Crown

Rossi:

MKSGR:

GT:

MKSGR:

0-200 (with optional UHP tires): slightly below 9s 

Dry weight approx. 1280kg

Factory production will start end of April, first customer cars to be delivered in June  

 If this is true then this car is miles ahead of any 911 or ferrari in pace. Where did you hear this? In my experience to get 0-200 under 9 secs you need around 750hp.. That would be an incredible performance statistic for a stock car.

 I agree, the precise figures I heard where 9.1s for the version with normal tires and 8.9s for the Corsa equipped car  The source is part of official McLaren sales organization 

Dry weight of 1280 kg will result in a true weight of 1400 kg. This would be really great. Given that the MP4-12C is rather small and has a carbon fiber tube, this weight figure could actually be true.
 

  Scuderia weight despite much more comfort 

 dry weight of 1280 kg is more like 1350 kg true weight which is fantastic.. Question is, just like in the 458, how may cf and other lightweight options do you need to get to that figure and how much do they cost..

GT:

 dry weight of 1280 kg is more like 1350 kg true weight which is fantastic.. Question is, just like in the 458, how may cf and other lightweight options do you need to get to that figure and how much do they cost..

I'd say all the fluids are more than just 70kg.

Anyway, CF-options are relatively expensive, no exception here...

MP4-12 pl.pdf
 

--

The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

Rossi:

GT:

 dry weight of 1280 kg is more like 1350 kg true weight which is fantastic.. Question is, just like in the 458, how may cf and other lightweight options do you need to get to that figure and how much do they cost..

I'd say all the fluids are more than just 70kg.

Anyway, CF-options are relatively expensive, no exception here...

MP4-12 pl.pdf
 

A quick look at the options list took me from 168,500 GBP to $355k (260k Eur) 

If this car turns out to be impractical / money pit, I'd be pissed big time

Coming soon to the Top Gear test track:

Yes, I realize this is a screenshot from a videogame... but a very cool one anyway.

>8^)
ER

http://www.evo.co.uk/features/features/260179/mclaren_mp412c_review_countdown_mclaren_f1_drive.html

McLaren MP4-12C review countdown: McLaren F1 drive

New McLaren MP4-12C review countdown: evo's John Barker was one of the first journalists to test the McLaren F1. After 15 years, they meet again



Inch by glossy inch, the McLaren F1 emerges from the unassuming box trailer, its fanfare the slow, gritty whirr of the winch. Moments later it’s sitting there in all its understated glory, the greatest supercar the world had ever seen, the best car in the world, circa 1994.

The F1 moved the supercar game on so far that it was over a decade before any other road car got close to its performance, and even though its headline figures have now been bettered, some would argue that as a complete car the F1 is still without peer.

Can it be so, despite the relentless pace of automotive development, despite the advances in materials, tyres and brakes, engine and gearbox technology and electronic control systems? The F1 has aged well aesthetically, which is the reward for not being fashionably styled at the time, but there are clues that it is not a recent design. Notable is the lack of obvious aerodynamic kit, such as a low front splitter and rear diffuser, and the tyres are rather plump, especially at the rear, but even when the car was revealed in the early ’90s these aspects of the F1 pointed up Gordon Murray’s uniquely informed approach to re-setting the supercar benchmarks.

It’s been a long time. I last drove an F1 in 1995. Even now I’m still not sure how we managed it, but we convinced Ron Dennis to authorise a clutch change so that we could have the car for a couple of days for our Performance Car feature. We did just what you’d do with the world’s fastest, most powerful, most expensive car: we took our mates and our folks out in it, cruised around town and drove some of our favourite roads. We all came back with a bundle of unforgettable experiences. Mine include hitting the limiter in fifth on a Yorkshire B-road without really trying, setting a still unbeaten 167mph record between the roundabouts near the office while trying quite hard, and getting deep into three figures on a wet dual carriageway with the bobbing, grinning head of a policeman in each rear-view mirror.

