2011 McLaren MP4-12C

[RACER X]

Racing is in Ron Dennis' blood. Dennis began his racing career in 1966 as a mechanic with Cooper, the British race team whose giant-killing hot-rod Minis are remembered with today's Mini Coopers and the John Cooper Works Special models. Since 1980, he's run McLaren Racing, which has won seven Formula 1 Constructors' World Championships and 10 Drivers' World Championships with drivers such as Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, and, of course, 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

Intensely competitive and obsessively perfectionist, Dennis was the very archetype of the modern Formula 1 team boss. But in April this year he suddenly announced he was stepping down from the day-to-day operation of McLaren Racing.
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You're looking at one of the reasons why: The McLaren MP4-12C, a brand-new supercar, the first from McLaren since 1993's radical, 240-mph F1. But while the F1 was little more than a money-no-object side project, the MP4-12C is the centerpiece of a grand plan to turn McLaren into company that builds and sells up to 4000 high-performance, road-legal sports cars a year.

Did someone just say "Ferrari"?

The new McLaren is aimed squarely at the new Ferrari 458 Italia, as well as Lamborghini's Gallardo, Porsche's 911 Turbo, Bentley's Continental GT, and Aston Martin's DB9. But Dennis says the MP4-12C will offer the performance and technology of megabuck hypercars such as the Mercedes-McLaren SLR, Porsche Carrera GT, Ferrari Enzo, and, yes, even the Bugatti Veyron.

Here's how: The MP4-12C will have around 600 horsepower -- just 27 horses less than the fabled F1 -- and is expected to weigh just over 3000 pounds, at least 100 less than an F430 coupe and almost 300 less than a Gallardo. It will boast a host of performance-enhancing technologies that could only come from a company operating at the cutting-edge of Grand Prix race-car engineering, including a carbon-fiber chassis, light and compact McLaren-developed seven-speed dual-clutch manual transmission, active roll control, and advanced aerodynamics.

Mercedes, which owns 40 percent of McLaren Group (including McLaren Racing, the F1 team, McLaren Electronic Systems, McLaren Applied Technologies, and McLaren Automotive) offered an engine for the car, but the MP4-12C is powered by a bespoke 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 with quad cams and four valves per cylinder, a dry sump, and a flat-plane crankshaft. "The problem with using other people's engines is you're tied to their cycle plans," says McLaren Automotive's managing director, American Antony Sheriff.

The engine, dubbed M838T, will rev to 8500 rpm -- impressive for a roadgoing turbo motor -- and will deliver 80 percent of its 442 pound-feet of torque at less than 2000 rpm. It drives the rear wheels through the previously mentioned seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which offers a variety of shift protocols, from full automatic to full-commando race mode, along with launch control. Ratios are selected via steering-wheel-mounted paddles with two-stage haptic (feel) control. Slight pressure on either paddle (right for upshifts, left for downshifts) primes the clutch and torque handover processes for near seamless shifts.

The suspension and powertrain components are hung off lightweight aluminum subframes bolted to the front and rear of a molded carbon fiber core structure that weighs just 176.4 pounds. This core structure, dubbed the MonoCell, is a truly innovative piece: While the Porsche Carrera GT's carbon-fiber chassis was made up from 1000 separate pieces carefully patched together by hand, and took one week to complete, the McLaren's is resin molded in just four hours.

Suspension is double wishbone all around, with coil springs and hydraulically interconnected shocks that allow adaptive damping and adjustable roll control. The AP Racing brakes are composites, featuring cast iron rotors mounted on forged aluminum bells, saving 17.6 pounds per corner over conventional brakes. Carbon ceramic brakes will be available as an option.

The MP4-12C's handsome exterior is the work of another American, designer Frank Stephenson, whose credits include the new Mini, the Fiat 500, as well as a stint as Ferrari's design chief. The non-structural aluminum and composite panels are wrapped tightly around the 105.1-inch wheelbase. The deep windshield, prominent front fenders, and elegant greenhouse vaguely recall the Peter Stevens-designed F1. The car's signature graphic is the swooping intake scoops on either side, which riff off the shape of the McLaren badge. They channel air into the side-mounted radiators, as well as the engine.

The exhausts exit high, above the license plate, keeping the amount of plumbing required to a minimum (hence saving weight) and allowing uninterrupted real estate for the rear diffuser. A rear wing is integrated into the overall form, somewhat like that of the Acura NSX. On the McLaren, however, the center section pivots to deploy as an airbrake that also helps move the center of aerodynamic pressure toward the rear of the car under heavy braking and can be set at a higher angle of attack to generate more downforce.

Stephenson's interior is minimalist, yet elegant and spacious for a two-seater. With only two pedals (no conventional transmission will be offered), the footwells could be made narrower and driver and passenger moved closer together. There's no intrusion from the front wheelwells, so there's plenty of legroom and generous headroom. The graceful center stack is reminiscent of that of the Porsche Carrera GT and features a 7.0-inch touch-screen mounted in portrait fashion, instead of the traditional landscape scenario. The screen accesses functions such as audio, navigation, and telephony.

The center stack also contains buttons for engine start/stop, dynamic-control activation, a winter-driving mode, and launch control. Two rotary switches manage powertrain and handling functions, the former changing throttle response, transmission shift strategy, shift times and feel, with a co-axial Manual button controlling the use of manual transmission functions; the latter changing stability control, steering weight, suspension firmness and roll stiffness, with a co-axial Aero button that deploys the rear spoiler into high downforce mode.

The MP4-12C is the first in a range of McLaren sports cars, and though no one at company HQ in Woking, England, will elaborate further, you have only to look at the Ferrari F430 playbook to guess what's coming: A convertible version and an ultralight track-oriented model are no-brainers. The MP4-12C will also be a global car, built in both left- and right-hand drive, and the company is already talking with potential dealers in the United States, which is expected to take 25 percent of the 1000 cars a year initially planned.

"I'd love to aspire to be Ferrari," says Dennis candidly, in answer to the obvious question. And he believes McLaren has the credentials to take on the storied Italian marque: "No disrespect to any sports car

2011 McLaren MP4-12C
Base Price $220,000-$250,000 (est)
Vehicle layout Mid-engine, RWD, 2-door, 2-pass coupe
Engine 3.8L/600hp (est)/442lb-ft DOHC 32-valve, twin-turbo V-8
Transmission 7-speed auto clutch manual
Curb weight 3086lb (mfr)
Wheelbase 105.1in
Length x width x height 177.4in x ??in x ??in
On sale in U.S. 2011

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