McLaren is hard at work on its next supercar and Ron Dennis, the British automaker’s current boss has revealed several details of the spiritual successor to the F1.

First off, Dennis made it a point that McLaren has no plans of reclaiming the title of world’s fastest car. Trying to beat the F1′s top speed of 243-mph or the Bugatti Veyron’s new record of 267.81-mph, is not a goal for its new model. “Don’t get fixated by top speed. That’s the first thing you have to discard in today’s society,” Dennis said at the opening of a new dealership in Sydney, Australia.

What is a goal for McLaren’s next project is to be the world’s most technologically advanced supercar fit to take on the creations from Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini. Dennis hopes that the next supercar will have “many things on it that don’t exist at the moment.”

What he did confirm about the new supercar is that it will share the same carbon fiber central structure of the MP4-12C, that will also be used on a cheaper model to slide in under the existing MP4-12C. Quantities will be low volume, between 300 to 500, with pricing set to be more expensive than the 12C. It’s clear that Dennis has very high hopes for this new model, saying that it will be “a big quantum leap and very different to this car [MP4-12C].”

The British automaker looks to modify their existing 3.8L twin-turbo V8 for the new vehicle, seeking more performance with the possibility of adding a hybrid system in order to boost performance and fuel efficiency. Inside, it will sport a conventional two-seater layout as opposed to the F1′s three-seater setup.

One thing is for sure, the exterior design of this new model will be drastically different than the existing MP4-12C. We can’t wait to see what they have in the works.

[Source: Drive - Sydney Morning Herald]

It’s the first, but it most certainly won’t be the last. Known for its wild aero kits, Swiss-tuner Fab Design has unveiled an excessively-styled version of the new McLaren MP4-12C supercar.

Scheduled to make its official reveal tomorrow during the opening press day of the Geneva Motor Show, we’ve obtained a selection of shots prior to the big day.

We’ll be the first to admit the McLaren, while an amazing super sports car, is less than super in the looks department. Still, it’s hard not to think Fab Design has taken the styling a step too far.

Modified McLarens are set to become a theme of this year’s Geneva show with two other tuners set to reveal their renditions as well. And if you don’t like the Fab Design car, be warned, these two companies aren’t known for being tame: Mansory and Gemballa.

Click here for complete 2012 Geneva Motor Show coverage.

GALLERY: Fab Design McLaren MP4-12C

In January, a very special and previously unknown McLaren MP4-12C was found inside a luxury car dealership in Miami without details or fanfare.

Known as the McLaren MP4-12C HS (for High Sport), it immediately grabbed our attention with its dramatic aero enhancements, rear wing, and wheels. McLaren also managed squeezed an additional 75-hp, bumping the performance of its 3.8-liter V8 engine. Unfortunately, McLaren only built 5 High Sport models and all have already been spoken for.

As small consolation, the official photographer of McLaren Special Operations just shared new images from a photo session with all five examples. Check it out!

GALLERY: MP4-12C HS

[Source: Autoblog]

World famous tuner Gemballa will be heading to this year’s Geneva Motor Show with three world premieres, one of which is a custom McLaren MP4-12C. Alongside the McLaren will be four Porsche projects, two of which are world premieres.

Few details were revealed by Gemballa, but they did say the McLaren project would feature bespoke carbon fiber components with 20-inch wheels up front and 21-inch wheels in the rear. The McLaren MP4-12C race car pictured above might give us a sneak preview to what we can expect at the show.

The other two world premieres is a new 991 Porsche 911 model, and a new custom Cayenne. The 991 will feature new carbon fiber goodies, a unique six-pipe exhaust and 21-inch wheels. The Cayenne will have a new modular aerodynamic kit made from carbon fiber and a set of 22-inch wheels.

The other two vehicles that will be in attendance at the Gemballa booth will be model highlights. The Gemballa Mistrale with 721-hp along with the widebody Gemballa Tornado.