When my mind settles on the hard points of driving the F1, I recall the phenomenal power and reach of the BMW V12 and, just as strongly, the heavy, unassisted brakes and steering, which made you think hard before exercising it fully. Gordon Murray wanted minimal weight and maximum feel, and he got them, but I felt they came at the expense of properly engaging and adjustable handling. The supercars that followed in the F1’s immediate wake didn’t go down the same road, and those of the last ten years, from Ferrari and Lamborghini, Porsche and Bugatti, Pagani and Koenigsegg, have been considerably more user-friendly thanks to the universal fitment of power steering, anti-lock brakes and, at the very least, traction control. I’m worried that, 15 years on, the McLaren will feel like a throwback.

Up close again, the F1’s sensational finish and build quality are evident, from the flawless mirror finish of the paint to the pristine nap of the suede and leather interior. This generously loaned car has over 36,000 miles on the clock but inside looks almost brand new, apart from the perforated suede section of the steering wheel, which looks grubbied and roughed up. No surprise there, though.

McLaren has sent along its long-standing F1 road car test driver, Peter Taylor, to look after us today, and he takes the car for a few laps to check it over and establish that all is in order. It clearly is and he offers a passenger lap or two to remind me of the car’s characteristics. evo has been to Bruntingthorpe’s XXL runway on a number of occasions to get big numbers from other supercars and come away disappointed, and back in 2003 we trekked to Germany to top 200mph. I’m soon wondering why.

I slip into the fixed, bucket-like, surprisingly comfortable left-hand passenger seat and I’m reminded how inclusive the F1’s unique three-seat layout is. I can see most of the instruments and the driver’s feet on the pedals, and I have a great view out of the low windscreen. It’s an almost cinematic experience, the view in Panavision widescreen and the V12’s voice as it gulps air via the roof-mounted intake a sort of Dolby surround-sound experience.

As Taylor had described, there is nothing amiss with its performance. Working it nicely through the long, long right-hander onto the main runway, the F1 feels settled into very mild understeer, the balance changing to neutral as Taylor gets back on the power fully and unwinds the lock as we join the main runway. We’re already motoring and four crisp 7500rpm upshifts later I look to the speedo with mild curiosity and do a double take. We haven’t crested the rise yet but the fine white speedo needle is swinging through the 180mph mark. Over the other side the needle climbs steadily to 200mph and beyond before Taylor gets on the brakes. That was ridiculously easy.

‘It’s best to stay off the expansion joints,’ says Taylor after a second 200mph-plus run, ‘and keep an eye on the windsock, too.’ Ah, that’s it then; the car was wandering more than on the first run because of a crosswind.

McLaren wanted the F1 to be everyday- useable and its compact dimensions (it’s 911-sized) and the lack of front and rear overhangs mean that speed humps hold no fears. But it feels like there’s not an over-abundance of downforce at very high speeds, even with the flip-up rear spoiler cranked to its most vertical setting. That said, this slipperiness contributes to the F1’s exceptional 240mph top speed.

My turn. Slide across the front edge of the left-hand passenger seat, hoik legs over the tall carbonfibre channel and then settle backside into the slim but instantly comfortable driver’s seat. And drink in the view. Wow. I’d forgotten how extraordinary the central driving position is, and how obviously right. The symmetry, the exceptional visibility, the feeling that you’re right at the very heart of things, that the car is built around you, the driver. Yes, it’s a bit of a faff getting there, but the rewards are great.

Twist the key, flick the safety cover off the starter button and rouse the V12. Snick the tall gearlever into first, ease the carbon clutch in without bothering the throttle and you’re away. The tractability of the 6.1-litre V12 is such that, as Taylor has demonstrated, it’s possible to go up through the box on tickover, and then floor the throttle in sixth without the merest hint of a stumble or a murmur of protest. This is an exquisitely tuned monster of an engine, and even pulling a top gear good for over 230mph, the F1 soon picks up pace and strikes out for the horizon. It’s a perfect illustration of the irresistible combination of big-capacity torque and a minimal kerb weight.

