The McLaren MP4-12C, later known simply as the McLaren 12C, is a sports car designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. It is the first ever production car wholly designed and built by McLaren, and their first production road car produced since the McLaren F1, which ended production in 1998. The car's final design was unveiled in September 2009 and was launched in mid-2011.
The MP4-12C uses a carbon fibre composite chassis, and is powered by a longitudinally-mounted McLaren M838T 3.8 L (3,799 cc) twin-turbocharged V8 engine, generating approximately 600 PS (592 hp; 441 kW) at 7,500 rpm and around 600 N⋅m (443 lbf⋅ft) of torque at 5,600 rpm. The car makes use of Formula 1-sourced technologies such as "brake steer", where the inside rear wheel is braked during fast cornering to reduce understeer. Power is transmitted to the wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission manufactured by SSG. The entire drivetrain is the first to be entirely designed and produced in house by McLaren.
A convertible version of the car called the MP4-12C Spider, renamed the 12C Spider in 2012, is also available. In February 2014, McLaren announced the related 650S, with revised bodywork, upgraded engine and other technical improvements. In April 2014, McLaren announced the end of production of the 12C.
McLaren started developing the car in 2007 and secretly purchased a Ferrari 360 to use as a test mule. The mule called MV1 was used to test the 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The car also featured side vents for additional cooling which were later incorporated in the final production model. Later in the year, the company purchased an Ultima GTR to test the braking system and suspension components, that mule was called the MV2. The space frame and body of that car were modified in order to accommodate the new components. Later, a third prototype was developed which was another Ferrari 360 dubbed the MV3 which was used to test the exhaust system. McLaren then built two prototypes themselves called CP1 and CP2 incorporating the Carbon Monocell monocoque which were used for testing the heat management system and performance. The final car was unveiled to the public on 9 September 2009 before the company's launch in 2010.
In 2008, McLaren hired Frank Stephenson as design director for their reborn production car project.
As with the McLaren F1, carbon fibre is used extensively in the vehicle to minimise weight. The MP4-12C weighs 1,301 kg (2,868 lb) dry.
The chassis is based around a F1 style one-piece carbon fibre tub, called the Carbon MonoCell, weighing only 80 kg (176 lb). The MonoCell is made in a single pressing by using a set of patented processes, using Bi-Axial and Tri-Axial carbon fibre multiaxial fabrics produced by Formax UK Ltd. with the MonoCell manufactured by Carbo Tech in Salzburg, Austria. This has reduced the time required to produce a MonoCell from 3,000 hours for the F1 and 500 hours for the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, to 4 hours for the MP4-12C.
The car has a conventional two side-by-side seating arrangement, unlike its predecessor the McLaren F1 which featured an irregular three seat formation (front centre, two behind either side). To make up for this, however, the car's central console is narrower than in other cars, seating the driver closer to the centre. Interior trim and materials can be specified in asymmetric configuration – known as "Driver Zone".
The McLaren MP4-12C utilizes a unique hydraulic configuration to suspend the vehicle as opposed to more traditional coil springs, dampers and anti-roll bars. What McLaren has called "ProActive Chassis Control," the system consists of an array of high and low pressure valves interconnected from both left to right and front to back, and the typical anti-roll bars were omitted entirely. When high pressure meets high pressure under roll conditions, stiffness results; and subsequently when high pressure meets low under heave and warp, more give is allowed, ultimately providing a firmer, competent suspension setup in spirited driving, and a very plush, compliant and comfortable ride when moving at slower, constant speeds.
The car is powered by the M838T 3.8 L; 231.8 cu in (3,799 cc) twin-turbo V8 engine, designed and developed by McLaren, Ilmor and Ricardo. The design of the engine was based on a racing engine which was designed and developed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing for the IndyCar Series but never raced. However, other than the 93 mm (3.66 in) bore, little of that engine remains in the M838T. It produces 600 PS (592 bhp; 441 kW) at 7500 rpm and 600 N⋅m (443 lbf⋅ft) of torque at 5600 rpm. It has a redline of 8,500 rpm, with 80% of torque available at just 2,000 rpm. When first announced, McLaren claimed that it would have a higher horsepower to carbon dioxide emission ratio than any internal-combustion engine available at the time.
McLaren announced a small number of improvements to become available in October 2012, with the option to be retrofitted to existing cars free of charge. The engine now produces 616 bhp (459 kW; 625 PS) and no change to the CO2 emissions which remain at 279 g/km. This power output has also become standard on the 2013 model.
The M838T engine is manufactured for McLaren at the Ricardo Shoreham Technical Centre in West Sussex.
The engine is connected to a seven-speed automatic dual-clutch gearbox made by Graziano Oerlikon. Dubbed the "Seamless Shift Gearbox" or SSG, the gearbox features a system dubbed "Pre-Cog" that allows the driver to preselect the next gear by lightly tapping the paddle.
DragTimes.com posted a YouTube video of a stock McLaren 12C accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and from 0 to 100 mph in 6.0 seconds. DragTimes.com also recorded a quarter mile time for the McLaren 12C of 10.27 seconds at 218 km/h (135 mph), the 3rd fastest verified time for a stock production car at the time.
The manufacturer has a claimed top speed of 207 mph (333 km/h) but a top speed of 346.6 km/h (215 mph) was achieved in the MP4-12C Spider, which is 3 mph "slower" than the coupe. The Coupe (in reality) can do 218.61 mph (352 km/h). It can brake from 200 km/h (124 mph) to a complete stop in under 5 seconds. Braking from 100 km/h (62 mph) to zero can be done in under 30 metres (98 ft), around seven car lengths.
2011 McLaren MP4-12C has a power to weight ratio of 2.39 kg (5.27 lb) per horsepower.
2013 McLaren 12C has a power to weight ratio of 2.29 kg (5.05 lb) per horsepower.
The name's former prefix 'MP4' has been the chassis designation for all McLaren Formula 1 cars since 1981. 'MP4' stands for McLaren Project 4 as a result of the merger between Ron Dennis' Project 4 organization with McLaren. The '12' refers to McLaren's internal Vehicle Performance Index through which it rates key performance criteria both for competitors and for its own cars. The criteria combine power, weight, emissions, and aerodynamic efficiency. The coalition of all these values delivers an overall performance index that has been used as a benchmark throughout the car's development. The 'C' refers to Carbon, highlighting the application of carbon fibre technology to the future range of McLaren sports cars.
MP4-12C shares its name with the MP4/12 Formula 1 car that raced in the 1997 season. This car featured a second brake pedal discovered by photographers to counter understeer on the exit of the corners by selecting the inside rear wheel, similar to the computer controlled "brake steer" system of the MP4-12C.
In the end of 2012, the name of the MP4-12C was reduced to 12C - that name is usually used when referring to the coupe. The open-top version now being called the 12C Spider.
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