12C [Official] McLaren MP4-12C

[Mr. M]

Sat in a friend's month-old 12C today. It is still running-in at 340km on the odometer so we just cruised about town.

Ride is what everyone says it is - serene and absolutely fabulous for a supercar. Exhaust is loud - this is equipped with the sport exhaust so it was truly making a scene everywhere it went. Love the doors and how they open, but my friend complains that it nearly makes it impossible to get out of the car when somebody parks next to it. It has happened once already!

Feels like there is a lot of low-end torque from the passenger seat too, lovely for a daily driver. In fact, my friend says it drives a lot like his old D3 A8. Ha!

 

[Soup]

The M838T in detail

http://www.ricardo.com/Documents/RQ pdf/RQ 2011/Q3/RQ_Q3_2011.pdf

Ricardo announces key milestone in McLaren M838T engine production
Ricardo announces key milestone in McLaren M838T engine production

Ricardo has announced that its High Performance Assembly Facility – formally opened in July 2011 – has already assembled and delivered its 1500th engine for McLaren Automotive.

The state-of-the-art facility is the newest building on Ricardo’s Shoreham Technical Centre site, and was designed around the manufacturing requirements of the McLaren M838T engine that powers the leading UK performance sports car manufacturer’s MP4-12C supercar. The facility provides a near clean-room production environment in which each and every process is carried out according to strict, best-in-class quality principles and within a comprehensive ‘no faults forward’ culture. In this way, Ricardo applies the very latest thinking in high quality mass manufacture within a low to medium volume setting. Lean manufacturing principles were incorporated from the outset of the facility’s design which was carried out in parallel with the development of the engine – itself designed in collaboration between Ricardo and McLaren Automotive – within an impressively short 18 month timescale from concept to pilot production. Less than a year following its launch, this advanced manufacturing facility has successfully completed and delivered 1500 engines to McLaren, and is now operating at its full production rate of 45 engines per week from a single shift.

“This important milestone is a reflection of the hard work, skills and dedication of the production team at the Ricardo High Performance Assembly Facility, together with their colleagues in supply chain management and logistics, and our partners and suppliers for this product,” commented Ricardo director of manufacturing operations Mark Barge. “Together we aim to satisfy and exceed the requirements for manufacturing quality and delivery of some of the world’s leading high performance automotive brands and their very discerning customer base. As we continue production we look forward to supporting McLaren Automotive with the next 1500 M838T engines for its fantastic MP4-12C supercar.”

 

[Centurion]

Lewis Hamilton enjoying his MP4-12C in Cannes yesterday together with Swizz Beatz. Apparently that exact car will feature in Swizz Beatz music video filmed in Cannes. Great PR for Mclaren as they aim on building the brand big in the US which is Ferrari territory. Funny enough Swizz Beatz was endorsed by Lotus under Danny Bahar barely 6 months ago. I guess he has a thing for British ginger cars.

 

[DeDe]

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[Levi68]

The MP4-12C is a beast. Still one of my favorites.

 

[JHF]

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[Soup]

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[emve]

Another impressive run. VBOX results for a stock customer MP4-12C (625hp update) on semi-slicks (Toyo R888) - 1-foot rollout apparently.

0-60 mph - 2,7s
0-100 mph - 5,8s
1/4 mile - 10,4s at 136,3 mph
60 - 130 mph - 6,6s

After the update the 12C is as fast as Aventador, or even sligthly faster. 100 - 200 km/h in about 5,5s with one person onboard. Looking forward to test results of F12 Berlinetta. I dare to expect 1/4 mile trap speed close to 140mph/225kmh.

Trap speed measured on the dragstrip is an average speed from last 66 feet.

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[sako97]

After the update the 12C is as fast as Aventador, or even sligthly faster. 100 - 200 km/h in about 5,5s with one person onboard. Looking forward to test results of F12 Berlinetta. I dare to expect 1/4 mile trap speed close to 140mph/225kmh.

I'm not sure if the F12 will do more than 135 even with slicks. The MP4's traction is simply incredible for a RWD car. Considering that the F12 is front-engined RWD with 740 bhp, I'm not sure that'll gain enough traction at the line to trap more than 135. The F12 will most definitely best the MP4 1/4-on.

With the right driver, I'm assuming that the P1 and LaFerrari can do Sub-10 sec & 140-144 in 1/4 mi.

 

[sako97]

The MP4 Cam Am Up close:

 

[emve]

I'm not sure if the F12 will do more than 135 even with slicks. The MP4's traction is simply incredible for a RWD car. Considering that the F12 is front-engined RWD with 740 bhp, I'm not sure that'll gain enough traction at the line to trap more than 135. The F12 will most definitely best the MP4 1/4-on.

With the right driver, I'm assuming that the P1 and LaFerrari can do Sub-10 sec & 140-144 in 1/4 mi.