The lack of flywheel effect in the engine ensures that the revs flare and die back almost instantly, which is another factor in the F1’s amazingly crisp, clean throttle response. It also means that you’ve got to be positive and accurate with the gearshift, clutch and throttle; conducting the McLaren smoothly demands finesse, but the satisfaction of getting it just-so is ample reward. The biggest surprise as we mooch around for the camera is that the steering is perfectly weighted and brimming with textured feel. I don’t remember this, though I later learn that Gordon Murray reckons this particular F1 has the best steering feel of any he’s driven.

With the tracking shots bagged, I get the thumbs up and, ambling in second gear at a steady 3000rpm, I floor it. It feels like time travel; the F1 is gone, seemingly before the staccato bark of the engine digging deep has reached your ears or the throttle pedal has hit the stop. Sure, there’s a mighty engine in the back but the ease with which the F1 gains speed is uncanny, and although the engine sounds vocal, it spins very smoothly.

The ride is surprisingly supple too. Get on the brakes and the nose dips, tack into a corner and there’s a degree of roll, power up for the exit and the nose lifts again. Despite the name of the car and the motorsport experience behind its design and construction, it’s no race car in disguise. Yet there’s no slack, no lost motion either; a polished, instantly responsive feel permeates the F1, and the level of feedback and feel it delivers is unmatched by any other supercar.

Sweeping out on a wide line through the last corner, brushing the concrete kerb on the inside, you can feel its gentle ridges in detail through the rim of the steering wheel, and that’s followed by the crinkle-cut surface and the vein-like joints between the concrete sections of the runway on the exit. This is the car wrought as an instrument, a precision instrument.

The steering piles on weight in the faster turns, though, all the time relaying the level of detail you need and want but at the same time cautioning against getting too ambitious with the throttle. Many current supercars allow easy, risk-free access to their full performance, with power steering making their fat front tyres manageable and sophisticated stability control systems letting you know you’ve been over-ambitious by blinking a little yellow warning light and gently keeping a cap on things.

I didn’t want to overstep the mark when I first drove the F1 and I don’t today. I have no idea what a Bugatti Veyron would do without its stability control, or quite when it might do it, but I have a good idea of what the F1 would do, and it would involve not catching an oversteer slide. I remember watching one of Martin Brundle’s videos and seeing the look on his face when the rear of an F1 he’d borrowed stepped out in a straight line, in the wet, when he gave the throttle a good poke. Had there been subtitles, the words ‘Oh Lord, please, no’ would have appeared beneath his slack-jawed mug.

So although it has a finely responsive, torque-heavy, naturally aspirated engine tailor-made for on and just over the limit play, that’s not in the F1’s repertoire. But it doesn’t matter. The aural richness of this engine and its sparkling delivery, whether it’s lugging a high gear from low revs, keening to the red line, or anything in between, makes it utterly compelling.

Fifteen years on, the world has yet to welcome a better packaged, better finished or more habitable supercar. Or one that’s as potent, light and tactile. I admire the Bugatti Veyron, which has been developed just as fastidiously, but it’s a blunt instrument in comparison, a carpet bomber as opposed to a laser-guided missile. And although it does 253mph, the Veyron hasn’t moved the supercar game on.

The next generation of supercars will be smaller, lighter and more efficient. In other words, more like the McLaren F1, though there’ll probably never be another supercar that puts its driver so at the centre of things and so in charge of their own destiny.

Spec:

Engine: V12, 6064cc, dohc per bank, 4v per cylinder, variable inlet timing
Max power: 627bhp @ 7500rpm
Max torque: 479lb ft @ 4000-7000rpm
Top speed: 240mph
0-62mph: 3.2sec (claimed)
Price: £634,500 (1995)
On sale: 1994-1998
evo rating: 5/5

--

skazzy:

Im really looking forward to this car surprising its rivals. Just wish Mclaren would hurry the hell up, else it will look sterile like the Rapide.