The McLaren MP4-12C already feels like it’s been around for a few years, but only recently did customers across North America begin taking delivery of their British supercars.

To help celebrate the occasion, McLaren has produced a video, documenting the arrival of dozens of the exotics arriving at port in Baltimore, MD, and being delivered to key markets, and owners, across the U.S.

Powered by a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 engine, the MP4-12C makes 592 hp and thanks to a light weight carbon fiber “MonoCell” chassis is capable of hitting 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds.

“This film is exciting as it represents the arrival of McLaren Automotive in North America,” said Tony Joseph, McLaren Automotive North America Regional Director. “We are thrilled to be launching with the 12C, which is such a tremendously innovative car, and we look forward to building a long term future.”

McLaren current has 10 dealerships in North America in cities such as Beverly Hills, Greenwish, Dallas, Miami, Chicago, Newport Beach, San Francisco and Toronto. The base price for the 12C is listed at $229,000.

Watch the video below:

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When tuning company Hennessey Performance out of Sealy, Texas makes an announcement, it’s usually something fantastic. In this case, they posted details on their site about a new McLaren MP4-12C concept that wrings an extra 208 horsepower out of the car’s 3.8-liter V8.

They manage the incredible feat by performing major surgery on  the drivetrain, dropping in everything from a better intercooler, exhaust, air intake and much more into the mix. Of course, the company backs all its tweaking with a warranty. Click here for the full specs.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Hennessey without a wickedly redefined look. As per ususal, that philosophy is alive and well. The car will get a new set of wheels, a CarbonAero body upgrade that compliments the wheel color and delivers a two-tone look and a redesigned custom interior.

Normally such an awesome machine wouldn’t be a laughing matter, but we have to make fun of the Texan lads a little. They claim on their site to have taken the MP4-12C from “mild to wild.”

While we don’t doubt the concept’s capacity for rambunctious hoonage, calling anything bearing the McLaren badge “mild” is a little like saying habanero  peppers are tangy. Sorry Hennessey.

There aren’t price details listed yet, but this is just a concept car. In case you hadn’t already figured it out, this is one of those cases where having to ask the price means you can’t afford to play. If this one makes it to market, expect a healthy margin on top of the $229,000 base price for the mild version.

Whittled down from all the cars in the world, a group of 66 automotive journalists from across the globe have released their top 10 picks for the 2012 World Car of the Year and World Performance Car.

That list, which will be further narrowed this month, is initially selected by secret ballot and then submitted for re-evaluation by the panel.

Members then have a chance to rate each car based on overall merit, value, safety, environmental responsibility, emotional appeal, and significance. The top three are then scheduled to be announced March 6 at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show during a press conference.

The 2011 World Car of the Year was the Nissan Leaf, while the World Performance Car was the Ferrari 458 Italia. What we’re most curious about this year is the fact that the Porsche 911 made it into both categories.

The 2012 World Performance Car finalists are:

• Audi RS 3 Sportback
• BMW 1 Series M Coupé
• BMW M5
• Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
• Ferrari FF
• Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4
• McLaren MP4-12C
• Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG
• Mercedes-Benz C-63 Coupe AMG Black Series
• Porsche 911

The 2012 World Car of the Year finalists are:

• Audi A6 Sedan / Avant
• Audi Q3
• BMW 1 Series
• BMW 3 Series
• Chevrolet Volt / Opel/Vauxhall Ampera
• Citroen DS5
• Ford Focus
• Land Rover Evoque
• Porsche 911
• Volkswagen Up!

Be sure to tune in for our coverage of the 2012 Geneva Auto Show, where we’ll be bringing you the latest. Also, let us know what you think of both lists in the comments section below.

When the McLaren MP4-12C debuted, it was seen as a disappointment by many. Certainly the car’s performance was amazing, but not the Bugatti-beating numbers some had expected. That’s because it was never built as a Veyron rival but rather a Ferrari 458 killer. A proper successor to the McLaren F1 would come, however, and according to a new report by CAR Magazine, it will launch some time this year.

