McLaren MP4-12C driven – we review McLaren's first road car
McLaren's first road car delivers 592bhp and 442lb ft of torque for a 0-62mph time of 3.2 seconds. Here's what the astonishing McLaren MP4-12C supercar is like to drive...
McLaren, so long synonymous with Formula One racing, branched out with the MP4-12C supercar, launched under the newly formed McLaren Automotive brand.
It was the first of a range of high-performance McLaren car models planned by the UK motorsport company, based in Woking, Surrey. We drove an MP4-12C to find out what it's like to drive and whether it's good enough to compete with its key rival – the magnificent Ferrari 458 Italia.
What's the McLaren MP4-12C like to drive?
As you'd expect from McLaren, the 12C is extremely high-tech. It has a one-piece carbon-fibre chassis that manages to be both strong and light, while the revolutionary suspension uses adaptive dampers and complex hydraulics to provide control rather than a conventional anti-roll bar.
Power comes from an all-new, mid-mounted 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with 592bhp and 442lb ft of torque, which it puts through the rear wheels via a seven-speed twin-clutch paddleshift gearbox.
Performance is shattering. Whether you're getting away from the mark or cruising along in a relatively high gear, burying the throttle brings a vicious surge of acceleration that few performance cars at any price (458 included) can match.
There's no let-up until the rev-limiter intervenes at a giddy 8,500rpm, where one metallic click of the upshift paddle brings an impressively smooth and quick gearchange, sending you on your way again with even more jaw-dropping velocity.
What's more, you can carry an insane amount of this pace through bends. Most of this is down to the car's immense grip, which keeps it glued to the road at seemingly unthinkable cornering speeds. The body stays almost totally flat, yet there's enough compliance to prevent the car feeling from skittish or nervous.
Throw in the quick, consistent reactions you get from the steering, brakes and throttle, and the 12C feels utterly composed and predictable, no matter how fast you're going.
You'd expect the ride to be rock-hard, right? Wrong. Put the suspension in the comfiest of its three modes (Normal, Sport and Race), and the 12C is more comfortable than most family saloons. Bumps are dealt with smoothly at all speeds, and the ride is always beautifully controlled.
Refinement isn't bad, either. Sure, the engine sounds great under hard acceleration, but the noise melts away when you're cruising, and wind- and road noise are also well suppressed.
What's the McLaren MP4-12C like inside?
The Alcantara and carbon-fibre-trimmed cabin looks smart and feels solid, even if it doesn't quite have the flair you expect at this money. Still, there's enough space to keep you and your lucky passenger comfortable, and the figure-hugging seats are truly supportive. They're a pain to adjust, though, because the under-seat electric controls are hard to find and even harder to use.
However, play around for a while, and you'll find a great driving position with superb forward visibility. Granted, the 12C doesn't provide such a clear rear view, but not many supercars do. The boot's no bigger than the average supercar's, either, giving you just 144 litres of storage under the bonnet.
There's also a convertible version – to read about that see our McLaren MP4-12C Spider review
Should I buy a McLaren MP4-12?
Let's face it, the Ferrari is the McLaren's only real competition it butchers everything else at this money. If you're wealthy enough to be choosing between them, you probably won't care that the 12C costs almost £5,000 less and gives you 3.6mpg more.
No, the answer will depend purely on what you want out of your car.
There's the rub. McLaren's engineers have absolutely delivered on their promise to make the 12C faster, grippier, more comfortable, more efficient and more refined than all its rivals, the Ferrari included. Make no mistake, this car is a stunning technological achievement, and if any or all of those attributes are what you're looking for, the McLaren is the only choice.
However, as incredible as the 12C is, we think it doesn't quite match the 458 for sheer fun. It's so precise and unflappably composed that you actually feel slightly removed from the action.
The Ferrari, meanwhile, gives you a barrage of sensation when you're at full tilt, thanks to its frisky, tail-happy handling, its sharper steering and the more melodic wail you hear from its engine. For us, that makes the 458 more engaging and more exciting.
What Car? says: McLaren's supercar is an incredible feat of engineering
McLaren MP4-12C – price and performance stats
Price when new £168,500
Engine size 3.8-litre V8
Power 592bhp
0-62mph 3.3 seconds
Top speed 205mph
Economy 24.2mpg
CO2 279g/km
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McLaren MP4-12C – design and engineering
The fundamental principle behind the MP4-12C, as with an F1 car, is efficiency. Primarily, that means lightness, since a light car needs less power to make it go and smaller brakes to stop it, and is more agile when it needs to change direction.
The car's dry weight (minus fluids and passengers) is expected to be around 1,300kg. It will accelerate from 0-125mph in less then 10 seconds and come to a complete stop again in less than five seconds. Its carbon dioxide emissions are already below 300g/km, and executive chairman Ron Dennis wants that to come down even further before launch.
To keep the weight down, the car is built around an 80kg, one-piece carbonfibre passenger compartment called a monocell, on to which an aluminium crash structure is attached at the front and an aluminium fuel tank, engine cradle and suspension pick-up points at the rear. It's the same principle used for F1 cars.
That means the non-structural body panels can be made of light material and shaped purely for aesthetics and aerodynamics. A flat underbody and a large rear diffuser employ F1 know-how to help suck the car to the road.
The use of a lithium-ion battery saves 10 kilos and hexagonal, instead of round, wiring saves another four kilos. Even the company logo is embedded into the cross-car strengthening beam rather than embossed on it to save a couple of grammes.
McLaren MP4-12C – the engine
Power comes from a brand-new 3.8-litre turbocharged V8 petrol engine developing 600bhp and 444lb ft of torque 370lb ft of which is available from 2,000rpm to the redline at 8,500.
It drives through a seven-speed, twin-clutch, robotised manual gearbox with a pre-cog function a gentle tap on one of the paddles primes the next gear for an instant shift when the paddle is tugged more firmly.
The chassis control system includes three handling modes and hydraulic inter-connectors on each axle in place of the usual anti-roll bar. These give the two-fold advantage of curtailing body roll in hard cornering while allowing each wheel to function independently in a straight line for a better ride.
Brake-steer, another idea borrowed from F1, helps the car tuck into corners, while the air brake is a movable wing that moves the centre of aerodynamic pressure rearwards when deployed for greater downforce.
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