 

 It already looks sterile. They need to change those headlights ASAP.

A new British supercar is born: Jenson Button drives the new McLaren MP4-12C...

The McLaren MP4-12C gets to 60mph in three seconds flat, shading the F1 by two tenths, and is half a second faster to the benchmark 200kph (124mph) at just 8.9 seconds...

I had a Bugatti Veyron for a few months,' says Jenson Button. The Veyron is the world's fastest, most expensive car.

'But I wouldn't compare it to this. It just wouldn't be fair on the Veyron...' 

The former world champion has joined Live and McLaren's engineers at the Portimao race circuit in Portugal for the final test of its new MP4-12C supercar. It won't be launched to the press until April, with the first customers taking delivery soon after. 

But I'm about to test it, and we're the first to be able to tell you what this all-new British supercar from a new British supercar maker is like to drive on road and track. 

Of course, you'd expect Button to be positive about the latest venture from the Formula 1 team that employs him. But his enthusiasm seems utterly genuine; uncontainable, even. He's already spent the morning driving the car and has had a long meeting with McLaren's engineers.

Jenson Button at the wheel of the 12C...

'The guys working on this project really know what they're doing, but for track use I think our input as racers has been useful. One thing I asked them to look at was the "click" action on the shifters and they've made it much more positive.'

We're sitting talking in one of the cars as another bright orange 12C streaks down the main straight at the circuit. Despite having spent all morning on track, Button plainly hasn't had enough. 

'Let's go chasing,' he says, so we reach up, pull the gullwing doors shut and conduct the rest of the conversation at race pace. 

It's hard to overestimate the importance of this new car. Ron Dennis, McLaren's famously detail-obsessed boss, has decided to create, from scratch, a British supercar maker to rival Ferrari.

Gullwing doors look dramatic but make access easy...

Within five years, McLaren will have a range of three supercars, plus lightweight and open-top derivatives, and will make 4,000 of them each year in the Norman Foster-designed factory it is building next to the McLaren Technology Centre, Dennis's Bond-villain headquarters near Woking, Surrey. 

It's a risky venture; the market for supercars is slowly recovering, but Dennis and his partners have no guarantee they'll see the £800 million they've invested in their road car project again. 

McLaren has built road cars before. It made over 2,000 carbon-bodied, £300,000 SLRs for its partner Mercedes between 2003 and 2009. And most famously, it built just 107 examples of the McLaren F1, at the time easily the fastest, most expensive car in the world, and now acknowledged as one of the greatest cars ever made. 

You'd have paid at least £540,000 if you'd had the foresight to buy one new; now, the best examples sell for £3 million, if you can find an owner willing to sell. 

On track at Portimao...

So will your 12C prove to be as good an investment? 

It will be a lot cheaper, and McLaren will build a lot more of them; around 1,000 each year at £168,500, pitching it directly against Ferrari's sensational 458 Italia. But like the F1 and every McLaren Formula 1 racer since 1981, the 12C gets a carbon-fibre chassis, making it about 50kg lighter than the aluminium Ferrari. It has more power too; its all-new twin-turbocharged V8 engine, designed by McLaren and built in Shoreham-by-Sea, has a colossal 592hp to the Ferrari's 570hp. 

So how fast is it? 

McLaren has kept the numbers secret until today. When the McLaren F1 first appeared it redefined fast, but the 12C accelerates even faster, and for a third of the price. 

It gets to 60mph in three seconds flat, shading the F1 by two tenths, and is half a second faster to the benchmark 200kph (124mph) at just 8.9 seconds. Less power means its top speed isn't as high, but 205mph is hardly slow, beating the Ferrari by just 3mph. Privately, McLaren's engineers say that number is conservative. 