Powering the car, code named the P12, will be an up-rated version of the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 used in the MP4-12C, with one important change – KERS. Yes, the newest McLAren machine will utilize a kinetic energy recovery system, generating power under baking and then making that energy available in the form of electric boost on demand.

As for the chassis, it will reportedly be a similar structure to the MP4-12C as well, but with an even higher use of carbon for minimum weight.

Styling for the vehicle is said to be vastly more dramatic than the 12C (we certainly hope so), but with a conventional side-by-side cockpit, rather than a three-seat layout like the F1.

Pricing is said to be around $1.2 million.

[Source: CAR]

A bit of a surprise has appeared on the Internet, with a McLaren MP4-12C High Sport model making an appearance at The Collection in Miami, Florida. The McLaren MP4-12C HS features improved aerodynamics inspired by their GT3 racecar which allows the MP4-12C to benefit from extra boost safely, increasing horsepower by 75 from the factory’s 592-hp.

The aero package includes a new front bumper, rear bumper, enlarged vents, bigger diffuser and a modified rear wing to go along with its new wheels. As a result, the intercoolers get plenty more cool air allowing McLaren the ability to safely turn up the boost for the extra horsepower. Only five HS models will be built according to McLaren and two have already been spoken for: one to the crown prince of Bahrain and one to McLaren chairman Ron Dennis.

We wish we knew what the MP4-12C HS retails for, but we’re guessing if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. With its extremely limited availability and the fact that it’s even more radically tuned than the standard MP4-12C, they’ll be hard to come across and will be a true collector’s item. Hopefully we’ll see one end up on the track to see just how it fares compared to the standard model.

Check out the video after the break.

[Source: Autoblog]

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McLaren is set to have their 2013 MP4-12C Spider debut sometime later this year and reports are coming in that the exotic convertible will get a fully-retractable hard top constructed from carbon fiber.

A carbon fiber hard top further adds to the sportiness of the MP4-12C, and helps save some weight from the convertible variant of McLaren’s newest sports car. It’s anticipated that the MP4-12C Spider will have the same powerplant of its Coupe variant, a 3.8L twin-turbocharged V8 with 600-hp and 440 lb-ft of torque. It’ll be mated to the same seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox that’s seen in the standard MP4-12C.

[Source: GT Spirit]

McLaren recently celebrated the opening of its new production centre in Woking, England where even British Prime Minister David Cameron was invited to take a tour. The state-of-the-art production facility is the first step in McLaren Automotive’s goal of producing several models of vehicles in the coming years.

And with the Prime Minister’s visit, McLaren also took the time to announce its next project will be the MP4-27, but did not go into any details as to whether it’ll be a successor to the legendary McLaren F1 road car, or if it’ll be the company’s next race car. They did hint that they were nine months into the development program and have already sorted 18,918 individual components from more than 3,000 different work orders and signed off on more than 5,500 technical drawings.

McLaren Automotive’s immediate goals are to roll out 35 global dealerships by the end of 2012, preparing customers’ GT3 race cars for 2012 competition, and working on the design of a range of game-changing high-performance production cars that will bring McLaren Automotive’s annual vehicle production to 4,500 by 2014.

Check out two videos of the new production centre after the break.

GALLERY: McLaren Production Centre

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Horst von Saurma, editor-in-chief of Sport Auto magazine, took McLaren’s MP4-12C out to Nurburgring for a single lap to see what the machine could do. Obviously we should all take the 7 minute and 28 second lap time with a grain of salt, considering the driver only had a single lap despite being very experienced at the ‘Ring.

McLaren did confirm that the MP4-12C was completely stock, including the factory Pirelli P-Zero Corsa rubber. It’s worth noting that the video doesn’t feature von Saurma’s MP4-12C that he lapped on the Nurburgring, but rather another car that was used on a separate lap day earlier in the year. Unfortunately that vehicle wasn’t able to complete a lap due to rain.

