The McLaren MP4-12C, also simply called the 12C, is a sports car designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. It is the first production car wholly designed and built by McLaren since the McLaren F1 in 1998. The car's final design was unveiled in September 2009, and was launched in mid-2011.
The MP4-12C features a carbon fibre composite chassis, and is powered by a mid-mounted McLaren M838T 3.8-litre V8, twin-turbo engine developing approximately 616 bhp and around 443 lb·ft of torque. The car makes use of Formula 1-sourced technologies such as "brake steer", where the inside rear wheel is braked during fast cornering to reduce understeer. Power is transmitted to the wheels through a seven-speed seamless Shift dual-clutch gearbox.
In 2008, McLaren hired Frank Stephenson as design director for their reborn production car project.
As with the McLaren F1, carbon fibre is used extensively in the vehicle to minimise weight. The MP4-12C weighs 1,301 kg dry.
The chassis is based around a F1 style one-piece carbon fibre tub, called the Carbon MonoCell, weighing only 80 kg. The MonoCell is made in a single pressing by using a set of patented processes, using Bi-Axial and Tri-Axial carbon fibre multiaxial fabrics produced by Formax UK Ltd. with the MonoCell manufactured by Carbo Tech in Salzburg, Austria. This has reduced the time required to produce a MonoCell from 3,000 hours for the F1 and 500 hours for the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, to 4 hours for the MP4-12C.
The car has a conventional two side-by-side seating arrangement, unlike its predecessor the McLaren F1 which featured an irregular three seat formation. To make up for this however, the car's central console is narrower than in other cars, seating the driver closer to the centre. Interior trim and materials can be specified in asymmetric configuration – known as "Driver Zone".
The car is powered by the M838T 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8 engine, designed and developed by McLaren in partnership with Ricardo. The design of the engine was based on a racing engine which was designed and developed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing for the IRL Indy Car Championship but never raced. However, other than the 93 mm bore, little of that engine remains in the M838T. It produces 592 bhp and 443 lb·ft of torque. It has a redline of 8,500 rpm, with 80% of torque available at just 2,000 rpm. When first announced, McLaren claimed that it would have a higher horsepower to carbon dioxide emission ratio than any internal-combustion engine available at the time.
McLaren announced a small number of improvements to become available in October 2012, with the option to be retrofitted to existing cars free of charge. The engine now produces 616 bhp and no change to the CO2 emissions which remain at 279 g/km. This power output has also become standard on the 2013 model.
The engine is connected to a seven-speed automatic dual-clutch gearbox made in Italy by Graziano. Dubbed the "Seamless Shift Gearbox" or SSG, the gearbox features a system dubbed "Pre-Cog" that allows the driver to preselect the next gear by lightly tapping the paddle.
McLaren have stated the MP4-12C can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and 0 to 200 km/h in 8.9 seconds. The car has a top speed of 207 mph and can brake from 200 km/h to a complete stop in under 5 seconds. Braking from 100 km/h to zero can be done in under 30 metres, around seven car lengths.
Produced at the new £50m McLaren Production Centre, which is located next to the existing award winning McLaren Technology Centre in Surrey, the building is designed to serve as the future production site of McLaren Automotive's road cars. British Prime Minister David Cameron officially opened the building on 18 November 2011.
All of the major components are produced by external contractors, with only final assembly, paint and inspection/shipping occurring at the McLaren Production Centre. Final assembly starts with the MonoCell, around which all components are then placed and fitted.
On 10 July 2011, the MP4-12C set the second fastest lap around Top Gear's test track, posting a time of 1 minute and 16.2 seconds. The car was developed and tested by McLaren on the Top Gear test track as part of their product development, long before its appearance on the show. It was 1.1 seconds slower than the Ariel Atom 500 with the third fastest lap and 2.4 seconds slower than the Pagani Huayra with the fastest lap.
However, the MP4-12C finished second behind the Ferrari 458 Italia in Car Magazine's July 2011 group test. It placed third behind the 458 and Porsche 911 GT2 RS in the lap times set at Rockingham Speedway by racing driver Ben Collins. At an EVO magazine test it was over a second slower than the Ferrari around the Bedford Autodrome West track, it was also slower in Fifth Gear and Car Magazine. The MP4-12C also lapped the Nürburgring in 7 minutes and 28 seconds.
The 12C recently won the Middle East "Car of the Year" Award as "Best Supercar" and overall "Car of the Year" at the Middle East Motor Awards.
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