12C [Official] McLaren MP4-12C

[Tarek]

I really would like to know how they managed to make a TT engine rev up to 9K rpm? and since it's their very first own engine i hope for their own sake it's reliable.

Still SLS or Italia for me till i see this baby in person.

 

[Deleted member 25]

It's not really their engine, it's a Ricardo one

 

[Centurion]

As long as the engine doesn't catch fire like Italian cars, it will be fine. I wonder if Ricardo will also commission the engine for Mclarens rumoured F1 successor and for the teams Formula 1 car once their partnership with Mercedes expires in 2015. In video the MP12 looks amazing though, like a real F1 enthusiast's car: Solmon design, top engineering and no aesthetic sugar coating.

 

[Yaz]

Is this the video Luw?

McLaren Automotive Boss Antony Sheriff Says MP4 12C Supercar Will Sell Despite Times Of Austerity | Business | Sky News

 

[Sunny]

Methinks there are wizards at McLaren, not engineers. The "Wizards of Woking" is what they ought to be called. For a quasi-start-up in the production auto field, McLaren has put so much technical know-how, it's just insane. I'm loving this car, and makes wonder what the successor to the nearly mythical F1 is going to be like.

Damn, I missed this gem, thanks. Sure Martin will love it.



That should get his attention .

I am no fan of the high exhaust, but this explains it...



Put the heavy transmission at the bottom and move the move the lighter exhaust to the top. Also you can see how low the engine sits.

 

[Giannis]

Damn, I missed this gem, thanks. Sure Martin will love it.



That should get his attention .

You mean the anti-roll bar?

 

[Centurion]

Is this the video Luw?

Indeed it is. Hope it's viewable to you guys outside the UK.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

Just saw the videos on SkyNews. Love this car! Though, when he started up the car, I couldn't hear much. I was hoping it was going to be a bit more ferocious especially when he was revving it.

Also saw the interview with Antony Sharif. Now what I may say may be a bit presumptuous as I'm not aware what the sales tally was for the F1 or what the break-even point was, but to call the F1 something akin to a failure is absolute bull manure! That was THE car of the 1990's. Only the Veyron 2-3 years ago beat it in terms of speed performance. In terms of handling, it still rivals cars coming out today. That car was Gordon Murray uncompromised vision. Well somewhat uncompromised, as Murray wanted to source the engine originally from Honda, not BMW. Now it's not in my nature to get heated up about something trivial, but that interviewer was such a ponce and a wan***. He really annoyed me. What a jack-ass.

 

[Guibo]

I think the guy interviewing Antony Sheriff was only considering planned sales of the F1 vs actual sales. McLaren had wanted to sell 300 units, but sold only about 1/3rd that.

 

[martinbo]

Engineering as an artform, that's for sure.

 

[Sunny]

You mean the anti-roll bar?

Ah, that is where you are mistaken. They are not anti roll bars, but something called Z-bars and does exactly opposite of what a anti-roll bar does. Heck, I will just quote the guy who explained it well.

This is what they call a "z-bar" or "heave spring", and it's not something you see outside of high-level racing. And by high-level I mean high levels of aerodynamic downforce.

A stabilizer bar is u-shaped (albiet a wide U), so it does nothing when both wheels compress together. Its job is to resist body roll, to dampen the suspension from being fully independent, in effect, when the wheels are moving in opposite directions, such as they do in body roll.

Because one leg goes forward and the other aft, a z-bar (or heave spring) is exactly the opposite animal. In corners, it does nothing to inhibit roll. If one wheel hits a bump, it's not going to put up much of a fight. But when both wheels compress together, as they might when a huge wing is creating a ton of downforce, the z-bar becomes a spring that counteracts that force. This allows the coil springs at the wheels to be relatively soft for good mechanical grip and drivable comfort.





You don't see this often because not many cars make enough downforce, either because they don't really have a big rear diffuser or wing, or because they don't go fast enough. The MP4-12C goes fast enough, and it's got a real, functional diffuser. The rear downforce is significant.

For anti roll bar, it uses a hydraulic set up - the tubes in this pic.

 

[Centurion]

That's taking it really far for a road car. Mclaren are serious. MP12 vs 458 Italia will be the battle of next year.

 

[Mr Robert]

I don't know, but I think I would go for the 'Laren, just because...

 

[Centurion]

Studying the MP12 and SLS makes me wonder why both manufacturers went into partnership for a road car. Their approach for a sport car couldn't be any different. One is a jaw dropping beauty and the is a tech beast with engineering solutions only a gear head can comprehend.

 

[Mr Robert]

One needed the other for image and know-how an the other needed the first for the money. Doesn't really get more simple than that.

 

[Cashmere]

Most gorgeous of all is all the carbon fiber work, it really does look more expensive than it's rivals.

On the contrary, I believe that the CF weave looks poor on this panel. The weave pattern is rather sloppy around the buttons and lacks uniformity. Looking at the price of the car and the space age environment its developed under, I expect nothing but perfection. Hopefully its just a pre-production test mule and they will get it right with the final production version.

 

[Mr Robert]

I'd say the reason it looks that way is because it's for real. I like real.

 

[Centurion]

Imperfections can be beautiful, like my home made mashed potatoes that occasionally has a few bits of potatoes in they attesting to the culinary realness -- butter and fresh parsley included.

 

[NarutoRamen]

Imperfections can be beautiful, like my home made mashed potatoes that occasionally has a few bits of potatoes in they attesting to the culinary realness -- butter and fresh parsley included.

Yes, but sometimes the imperfections in CF can lead to it's failure. Just like if the "potato" left in your mash is large enough someone could choke.


LOL

 

[Zafiro]

McLaren's new MP4-12C supercar will cost from £168,500 when sales start next year, the company has confirmed.

McLaren MP4 from £168,500 - Autocar.co.uk