For comparison’s sake, the current production car record holder is the Viper ACR with a 7:12 while the MP4′s closest rival, the Ferrari 458, has a recorded best of 7:32.

Nonetheless, the video is entertaining to watch and McLaren has no plans of recording an official lap this year with their MP4-12C. (It’s a bit nippy in Germany this time of year).

Check out the video after the jump:

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Contrary to several erroneous reports, McLaren has not halted production of its MP4-12C says Tony Joseph director for McLaren North America.

Joseph is speaking out after some unsourced news stories hit the net claiming a production stoppage at the McLaren factory due to safety concerns and other issues. Speaking with AutoGuide Joseph admits that deliveries of vehicles have been put on hold for a period of three weeks. “The reasons are related to some minor electrical issues that are causing battery drainage. We do not have nor have we had any performance or safety related issues,” he said. “We have not halted production.”

McLaren produces the MP4-12C at its facility in Woking in the UK. The British exotic makes 600-hp from a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 engine and is capable of a 0-60 time of less than 3.0 seconds. Pricing for the MP4-12C is set at $225,000.

GALLERY: McLaren MP4-12C

If you are among those who feel that your upcoming McLaren MP4-12C is not special enough, then the new catalog from McLaren Special Operations would be of interest to you.

As part of this program, you can have your new supercar painted in any hue you want, and garnish it with add-ons like a gloss black roof, diamond cut wheels, MP4-12C branded carbon door sills, carbon steering wheel and plenty of other carbon bits to have your car stand out from the crowd.

McLaren launched this program at the recent Pebble Beach Concours event, where a Volcano Orange example was on display.

Paul Mackenzie, Programme Director at McLaren Automotive, with responsibility for McLaren Special Operations said: “It was a pleasure to meet some of the first 12C customers in North America at Pebble Beach.  For nearly twenty years we have been closely managing relationships with owners of the McLaren F1, and understanding their needs is a great foundation on which to launch a service that will now include 12C customers. McLaren Automotive already offers 12C customers extensive options to personalise their car.  However we recognise some owners have specific tastes and we have the knowledge and capability to design, engineer and produce almost anything a customer may desire for their 12C.”

Gallery: McLaren Special Operations

Check out the video below

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McLaren unveiled a customized MP4-12C at Pebble Beach, indicating the British automaker will offer a long line of individual options for customers. This particular McLaren features a host of new upgrades and modifications put together by the British automaker, most notable of which are the Satin Orange paint and aggressive new fenders. There are also carbon fiber bits all over the car including a windshield cowl, engine cover gilles along the outside of the glass, and a new carbon rear exhaust cover. The rims have a polished face with black painted centers and the roof panel has also been painted black. Standard options of the 12C include carbon mirrors, a carbon lower front spoiler and rear valence as well as a stealth package which blacks out the exhaust tips and wing supports.

Built on the chassis of an early validation prototype, this isn’t a oroduction car but merely a glimpse at what sort of custom options McLaren will be offering in the future to owners.

Priced at $229,000 for a standard model, the upgrades raise the asking price for this MP4-12C to around $270,000.

[Source: Team Speed]

Since it was launched, the McLaren MP4-12C has been criticized for lacking the emotional appeal of rivals such as the Ferrari 458, particularly when it comes to such aspects like exhaust note and the ‘thrill’ of acceleration.

As a result, the Woking based company has been hard at work instigating a few changes on the mid-engined machine, alterations that, according to an official statement from the company , were already in the planning stages, though the criticism has hastened their introduction.

Most of the tweaks revolve around the 12C’s Intake Sound Generator which incorporates a butterfly valve, to regulate the amount of noise entering the cabin. In track mode, said valve will now open wider, allowing drivers to experience more of the car’s V8 exhaust signature.

