McLaren Stepping Into The Consumer Market

It has been more than a decade since the British racing legends made history with their iconic F1, the fastest production car ever made (at the time). Only 106 of the hyper cars were made but Chairman Ron Dennis has made a striking statement “Since 1966, when McLaren first raced in F1, 106 teams have come and gone – and that tells me that if we stay solely as an F1 team it will lead to extinction.” Their new car, the stunning MP4-12C is said to be a bid to fight off the financial curse of F1 teams, by becoming a fully fledged road car manufacturer.

Dennis plans to build more than 1,200 of the cars in the first year alone, putting it in the leagues of the supercars it intends on competing with. It will cost around 150,000 which is standard supercar money and there have been 1,600 pre-orders already.

The car is set to be released in 2011 but the plant it will be produced in is yet to be constructed, but when it is it will create 300 new jobs. The car was revealed at a press conference in the company’s futuristic headquarters in Woking, it was uncovered by its first two test drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Antony Sheriff, Managing Director, said “The 12C won’t take you to the edge of what’s possible, It will take you to the edge of the edge. It’s what we call an ‘and’ car. It’s powerful and efficient; lightweight and safe; fast and comfortable.” It will be built around a revolutionary Carbon Monocell which is incredibly strong and will be capable of reaching 60mph in “under three seconds”.

Although there is no doubt of the supercar status of the MP4, it is unlikely it will cause as much of a fuss as the F1. The bigger question is whether the success of this car and this brand will fade along with their exclusivity? Will every millionaire want one if they know the wont own the only one on the roads? It’s a question that only time will answer but one that could determine the future of this Formula racing giant.

The new McLaren is bound to cause a few driving bans as many of the owners of the previous F1 were convicted of driving offence solicitor within months of receiving the car.