 hand-picked guests were California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and television host and car collector, Jay Leno.

The carmaker then moved the road show south to movie capital Los Angeles, where 300 guests pored over the 12C at a new McLaren dealership in Beverley Hills, on A-list street Wilshire Boulevard.

Similar showings will be held at 10 venues in the US and Canada before the car heads for Australia and its only scheduled Downunder appearance. A new McLaren dealership is being built in Sydney.

McLaren's North American dealers will begin selling the MP4-12C from July next year. It is expected to be priced between US$225,000 and US$250,000, or NZ$320,000 and NZ$355,000.

The 12C is unlikely to make a passing appearance in small market New Zealand, if only to honour McLaren's roots. The company was founded by New Zealand Formula One and CanAm racer Bruce McLaren.

"New Zealand is not a priority for McLaren, even though they recognise that the McLaren Automotive name started in New Zealand," said industry figurehead Colin Giltrap.

The 12C is the first production car in the world with a one-piece carbon-fibre structure. Starting with the chassis, every component has been designed around the driver, says the company.

Bespoke technologies include Proactive Chassis Control, Seamless Shift dual-clutch Gearbox (SSG), Brake Steer and the 12C's unique Airbrake feature, developed using Formula One simulator technology.

Brake Steer is a development of the device fitted to McLaren's 1997 MP4/12 Formula One car. It brakes the inside rear wheel for better cornering control. Other top-end carmakers use a similar system.

The 12C is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 engine developed by British go-fast specialist Ricardo and driving the rear wheels via a seven-speed duel-clutch gearbox.

McLaren claims the V8 delivers 442kW/600Nm and propels the 1300kg two-seater from zero to 100km/h in 3.7 sceconds and on to 200km/h in under 10 seconds. Top speed is on the other side of 325km/h, or upwards of 200mph.

The 12C has a 2670mm wheelbase and is 4507mm long, 1908mm wide and 1199mm high. Front/rear weight distribution is 43/57. McLaren says the once-piece chassis (it weighs 80kg) moulding is more cost-effective than the practice of bonding several components together but offers the many advantages of carbon composite, like light weight, strength and torsional rigidity.

McLaren company chief Ron Dennis has pledged that the 12C will be the fastest car money can buy, backed by the highest build quality and one of the most complete aftersales service packages.

Long term, McLaren wants to sell a "range of around 4000 high-performance sportscars" by 2015, or about 4 per cent of the global market for such cars.

The company has admitted the range includes two further models: a Porsche 911 rival and a replacement for the McLaren F1, the world's fastest naturally-aspirated car.

"We intend to have a diverse product range but they will all have two seats," said Dennis, who left Formula One to head 12C development. "This is our heritage - we are sportscar-makers and the engine will be in the back of all our cars."