“It was a bit too sensible before,” declared a spokesman for McLaren. “You won’t notice the changes in normal mode, just when you’re having fun and really pushing it.”

[Source: Autocar]

Rule, Britannia, rule the waves! Britons never will be slaves! The boys of Top Gear recorded an impressive laptime around their famous test track with the McLaren MP4-12C, and if you haven’t seen the episode yet, you might want to skip ahead.

The homegrown MP4-12C beat out foreign contenders such as the Ferrari 458 Italia, the Bugatti Veyron, and the Gumpert Apollo, with a time of 1:16.2 around Dunsfold—the second fastest record on the power board.

Then again, the Top Gear folks have a thing for patriotic bias that makes Sean Hannity look like a Communist—even if Ferrari built a 10,000-horsepower Italia that shot cans of London Pride out the exhaust pipes, Jeremy And Company would still find a way to handicap it. Maybe if they stuffed the interior with gnocchetti filling, then dropped a piano on it.

If only the rest of the British car industry followed through on such spirit. We shall fight them on the beaches! We shall fight them on the test tracks!

Click the jump to see the full comparison.

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McLaren is setting its sight on Ferrari and Lamborghini, and is set to spend $1 billion to develop 13 new models and variants, according to a Bloomberg report.

The announcement comes as McLaren is preparing to launch 35 dealerships this year, and has already spent $320 million to develop their MP4-12C sports car. So far, 2,000 orders have been taken for the MP4-12C, and McLaren expects revenues of $1.6 billion within 5 years, but Chairman Ron Dennis is hoping to sell as much as 47 percent of the company to reduce the company’s debt.

[Source: Bloomberg]

You know you’re doing something right as an automaker when demand is greater than supply, especially when the car you’re selling has a starting price of $231,400.

McLaren has announced that the order books are full for the next three years on their MP4-12C and they don’t have any plans of increasing supply to meet the overwhelming demand. Ian Gorsuch, regional director of McLaren Automotive explains, ““The key is making the dealership profitable. We will produce less cars but the dealers must have more cars than the competition because the long-term goal is profitability.”

The 3.8L twin-turbo V8 MP4-12C features 592-hp with 443 ft-lbs of torque and is one of the most sought after supercars of this decade. Now those that are able to get their hands on one will truly own something unique and rare, as McLaren’s policy of not producing more vehicles just to satisfy demand will help retain its residual value and all the dealerships are kept happy with larger profit margins.

[Source: AsiaOne via Motor Authority]

On Tuesday, June 21, McLaren Automotive will officially launch it’s new world wide retailer network, with the opening of it’s flagship store in London’s posh Hyde Park district.

The store, which will officially be called McLaren London, is located on the site of the city’s newest and arguably most prestigious address. One Hyde Park; The Residences at Mandarin Oriental were specifically chosen as the premier location for McLaren’s first retail store because of it’s exemplary track record in customer service and after sales support.

Once the London store is up and running, McLaren will open two more stores in the UK, one in Manchester on June 30, with another to follow in Birmingham, the UK’s second largest city and once home to it’s car industry, on July 5th.

From there, expansion will continue into continental Europe, with stores set to open in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. McLaren says it has a goal of having some 35 retailers, located in 19 different countries, operational by the end of the year.

Each of them will be stocked with every spare part imaginable for the MP4-12C, enabling customers to experience ‘pitstop’ service to ensure fast and efficient repair.

In terms of delivering cars to its customers and retailers, McLaren says that it will produce approximately 1000 MP4-12Cs this year with the goal of ramping up production to some 4,000 units annually by 2015.

A McLaren MP4-12C was involved in a severe crash at the Nurburgring race track in Germany, prompting speculation that the car was attempting to record a lap time on the famed circuit before the first cars were delivered to customers.

