What's the news?

McLaren has announced details of the second member of its supercar family - the MP4-12C Spider. The 625hp open-top 12C is available to order now, priced from £195,500 with first deliveries planned for November this year.

Exterior

A big question about the 12C Spider was how McLaren would resolve the problem of cutting off the roof and also where to stow it when opened. The answer appears to be that the 12C was always designed to be a Spider model and that the car's carbon fibre 'MonoCell' required none of the additional strengthening normally associated with drop-top models. That means the Spider is only 40kg heavier than its coupé sibling and boasts near identical performance.

The roof itself, as expected, is a tri-folding affair that McLaren is calling a 'unique retractable hard top'. Capable of operating at speeds up to 19mph the hard top takes 17 seconds to raise or lower and cleverly is stowed under a designated tonneau panel that does not encroach on the 12C's see-through engine cover.

Interior

Behind the passenger compartment sits a rear window that can be electronically lowered and raised. With the roof lowered this acts as wind deflector to minimise disturbance to the 12C Spider's occupants. With the roof raised the rear window can be lowered, allowing the noise of the 12C Spider's V8 twin-turbo engine to flood the cabin - as Audi does with the R8 Spyder.

With the roof raised the area under the tonneau can be used as an additional luggage area, which provides 52 litres of useful storage space. McLaren even supplies bespoke luggage - which has been specifically designed to fit this space - as standard with every 12C Spider.

A Roll Over Protection System has also been built into the car with the buttresses containing a steel structure designed to absorb impact energy and protect both driver and passenger.

Mechanicals

The 12C Spider receives the upgrade package that was recently rolled out for the coupé meaning its 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine produces 625hp. Due to the marginal weight gain the Spider has the exact same 0-62mph time of the coupé (3.1 seconds) and is only three miles an hour slower at the top end - 204mph top speed as opposed to 207mph.

Vehicle dynamics technology including Brake Steer, ProActive Chassis Control and the unique McLaren Airbrake are all included.

Anything else?

McLaren is ramping up the personalisation options for the 12C Spider with a new colour - Volcano Red - one of 17 exterior paint finishes available. The 2013 upgrades also bring with them an upgraded interior, new wheel options and the Vehicle Lift system that can raise or lower the ride height of the car at the flick of a switch.

Prospective customers and dreamers alike can configure their ideal 12C Spider on the new configurator that is available at: www.configure.mclaren.com.