McLaren pioneered the use of carbon composite construction in the 1981 Formula 1 MP4/1 model and set a trend that all Formula 1 teams have followed. The heart of the new car is the Carbon MonoCell. “Forget what you know about sports car companies, McLaren is different,” he concluded. And to achieve this result, we designed every component from scratch to meet the extreme goals of the 12C and avoid any compromise.” Indeed, the 12C offers performance and technology that exceeds that of the world’s most expensive and sophisticated supercars, while competing in a much more accessible market segment. So, when we embarked on the 12C project, we wanted to re-write the rules of sports car design. “The next step was to construct a range of pure McLaren high performance sports cars that are true to the company’s philosophy and reflect our position as an absolute technology and performance leader. “McLaren is already a car maker with maturity and experience, having produced iconic cars such as the F1,” said Antony Sheriff, McLaren Automotive Managing Director. It goes on sale through a dedicated, worldwide retailer network in early 2011. The 12C is pure McLaren, featuring no carryover parts from any other car, and will be produced by McLaren in the UK. The first car from the new company, the McLaren MP4-12C, is a high performance two-seat mid-engine model in the ‘core’ sports car market segment for cars costing between £125,000 and £175,000. The 12C, and future variants, draws on the spirit of Formula 1 and delivers real-world technological advances.” This combination of McLaren’s performance heritage, and future demands on what is expected of high performance sports cars in the 21st century, gave us a head-start when we embarked on this project. Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal of McLaren’s racing team highlighted the integral part that McLaren’s motorsport and road car experience played in developing the 12C: “McLaren has for years offered a potent mix of race car and road car technologies. This step change in sports car design means that the 12C introduces new standards not just in handling, ride and outright performance, but also safety, economy and practicality in an already competitive sector. Incorporating the leading edge technologies that the McLaren Group has built up within its various companies, I believe we are now perfectly placed to open up this new chapter in McLaren’s history as well as play a part in the regeneration of high-tech manufacturing in the UK and global automotive environment,” he concluded.Īt its heart, the McLaren MP4-12C features a revolutionary carbon fibre chassis structure, the Carbon MonoCell: the first time a car in this market segment is based around such a strong and lightweight racing car engineering solution and the first time any car has ever featured a one-piece carbon fibre structure. “We began designing and building cars for aficionados of thoroughbred sports cars almost 20 years ago. “It is a long-held dream of mine to launch high performance sports cars that set new standards in the industry,” said Dennis. McLaren Automotive now looks to the future with a new range of revolutionary sports cars. Through a rich modern history, McLaren’s automotive division has already built the world’s most critically acclaimed supercar, the McLaren F1 (1993-1998) and the world’s best-selling luxury supercar, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (2003-2009). The rules in the sports car world are about to be re-written. Twenty years of sports car design, engineering and production combined with inspirational success in Formula 1 have driven Ron Dennis, McLaren Automotive Chairman, to announce his plans for the ultimate line-up of technology-led and customer-focused performance cars for the 21st century. The 12C, and future models within the range, will challenge the world’s best sports cars, benefiting from the expertise and virtuosity of the McLaren Group. The McLaren MP4-12C is revealed as the first in a range of high-performance sports cars from McLaren Automotive, the independent car division based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England.
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