McLaren 12C

The McLaren MP4-12C, later rebranded as the McLaren 12C, is a sports car produced by the British carmaker McLaren Automotive. Manufactured between 2011 and 2014, the MP4-12C was available as both a coupe and a retractable hard-top convertible, the latter known as the "Spider".

The 12C marked McLaren's return to production car sales for the first time since 1998, when the F1 ceased production. Development began in 2005, and the car made its online debut in September 2009 as the MP4-12C. McLaren began series manufacturing the car in February 2011 at the company's facility in Woking, Surrey. The 12C Spider debuted in July 2012.

Production ended in April 2014 with more than 3,400 units manufactured. It was succeeded by the 650S, with which the 12C shares most of its components.

The 12C has a carbon fibre composite chassis and a turbocharged V8 engine that generates a power output of 607 bhp and a torque output of 600 Nm.

Name

The McLaren Formula One team has used the "MP4" prefix as its chassis designation since 1981.

Development

McLaren began developing the 12C in 2005.[5] In June 2007, Autocar magazine reported that McLaren's upcoming sports car would be independently built by the company, stating that it would give the company "a chance to re-establish [its] credentials at the top-end of the market".[6] McLaren had not sold a production car since the F1 ceased production in 1998.[7] To develop the car, McLaren used modified versions of existing vehicles from other manufacturers as test mules. The first prototype, called the MV1, was a Ferrari 360 that featured a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine and side vents for additional cooling, which were eventually incorporated into the final production model. A second prototype, the MV2, was a modified Ultima GTR used to test the braking system and suspension components. A third prototype, the MV3, was another modified Ferrari 360 used to test the exhaust system. McLaren subsequently developed two in-house prototypes, the CP1 and CP2, which featured a "MonoCell" monocoque and were used to test heat management and performance.[8]

McLaren would produce over fifty experimental prototypes and test them in various regions to evaluate their performance in different environments. The testing locations included hot weather conditions in Bahrain, Arizona, and Nevada, cold weather conditions in the Arctic and Sweden, high-altitude conditions in South Africa and endurance testing on various circuits and roads in Europe. The head of testing for the programme, Geoff Grose, noted that the development team established bases at Idiada in northern Spain and the Prototipo facility near Nardo in Italy, where they conducted 24-hour testing sessions as well as 18-hour sessions from 8am to 2am the next day.[5]

In 2008, Frank Stephenson was appointed lead design director of McLaren,[9][10] and he became chief of the project late in its development. Stephenson made some adjustments to the design of its headlights, front bumper, and interior elements. His contributions were mainly small alterations, as the overall design of the car was already well-established at that point.[11] The final design of the MP4-12C was unveiled online in September 2009,[12][13][14] with its physical debut occurring at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2010.[15]

alt	Silver sports car with prominent silver five-spoke wheels and a licence plate that says "Pre-Owned"
manufacturer	McLaren Automotive
production	February 2011 – April 2014
assembly	United Kingdom: Woking, Surrey
class	Sports car
body style	2-door coupe 2-door retractable hard-top convertible
layout	Longitudinal rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
engine	3.8 L M838T twin-turbocharged V8
transmission	7-speed SSG Graziano dual-clutch
wheelbase	2670 mm
length	4509 mm‡R1R‡
width	1908 mm‡R2R‡
height	47.4 in‡R1R‡
weight	1434 kg‡R3R‡
successor	McLaren 650S
doors	Dihedral
designer	Frank Stephenson
sp	uk
predecessor	Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (Direct) McLaren F1 (Branded As Just McLaren)

Name

Development

Design

Reception

Spider

MP4-12C HS

McLaren X-1

Motorsports

GT3

Marketing

External links

References