Where to start with the re-launch of McLaren as a road car brand? Forget about the Mercedes-badged SLR McLaren; anything Ron Dennis's McLaren Automotive Group does will be compared first and foremost with the McLaren F1. It's somewhat promising then that McLaren's first detailed information about its new supercar - to be called the MP4-12C - doesn't shy away from such comparisons.
One glance at the uncluttered lines of the new 12C (McLaren's own shorthand, not ours) reveals that Frank Stephenson, McLaren's Design Director, took more than a little inspiration from the F1, though he makes no excuses for that: "The 12C does not reproduce the F1 design but it unashamedly builds on its functionally-driven engineering and design highlights such as the large, deep windscreen and the low cowl to give the driver good visibility for accurate placement on the road. Any similarities are there for a reason."
Some will call the MP4-12C conservative, but McLaren is adamant that it's very much a 'form follows function' design. That explains the notably compact shape, in a marketplace dominated by ultra-wide cars. This has been made possible by the 12C's single most impressive innovation (of which there are many), which is a one-piece carbon fibre chassis moulding - McLaren has christened it the 'Carbon MonoCell'. Not only does this significantly reduce weight and allow for a smaller car, it is also very strong and very rigid.
Sounds like the perfect base on which to bolt a supercar's suspension. McLaren hasn't skimped here, replacing the traditional anti-roll bars with a hydraulic roll control system it calls 'Proactive Chassis Control', which apparently has the ability to deliver 'compliance and ride comfort more akin to an executive saloon car.' That's quite a claim, especially when every other aspect of the MP4-12C seems to be geared towards toppling the likes of the new Ferrari 458 Italia...
Helping the McLaren in that aim is a new mid-mounted 3.8-litre V8, which utilises two turbochargers to produce about 600bhp and 443lb.ft of torque (600Nm). Like every single component in the 12C, this engine is bespoke to McLaren. Same goes for a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission McLaren has named the Seamless Shift Gearbox (SSG).
Our favourite part of this is a new function some clever clogs has called 'Pre-Cog'. Gears are selected by use of a rocker-style paddle switch mounted to the steering column, but its movement has a subtle extra stage that allows the driver to forewarn the gearbox of the next ratio and hence significantly speed up the change.
Elsewhere the cockpit is relatively conventional - if well laid out - and McLaren has strived to incorporate some practicality into the car. As you'd expect, there are plenty of ways to customise the driving experience, with the 'Active Dynamics Panel' featuring buttons for launch control and a safe-as-houses 'Winter' mode along with two rotary switches in which the powertrain and chassis can be adjusted to the owner's liking. You'll have noticed that the 12C does not feature the three-seat layout of its predecessor, but it does retain the snazzy dihedral doors.
Entry to the new McLaren owners' club is likely to cost in the region of £160,000 - £170,000, though we won't know that, and the final performance figures, until closer to the car's 2011 on-sale date. Start saving.
Shane O' Donoghue - 9 Sep 2009
