McLaren P12 Supercar Concept to Bow at Paris Motor Show: Limited Production to Follow

Given the recent success of the McLaren MP4-12C model, the world has been anxiously awaiting the spiritual successor to the famous McLaren F1. While we’ll have to wait until the 2012 Paris Motor Show for all the full details, the British automaker has revealed a small glimpse of what to expect from its P12 supercar concept.

The concept will be making its way to the auto show in France later this month, and McLaren has revealed that it will go on sale as a limited edition model. There are even rumors that the automaker will simply call it ‘P1’ – a homage to the F1 nameplate. As for how many P12s (or P1s) will be sold, that will largely be based on demand and how long it’ll take the to build each one. One thing it did confirm though is that there will be no more than 500 of them around the world once all is said and done.

What will be shown off at the auto show however will be an extreme version of what the P12 is capable of being, and will be powered by the same 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V8 powerplant as the MP4-12C. Though it’s expected that it’ll get plenty more power thanks to a more aggressive tune. But horsepower figures is hardly what McLaren is worried about. Its P12 is destined to handle like a monster with “the world’s best aerodynamics”, according to Ian Gorsuch, regional director of McLaren for the Asia Pacific.

The ultimate goal of the P12 concept however isn’t to just garner plenty of media attention and leave consumers wondering if it’ll ever become a reality. McLaren is committed to producing what will be on display later this month, and it looks to be one extreme supercar.

“We are not revealing the power yet, but we don’t get into the game of competing on numbers,” Gorsuch says. “This is going to be extreme in technology: how it delivers power, how it handles. Technology is delivering performance with finesse.”

[Source: Inside McLaren]