Brake calipers with carbon-ceramic discs (left) and rear air intake (right)

I'd agree. On test, a couple of miles of clear, straight road saw the 12C easily hit a genuine 192mph. It was still pulling like a freight train; there was plainly lots more to come. The brawny turbocharged V8 delivers its grunt lower down the rev range than the highly strung Italian, and the sensation under full acceleration is closer to the mighty Veyron.

The seven-speed, twinclutch gearbox works like a proper F1 shifter. Hinged around the wheel, you can pull with your right hand or push with the left to change up. 

The gearbox has three modes; in maximum-attack track setting the shifts are incredible, each one virtually instantaneous but without being violent. The gearbox setting also controls the exhausts; in track mode you get the full hard, hollow howl as you home in on the 8,500rpm redline. 

Twin exhausts (left) and console with 7in touchscreen LCD display - here showing the Portimao circuit (right)

The McLaren is absurdly fast; you worry that you've crossed the line from fast to too fast, that your mind might not be able to keep up. And when you run out of nerve, the optional carbon-ceramic brakes stop you so hard you'll be hanging from your seat belt. But if you can steal a glance in the rear view mirror you'll see they're getting some help; a huge, near-vertical air-brake pops up under hard braking to help slow the car and put more weight over the rear tyres, keeping the 12C eerily flat and stable.

The way it stops is almost as impressive as the way it goes, and so is the way it corners. The radical new ProActive chassis control system delivers both near-flat cornering on fast roads or racetracks, and a limo-like ride on cratered urban Tarmac; they're usually mutually exclusive. And the handling is incredible, the 12C using the Brakesteer system, developed by McLaren for its F1 cars but banned by the sport's bosses, to gently brake the inside rear wheel through corners, sucking the nose tight into the apex. 

The rev counter

It's even good as a daily driver. Supercars are usually a pain to get into, see out of and park. No such issues here; the gullwing doors look dramatic but make access easy, and the terrific visibility, comfortable ride and quiet (maybe too quiet in 'normal' mode) exhaust make the 12C a car you'd be happy to trundle around town in. Bet you never thought you'd read that about a McLaren.

The only real flaw we can find with the MP4-12C is its flawlessness. It's like a child prodigy; generally begotten by hyper-ambitious parents, staggering in its abilities, perfect in its behaviour, but oddly cool and aloof, and difficult to warm to.

The other kids seldom want to hang out with the 12-year old concert violinist. Criticising a car for being too perfect seems odd, but in a supercar, character and emotion and idiosyncracy and simple, fidgety excitement count for a lot, too. 

Not that this is bothering Button, still out on the track and driving like his hair is on fire. When does he get his? 

'They haven't given me a date yet. But I've ordered it. Black paint, black wheels, black cabin, red brake calipers and red stitching on the seats. It looks terrifying.' 

If you see it behind you in London or Monaco or even Guernsey, where he lives, move over. 

Leather, Alcantara and carbon interior...

McLaren-MP4-12C_Daily-Mail-link

Im sure its incredibly fast and competent. Boringly fast in a good way!

The resemblance between Mclaren logo shown on its wheel caps and the Star Trek logo looks close.

Is their a switch for warp drive?

CAR magazine's review is online here:

McLaren MP4-12C supercar CAR review

>8^)
ER

Jenson Button takes evo's Chris Harris for a ride in the new McLaren MP4-12C...

New McLaren MP4-12C review

Rating: ***** (5 stars) 

We drive the new McLaren supercar, the MP4-12C, for the first time. Road test, video and pictures here...

-- by Chris Harris

(February 2011)

What is it?

The new McLaren MP4-12C, rival to the Ferrari 458 Italia, offspring of Ron Dennis. It costs £168,500, so is cheaper than the Ferrari, too.

Technical highlights?

No roll bars, no LSD, hydraulically supported and connected suspension, adaptive dampers, a little under 600bhp, 1301kg dry, carbon tub, optional ceramic brakes, brake assist, twin turbochargers. More technology than we’ve ever seen in a sports car before.

What’s it like to drive?

