McLaren takes on Ferrari with 'affordable' £150,000 supercar dubbed 'F1 car for the road'

By Ray Massey

Pulling off the dust-sheets to reveal the car were Formula One drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. McLaren aims to make the £150,000 MP4-12C Britain's answer to Italy's legendary Ferrari

A gull-winged 200mph supercar dubbed 'an F1 car for the road' was launched yesterday by UK racing specialists McLaren.

The cars will be made in a new £40million factory designed by Sir Norman Foster and will create 300 jobs.

The £150,000 McLaren MP4-12C is Britain's answer to Italy's legendary Ferrari and is the long-held dream of boss Ron Dennis to produce an 'affordable' supercar with the greenest credentials.

Pulling off the dust-sheets to reveal the car were Formula One drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

Using a one-piece carbon-fibre chassis McLaren plan to offer the car for around half the £300,000 price tag that would normally be expected of a car of this calibre.

A 32,000 square metre plant at Woking in Surrey will be completed in 12 months to produce the high-performance MP4-12C car and is a welcome boost to Britain's waning car manufacturing sector.

The car industry has suffered a collapse in sales since 2008 but McLaren is confident it can claim a share of the high-end sports car market.

McLaren expects to make up to 1,000 cars in 2011 with annual manufacturing of vehicles reaching around 4,000 by the middle of the decade.

The company plans to sell the 12C through McLaren retailers in 19 countries, with North America expected to account for around 30 to 40 per cent of the market.

With aerodynamic styling designed to keep it on the ground at high speed, the new McLaren two-seater will accelerate from rest to 60mph in just 3.4 seconds.

It is powered by a massive 3.8 litre V8 twin turbo engine which develops 600 brake-horse-power of pulling power - equivalent to about six Ford Fiestas.


The Formula One drivers unveiled the supercar at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking


The company plans to sell the 12C in 19 countries, with North America expected to account for around 30 to 40 per cent of the market


McLaren Automotive chairman Ron Dennis said: 'We have long held the dream of building a range of McLaren high-performance sports cars that take the raw elements of Formula 1 principles, processes and performance and forge them into a unique package - one that offers customer-focused requirements of quality, efficiency, comfort and reliability.

'Today's announcements confirm our intention to challenge convention at the highest levels of automotive design, from a hi-tech home that I am proud to say will deliver jobs, expertise and innovation in manufacturing and engineering.'

The new McLaren uses lightweight aluminium and carbon fibre to keep weight down and performance high.

Average fuel consumption is expected to be around 22mpg but emissions of carbon dioxide - the so-called greenhouse gas blamed for global warming - will be below 300g/km.

As you would expect from a company that has been at the pinnacle of Grand Prix racing, the new road car includes many hi-tech spin-offs from the world of F1.


Hi-tech fabric in the bucket seats 'breathes' to help driver and passenger stay comfortable


That includes seven speed F1-style paddle-shift with intuitive gears - dubbed 'pre-cog' for pre-cognition.


The so-called 'seamless-shift gearbox' system pre-selects the gear before you shift to it.

The aerodynamic styling and flat underside creates massive downforce to give great roadholding and prevent car from taking off like an aircraft.

The driver and passenger are protected inside a strong but superlight carbon fibre mono-cell or 'tub' as used in F1 cars.

The whole structure weighs just 81kg - about the same weight as an average man.

Giant side air scoops are designed to cool engine and powerful brakes. The hi-tech fabric in the bucket seats 'breathes' to help driver and passenger stay comfortable.

Buttons and dials are kept simple and to a minimum, and there is a seven inch dashboard touchscreen.

For life out on the open road, the new car also has parking sensors, cruise control, and optional sat-nav.

Lifting the gull-wing upwards and forwards is designed to help driver and passenger get in and out more easily - especially in tighter parking spots.

The new McLaren aims to take on key rivals including the brand new Ferrari 458, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911 Turbo, Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin DB9.

In the wake of yesterday's £2billion Government boost for the motor industry, Conservative Shadow Business Secretary Kenneth Clarke said their own research showed that up to 96 per cent of Labour flagship recession-busting funding worth more than £1/2billion has been directed to Labour constituencies.



source: dailymail