Showing posts with label McLaren MP4-12C. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McLaren MP4-12C. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Hennessey Performance Promises to Turn McLaren MP4-12C into an 800HP Beast


If there's one thing the stock McLaren MP4-12C has in abundance it's power from the mid-mounted 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine which is rated at 600PS (592HP) and 600Nm (442.5 lb-ft).

However, Texas-based tuning firm Hennessey Performance begs to differ as it believes the MP4-12C could do with some additional horses under the hood – 200 of them, to be precise.

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Monday, January 30, 2012

McLaren MP4-12C Sports Car Rendered as a Spider


Just last week, we told you about McLaren and its plans to enhance the range of its new MP4-12C sports car with an open top version that may be named MP4-12S (for Spider).

Using the info that has been circulating around the net, Teamspeed and artist Wildspeed came up with a handful of renderings to give us a visual of what the McLaren MP4-12C Spider may look like when it comes out of its shell (or so to speak), within the next year.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Report: McLaren Finishing Work on Spyder Version of the MP4-12C


We've known for a while that the MP4-12C was just the warning shot at McLaren’s declaration of war against established supercar manufacturers. In fact, we have already detailed its plans for a new range of supercars based on the carbonfiber chassis of the MP4-12C.

The open-top version of the McLaren MP4-12C will be the first one to hit the market and battle it out with the new Ferrari 458 Spider

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Damaged McLaren MP4-12C Pops up for Sale, would You Buy it?


Ron Dennis' newest creation, the McLaren MP4-12C, only went on sale in Europe this past spring but we're already seeing the first crashed examples showing up on the used car market.

This silver colored MP4-12C was registered in Holland on August 2011 and covered only 4,000 kilometers (2,486 miles) before its owner drove it into what may have been a ditch judging by the dirt up front and the damage to the car.

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Friday, November 25, 2011

McLaren Gives us an Insight into its New Production Center with Video and Mega Gallery


Venturing into the automotive business takes a lot more than building some prototypes, launching a new model and then waiting for the orders to come in. Even more so if you intend to compete on the top level and establish yourself as a supercar manufacturer.

This is why McLaren Automotive didn’t only build its first supercar after the iconic F1 of the ‘90s, but also invested close to £50 million (€58.2 or US$77.3 million) in developing a brand-new, state-of-the-art factory – or rather, as the company names it, the McLaren Production Center (MPC).

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Monday, October 24, 2011

Test Run Shows the McLaren MP4-12C Lapping the 'Ring in 7:28, Faster than the Ferrari 458 Italia


Carmakers don't use the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit only for testing prototypes, as you've seen many times in our scoop section, but also to time their cars and claim some bragging rights against their rivals.

This is one of those stories with the protagonist being the new McLaren MP4-12C sportscar that made its debut run on the Nordschleife with Horst von Saurma, Editor-in-Chief of German magazine Sport Auto, sitting behind the wheel.

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Friday, September 9, 2011

Then we take Milan: McLaren Opens First Dealership in Ferrari's Home Turf


McLaren’s expansion strategy is running like clockwork. After the flagship showroom in London’s Hyde Park, the British company opened two more retail shops in Germany, in Dusseldorf and Hamburg just before the local Formula 1 Grand Prix. Now, McLaren has landed in Italy. Read more »

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

McLaren Announces New Special Operations Customizing Division [with Video]



If you are one of the few lucky people in this world to be able afford an MP4-12C, but you want the supercar to differ from the one parked in the garage of your obviously wealthy neighbor, the new Special Operations division of McLaren Automotive has a solution.

The new division, which was announced at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance show, aims to create bespoke versions in order to satisfy customer needs for differentiation.

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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Report: McLaren Preparing New Models Including an MP4-12C Cabrio and a Lamborghini Aventador Rival



When the launch of your first and your second road models are separated by close to two decades (19 years to be exact), then you hardly qualify as a car manufacturer.

That is the case with McLaren: production of the extraordinary F1 begun in 1992 and stopped almost 100 cars later in 1998. Deliveries of its second production model, the MP4-12C, have just begun. Therefore, McLaren may be a big name in Formula 1, but it lacks Ferrari’s cache and experience in production models.

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Monday, August 22, 2011

Gemballa Ventures Into Motorsports with New McLaren MP4-12C GT3



German based tuner Gemballa is known first and foremost for the personalisation of Porsche cars, something it has been doing for 30 years with notable examples including the Avalanche, based on the Porsche 911, the Tornado, based on the Cayenne, and the Mirage GT, based on the Porsche Carrera GT.

Now, the famous tuning company is venturing into motorsports with its newly formed racing division headed by Gemballa Supervisory Board director, Marco Marquardt.