Unlike any other sports car because it separates the roles of ride and roll-stiffness. On a straight, bumpy road, it’s more comfortable than a Merc E-Class, change direction and it’s sharper than a GT3. There are 3 chassis modes: comfort, sport and track which bring increased roll-stiffness and more relaxed intervention from the ESP. The powertrain is remarkable in its strength and ease-of-use: the MP4 is noticeably quicker than a 458, doesn’t feel that turbocharged and makes a great noise. Crucially, you can separate the chassis functions from the powertrain (again, comfort, sport and track) so it’s possible to have sharp throttle response and faster gearshifts, with supple suspension. It is the most talented machine I have ever driven.

How does it compare?

To what? I mean can you think of an obvious rival? Only kidding – it’s faster than a Ferrari 458 Italia, has more useable performance, rides better, has more mechanical grip and is much, much more useable.

Anything else I should know?

Yes - that no one understands the emotional side to these machines like Ferrari does, and the MP4-12C, for all its brilliance, serves as a reminder. It’s not unemotional, it sounds great in ‘track’ mode, it steers beautifully and its engineering is intriguing – but it is a car you admire deeply rather than one you sell your family to own. As you can tell, I need more space to tell this story...

McLaren-MP4-12C_Chris-Harris_Evo-link

Set of hires images - if I can get the formatting right here...

>8^)
ER

A few more reviews...

Edmunds - Insideline with a quick video as well:

2012 McLaren MP4-12C First Drive

 = = = = = =

Steve Suttcliff has his say for Autocar here:

McLaren MP4-12C - Road Test First Drive - Autocar.co.uk

>8^)
ER

www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/mclaren-mp4-12c/255434/

McL have really done it here. This car is fantastic, and I for one love the exterior design.

Enmanuel:

 

 This car is fantastic, and I for one love the exterior design.

Judging from the pictures the design is awkward from certain angles. The cab forward design with the short, shallow front and the very wide and longer rear make the car significantly out of  aesthetic proportion.

It's a pity for this technical tour de force, Ferrari beater to be let down by less than perfect looks.

"Form follows function"

Performance is great.

Styling is meh. Sort of reminds me of the cars from Ridge Racer video game.

...the only thing stopping you in all likelihood, is you!

if "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" it is quite alright that you dont think it has perfect looks, but not everyone will share your views

I love it, makes the Ferrari look silly. There can't be a cheaper and faster competitor. Ball in your court Ferrari.

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 

Chris Harris: Further thoughts on the Mclaren MP4-12C:

Cold, clinical, unemotional.

You’re going to hear and read these words used a lot in association with the new McLaren MP4-12C. This is not a car that wears its heart anywhere near its sleeve: it’s a towering piece of engineering that requires time and a multitude of conditions to reveal the complexities of its brilliance. In many ways then, it is the anti-supercar, because a supercar by definition is a binary creature; something that exists on a solitary, self-indulgent, look-at-the-bulge-in-my-trousers level. 

Is the Macca better than a 458? I suppose technically it does things the Ferrari cannot do – it offers a blend of ride and handling never before witnessed in this type of car. It is also faster than the Ferrari – in fact even though I was stunned by the chassis’ spread of abilities, I was even more shocked by just how bloody fast it was. Hitting 124mph in 8.9sec from rest makes a travesty of the supposed opposition. But that doesn’t make it the greater car of the two, and I for one am not willing to be drawn much further into that discussion until I’ve driven both on the same road, the same track and had a chance to digest the results.

Understandably, everyone wants to know the outcome of 458 v Macca, but for me there’s an even more interesting story emerging here: one that deconstructs the role of this type of car. Once we’ve decided which one wins the group test, the internet-scuffles have abated and I’m choking on an MX-5 what I want to know is how people propose to use cars like the MP4-12C and 458. I think they question the nature of the ‘occasional’ sports car because they’re so damn good at being used all-the-time. Well, certainly the McLaren is.

