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| 2012 McLaren MP4-12C - Front Angle |
In 2011, a McLaren team with experience in developing successful Formula 1 cars and expertise from launching McLaren cars in the past, has launched a new type of sports car. The groundbreaking new MP4-12C features technology born on the race track, and for the first time available in a road car.
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| 2012 McLaren MP4-12C - Front |
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| 2012 McLaren MP4-12C - Rear Angle |
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| McLaren MP4-12C 2012 - Front Side |
MP4-12C performance data highlights
- 0 – 200kph in 9.1s (8.9s on optional Corsa tyres)
- CO2 emissions of 279g/km (equating to 24.2 EU mpg combined)
- 0 – 100kph in 3.3s (3.1s with optional Corsa tyres)
- top speed: 330kph (205mph)
- 100 – 0 kph in 30.5 m (100 ft)
- ¼ mile: 10.9s @ 135 mph
- dry weight (with lightweight options): 1301kgs / 2868 lbs
- carbon MonoCell chassis weight: 75kgs / 165 lbs
- power:weight (lightweight options): 461PS / 455bhp per tonne.
- power: 600PS (592bhp) at 7,000 rpm
- torque: 600Nm between 3,000 – 7,000 rpm
- CO2 per horsepower: 0.47
The unique new M838T engine powering the McLaren MP4-12C is a 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 engine, designed by McLaren Automotive.
Weighing 199kg (439lbs), the M838T features a dry sump lubrication system and a flat plane crankshaft, which has allowed McLaren Automotive’s engineers to place the engine extremely low in the chassis, lowering the 12C’s centre of gravity and in turn optimising the car’s handling responses.
At the rear, high level exhaust pipes exit the car from a mixing box rather than a conventional silencer unit, saving weight. An optional Sport Exhaust system made from Inconel, an extremely heat-resistant nickel-chromium-based alloy, further reduces weight and enhances the exhaust note.
Mated to the M838T is a dual clutch, seven-speed ‘SSG’ transmission. Using the Active Dynamics Panel situated in the centre console of the 12C’s cockpit, the characteristics of the SSG transmission can be switched through three different settings: ‘Normal’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Track’ modes. Each provide a progressive immediacy of gear shift, operated through finger-tip controls mounted on a rocker behind the 12C steering wheel: upshift by either pulling with the right hand or pushing with the left, and vice versa to downshift. This ‘one-hand shifting’ principal, and the satisfying mechanical ‘click’ on gearchange, is reminiscent of the shift mechanics introduced and still used in Formula 1 cars.
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| McLaren MP4-12C 2012 - Side |
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| 2012 McLaren MP4-12C - Rear Side |