The 2012 McLaren MP4-12C - Review

The 2012 McLaren MP4-12C - Preview

The 2012 McLaren MP4-12C - Concept

McLaren, under the leadership of its executive chairman Ron Dennis, has just plotted the course for its future—the MP4-12C supercar, which was just unveiled at the company’ modern headquarters in Woking, England.
Astute enthusiasts will note that the 2-seat MP4-12C is not the first road-going McLaren. The hallowed McLaren F1 supercar, designed by the visionary Gordon Murray, appeared way back in 1998. More recently, the company collaborated with Mercedes-Benz to produce the super fast (and super exotic) SLR.

When the McLaren F1 first hit the streets it almost immediately catapulted to the top of the performance car scene, taking home the title of world’s fastest production car in 1998 and holding it up until 2005. Building a car better than the original F1 was always going to be a difficult challenge, and perhaps that is why for McLaren’s next supercar the company isn’t setting its sights too high.
While the original F1 competed with the best supercars of its time--cars like the Ferrari F40, Jaguar XK220, and Porsche 959--McLaren’s newest model will be competing with more ‘entry-level’ models. Rather than chasing Enzos and Veyrons, the new model will go up against cars like the Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo, and as such it will be priced accordingly.

Let's see now. You've got your Ferrari 458 Italia, your Porsche 911 GT2 RS and 911 Turbo S and Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera 570-4. After all, if we're setting the scene properly on the most important supersports car inauguration in quite some time – the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C – we should, in this first privileged go, at least be keeping our minds on sub-12-cylinder mid- and rear-engine road beasts. For now, that is. So if anyone brings up the 2012 Nissan GT-R or Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, that'll be us snapping your back side with a wet towel at the health club. You've been warned.