The progression of the super-sports-car in recent years has been startling. Three years ago the benchmark mid-engined toy was a Ferrari 430 -1450kg of aluminium monocoque with 483bhp, two-stage dampers and a pretty ropey robotised paddle-shifter. The MP4-12C has 592bhp, its carbon tub contributes to a weight of 1336kg and it has a double-clutch gearbox. Its performance potential is in a different reality to the 430. Never forget that the Ferrari Daytona was launched in 1968, yet in 1980 it was still one of the fastest cars in the world. In other words, right now we’re seeing unprecedented advances in vehicle performance.

That the McLaren is an entirely useable everyday car is both undeniable and testament to the skill of the engineers behind it – but is it what this type of car should be? If you spend the week in an Audi A8, in your weekend toy do you want to change gear yourself or pull a paddle? You know what I’m getting at here – to me it feels like we’re right at the tipping-point in the driver/machine relationship. The current prerogative is very much engineering-lead; the language of communication is numerical, everything is faster, grippier, better. But where does the driver fit-in? Where does this development process take us?

It’s fascinating to watch the developing Ferrari/McLaren rivalry, it’s a privilege to drive these cars, but I for one hope that the driver will always be considered as something more than simply the operator of a set of electronic systems - because driving is the thing that draws us into this strange world of car-lust in the first place. As a sports-car manufacturer, if you forget that, you become the purveyor of three-dimensional arcade games which offer the potential for life-changing bills.

So I can’t tell you if the Macca beats the 458, but I can tell you that, great though they both are - sitting here right now - I suspect I would rather have an F40 than either.  

One might summarize all these (British) McLaren tests as concluding:  this English car is too German and not enough Italian.  

2010 Audi S5,  2009 Porsche 911S

Atzporsche:

I love it, makes the Ferrari look silly. There can't be a cheaper and faster competitor. Ball in your court Ferrari.

There has always been one, Porsche Turbos. It finally took the 458 to eclipse the 5 yr old 997Turbo, but the Turbo S is faster again.

Now there is 2.

4trac:

One might summarize all these (British) McLaren tests as concluding:  this English car is too German and not enough Italian.  

If the McLaren is really so, it's very positive. It means thorough engineering giving unbreakable performance with efficiency.

"Form follows function"

4trac:

One might summarize all these (British) McLaren tests as concluding:  this English car is too German and not enough Italian.  

Now it has to be discussed, if - regarding sportscars - "German" is really worse than "Italian".
 

--

The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

Ziggy:

.... but is it what this type of car should be? If you spend the week in an Audi A8, in your weekend toy do you want to change gear yourself or pull a paddle? You know what I’m getting at here – to me it feels like we’re right at the tipping-point in the driver/machine relationship. The current prerogative is very much engineering-lead; the language of communication is numerical, everything is faster, grippier, better. But where does the driver fit-in? Where does this development process take us?

...  I for one hope that the driver will always be considered as something more than simply the operator of a set of electronic systems - because driving is the thing that draws us into this strange world of car-lust in the first place. As a sports-car manufacturer, if you forget that, you become the purveyor of three-dimensional arcade games which offer the potential for life-changing bills.

.... great though they both are - sitting here right now - I suspect I would rather have an F40 than either.  
 

Beautifully put  This is why I prefer a manual to PDK

RT Moderator - 997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm sports suspension/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

Rossi:

4trac:

One might summarize all these (British) McLaren tests as concluding:  this English car is too German and not enough Italian.  

Now it has to be discussed, if - regarding sportscars - "German" is really worse than "Italian".

 

Of course, the Italians have been criticized for being too Japanese (California...) or even Gernam (Lambo/Audi...) .... it all gets very confusing. 
 

But back OT - I am sensing that the McLaren is a supercar for minimalists - everything takes place with minimal outward fuss or show, all invisible engineering, quiet looks, and sober interior.  If owners want some external flash or raw emotional connection with their supercar performance, it appears the McLaren is not for them....

--
 

2010 Audi S5,  2009 Porsche 911S

some vids

McLaren MP4-12C