I reckon F12 will be able to do 0-400m in about 10,8s (without rollout, 10,5s with rollout) since 458 did about 10,8-10,9s in Italian tests. Lets say it will also manage to do 0-200 km/h in 8,5s a claimed. This would mean trap speed will be over 220 km/h, probably close to 225 kmh / 140mph. Fast launch almost directly translates to faster time, trap speed is usually not that much affected.

Both P1 and LaFerrari should be 150 mph cars, if they manage to reach claimed performance figures. If LaFerrari manages to do 0-100 km/h in less than 3s, and 0-300 km/h in 15s, it will be considerably faster than Veyron SS (launch similar, but 0-300 km/h in 17,5s) which is capable of close to 150 mph trap speed (german AMS test).

 

[Yaz]

@sako97
No P1 and no LaFerrari @ NYIAS. What's up with that? I can't wait till next year.

 

[sako97]

@sako97
No P1 and no LaFerrari @ NYIAS. What's up with that? I can't wait till next year.

The NYIAS is back to being a major auto show after the 2008-2012 lull.

FNA used to have a big presence at the NYIAS before 2008 when the show lost its "prestige". I believe they no longer have a presence at any of the U.S auto shows. The NE still remains the 4th or 5th largest market for Ferraris, so I'm assuming they'll make a return since McLaren is now an exhibitor.

It would have been a great opportunity for Mclaren to have presented the P1 to US public.

 

[Soup]

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[Kilcrohane]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula-one/22307813

- denied of course, but bound to turn out to be true.

Story broken first by Auto Motor und Sport journos yesterday.

Core of Bahrainis' problem with Dennis is the monumental flop that is the MP4-12C, as predicted by moi a month ago:

For the record - close your ears now, Brit fanboys - McLaren's basically up the swanny, anyway. The MP4-12C, or whatever gibberish Dennis is now calling it, is a sales flop. The carbon mono cell manufacture is outsourced to a company in Austria, Carbo Tech. A worker there reported the original contract called for something around 4,000 units a year, but has subsequently been scaled back to less than half that amount.

McLaren Automotive reported a loss recently. The McLaren P1 had its arse kicked by the Italians, with the stellar LaFerrari, making an absolute fool of McLaren and its massively cynical greedy attempt at passing off an MP4 with a tune-up and a new frock for quadruple the price. McLaren on the track isn't exactly pulling up trees either at the minute.

The Bahrainis and Dennis who own McLaren must be falling back on the old 'throw the kitchen sick at marketing' route, to try stay afloat, when the products can't compete on merit - a familar ploy for a 'British' company.

So they employ hacks, like Haymarket's Autocar, to talk up this imaginary 911 competitor as some exalted paragon of automotive engineering, exactly like they did with the MP4 and P1, only to see both get monstered, absolutely rightly, by Ferrari and others, and Tiff Needell's name mud at Woking, for speaking the truth, on the 'weird' MP4.

It won't work. No one with sense really takes the MP4 seriously now - hence the sales bombing, nor the ridiculous, cynical P1. The 911 Turbo is gonna drive the last nail into McLaren Automotive's coffin - rightly as you say, Levi68, the new circa £130k 991 Turbo will be faster than the £200k MP4 - just as the Cayman/Boxster has effectively delivered a final death blow to Lotus's massively overpriced Evora, and probably Lotus Cars as a company generally.

The talk of the 911 being a competitor for this imaginary P13, is not confidence, it's the bravado pf the damned whistling past the graveyard.
------------------
I looked up that Carbo Tech reference, in the meantime. The original plan in 2011 was to do 4,500 mono cells a year for McLaren Auto. of the 12C, but that was scaled back to less than 2,500 in 2012. The Ferrari 458 has had the 12C for breakfast.

Add to that, the P1 has been rumbled as a ridiculously priced, tuned 12C, then there's McLaren Auto's reported losses, and then there's Autocar bigging up the non-existing P13 to make it look like the 991 Turbo is the inadequate johnny come lately.

http://www.germancarforum.com/community/threads/porsche-911-turbo-991-spy-shots.42642/page-3

 

[Kilcrohane]

update on the Dennis story:

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...stellung-dennis-rueckzug-geplant-7017969.html

McLaren now officially saying Dennis's stepping-back planned long time ago; on the other hand AMuS basically sticking to their guns with the original story.

Not a good day for bosses of 'British' marques it seems, with Bez's no doubt also long planned withdrawal from being CEO of Aston Martin - nothing to do with new owners and at-best lacklustre sales!

 

[Mark ANTAR]

Worlds Largest McLaren Run from Supercar Sunday:

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[Merc1]

WOW, like really....wow. Fun rich people, I love it.

M

 

[Sunny]

Saw one yesterday on Sand Hill road (that is where most of silicon valley venture capital companies are) in the metallic orange color. All that talk of 'it doesn't look like a supercar' is BS. It even sounded awesome.

 

[Soup]

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