Reports  from Evo magazine state that the MP4-12C was travelling extremely fast around the track before the incident, and squealing tires and the sound of an impact could be heard at one point. A covered truck then apparently collected the damaged McLaren. Meanwhile, Evo spoke to a McLaren representative claimed that there was no attempted made at setting a lap time, stating ‘The run came as part of the development program. The car was out there completing laps as part of ongoing tests and wasn’t trying to set a benchmark time. At this point we’re not trying to set lap times but we’re confident that the car will be very fast around the Nürburgring when the time comes.”

The representative later claimed that the car would be analyzed at the McLaren Technical Centre in England, and that it was not a production-spec vehicle.

[Source: Evo]

There’s some irony in a racing version of a street-legal car getting its own street-legal version—but there’s never anything wrong with welcoming an even faster supercar into the world. And now the McLaren MP4-12C GT3, a car with a name seemingly handpicked from a bag of Scrabble pieces, will be getting its own license-plated edition.

The racing version of the “base model” MP4 supercar was just introduced to tackle the GT3 class. A street-legal version would follow in the footsteps of the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. And what will owners get for their price premium? Less weight, fewer creature comforts, more liberally slathered carbon fiber appointments, and an air of track-tested exclusivity, just like the aforementioned models.

McLaren recently announced that they will introduce a new model every year for the next 5 years. So does this count? Well, if McLaren follows through on their promise to build a range-topping F1 successor by 2014, then we will let this slide.

GALLERY: McLaren MP4-12C GT3

[Source: InsideLine]

Despite a 13 year hiatus from producing road-cars, McLaren is now planning on launching a new road-going vehicle every year, starting with the introduction of the new MP4-12C supercar.

While timelines are still hazy, we do know that forthcoming products include an MP4 GT3, intended for international motorsports competitions, and an open roof MP4-12C. Beyond that, a new smaller sports car aimed at the Porsche 911 and a flagship supercar positioned above the MP4-12C should give the brand a suitable product line to do battle with sports car makers from Italy and beyond.

McLaren also is experimenting with new technologies to maximize horsepower and fuel economy, including new battery technology that can extract one horsepower from a lithium ion cell the size of a AA battery. While McLaren claims that getting this into a road-going car isn’t going to happen immediately, the company is advertising aggressively for hybrid system engineers on their website. Truth be told, there’s far worse than a KERS system in a sports car, even if “purists” bristle at the though.

[Source: The Detroit Bureau]

Having debuted to critical acclaim at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, McLaren Automotive’s highly anticipated road car, the MP4-12C has now gone into production, the very first example taking shape at the McLaren Technical Centre in Woking, Surrey, just outside of London.

The company has said that it plans to build 1,000 of the MP4-12Cs for 2011 and most of those will be assembled at McLaren’s brand new bespoke Production Centre, adjacent to the current facility, though chassis #001 will be entirely assembled at the existing MTC, in order to monitor engineering and production processes, which the company has been fine tuning, ever since the Technical Centre first opened back in 2004.

In addition, prototypes have undergone rigorous testing at the hands of McLaren F1 drivers and former World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button, who have been providing valued feedback during the MP4-12C’s development.

So far, the MP4-12C has a long waiting list of customers, stretching across the globe; Antony Sheriff, Managing Director of McLaren Automotive recently said, “meeting our prospective customers at launch events around the world, from Dubai to Cape Town, Paris to Los Angeles, has filled us with inspiration. There is a genuine desire for McLaren to be launching our own range of sports cars, and an exciting appreciation of what McLaren stands for: innovation, technology leadership, and a winning mentality.”

It has taken just five years for the MP4-12C to evolve from a concept developed in McLaren’s own F1 simulator to an ultra high performance car fully certified for street use. McLaren currently has a retailer network of 35 locations in some 19 different countries that will sell the final, production ready MP4-12C.

Pricing the U.S. is set at $229,000 for the 600-hp, twin-turbo V8 machine.

GALLERY: McLaren MP4-12C

See a short compilation video of the car over the past year after the jump:

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