Surprisingly, Gemballa Racing won't be using a Porsche for its motorsport debut as the company announced today that the new team will enter two McLaren MP4-12C GT3 cars in the 2012 motorsport season.

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Friday, August 19, 2011

Singapore Businessman Peter Lim Invests in McLaren



McLaren Automotive announced today that Singapore-based businessperson Peter Lim has made a significant investment in the company and has also joined the McLaren Automotive Board of Directors, effective immediately. Read more »

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

McLaren Sells First 20 Examples of its MP4-12C GT3 Racer



After completing its first 24-hour race test at the famous Spa-Francorchamps, and as it is preparing two factory entries for the Magny Cours race on August 27, McLaren announced that it has already sold the first 20 examples of the MP4-12 GT3 racer. Read more »

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Completes its First 24-Hour Endurance Test


McLaren claims it is satisfied with the performance of its new MP4-12C GT3 racer, which entered a 24-hour race for the first time last weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. And this despite the fact that from the three cars entered, two factory models retired early and only one run by customer team VonRyan Racing, managed to cross the finishing line. Read more »

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

McLaren to Enter Three MP4-12C GT3s at 24h Spa Race [Video]


The 24-hour race of Spa-Francorchamps that will take place the following weekend will be the first time a McLaren racecar premieres at a 24-hour endurance event since 1995, when the F1 GTR made its maiden appearance in the 24 hours of Le Mans.

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Thursday, July 21, 2011

McLaren Opens its First Two Dealerships in Germany


True to its original plan of expanding its dealer network throughout the world, McLaren Automotive today opened its first two dealerships in Germany in the cities of Düsseldorf and Hamburg just in time for the Formula 1 German Grand Prix this weekend. Read more »

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Just Before Launch, McLaren Decides to Make MP4-12C “More Emotional”


McLaren’s MP4-12C has received a lot of praise from automotive journalists. It has even set the second fastest time ever in the Top Gear power lap. But this doesn’t mean that it’s perfect.

Most who have driven it have placed it below its chief rival, the Ferrari 458 Italia, not because its’ slower (it isn’t) or less capable, but because it lacked the aural charisma and emotional character of the Italian supercar. In other words, it was good, but also a bit clinical.

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Monday, July 18, 2011

Jay Leno Buys a McLaren MP4-12C, Shares the Experience on Camera


If the fact that Jay Leno was recently invited to drive the all-electric and open top versions of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as well as the 2012 VW Beetle hasn’t already made you green with envy, maybe this will: not taking into consideration the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren he owns, the host of The Tonight Show has just acquired his second McLaren model after the F1.

Leno’s latest toy is the British firm’s newest creation, the MP412-C - you know, the car that beat the Bugatti Veyron and the Ferrari 458 Italia in the hands of The Stig in Top Gear’s famous Power Lap.

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Monday, July 11, 2011

Top Gear: McLaren MP4-12C Records Second Fastest Power Lap Time, Trumps Ferrari 458 [with Video]


We have already seen Fifth Gear’s Tiff Needell and Jason Plato pit the new McLaren MP4-12C against the Ferrari 458. Now, it’s time for BBC’s Top Gear TV hosts and in particular, Jeremy Clarkson and the Stig to get behind the wheel of McLaren’s finest and try it on the show's test track.

At Top Gear's famous power lap, the MP4 12C recorded an amazing time of just 1:16.2 minutes, which puts it in second place right behind the insane Ariel Atom V8 (1:15.1) and in front of some of the world’s fastest supercars such as the Bugatti Veyron S (1:16.8”), the Gumpert Apollo (1:17.1”) and most importantly, Ferrari’s rivaling 458 Italia (1:19.1”).

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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Revised McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Racer to Debut at Goodwood


The MP4-12C GT3, McLaren’s first race car outside of Formula 1 since the legendary F1 GTR, will make its debut in front of the public at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Based on the new MP4-12C, the GT3 will appear in a revised form after McLaren’s team further honed the supercar. Read more »

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Video: Fifth Gear Pits McLaren MP4-12C against Ferrari 458 Italia


The 458 Italia, Ferrari's V8 supercar, is the default choice in its category. Sexy, with a fabulous design and the latest in automotive technology, it is a pure driver’s car to be enjoyed by anyone who can afford it.

Yet McLaren plans to spoil Ferrari’s party claiming that its own brand-new supercar, the MP4-12C, can beat it. On paper, little separates them. But the question for car fanatics remains: which one is better?

To find out, Channel 5's Fifth Gear presenters Tiff Needell and Jason Plato decided to pit the Ferrari against its new challenger from Britain. Their verdict? To find out, just follow the jump and watch the video…

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