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Video: Jay Leno reviews his personal McLaren MP4-12C
A few weeks ago, Jay Leno’s brand new McLaren MP4-12C was caught in California and now the late night talk show host is ready to put it in the spotlight. Something tells us he is very proud of his brand new $230,000 acquisition. Leno has sat behind the wheel of the MP4-12C many times considering he has repeatedly invited McLaren to his Garage for some test runs, but in this 15 minute video, Leno gets a bit more personal and goes into details of the MP4-12C that have never been addressed in other reviews. As a refresher, Leno’s McLaren MP4-12C is painted in a very cool Volcano Orange and is powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 that delivers a total of 592 HP at 7,000rpm and 443 lb-ft. of torque between 3,000 and 7,000rpm. It can hit a top speed of 205 mph. First Undisguised Images of the McLaren MP4-12C Spyder Surface
 
Now that McLaren has solved the problems associated with the MP4-12C Coupe, it’s time to focus our attention to the Spyder version due to be unveiled later in 2012. British magazine, CAR, was lucky enough to get ahold of the first images of the vehicle without any camouflage or decoy body panels. As seen in this image, the MP4-12C SPyder is as gorgeous as its coupe brother and will be offered with a folding metal roof - just like its competitor, the Ferrari 458 Italia Spyder. The McLaren MP4-12C Spyder’s three-piece roof will open and close in about 17 seconds and will operate at speeds of up to 5 mph. The rest of the car will be identical to the coupe version: it will be powered by a V8 engine with an output of 592 HP and 442 lb-ft of torque. However, performance figures won’t be similar because the Spyder will be heavier, so no one should expect the same 205 mph top speed. Top Gear Spills Some Images Before Season 18 Premiere
A few days after releasing the first video teasing the 18th season of the famous UK auto show, Top Gear has now trickled out some preview images of the new series. Plenty of cool cars have made it to the Top Gear set for their 18th season, including the brand new Lamborghini Aventador, the McLaren MP4-12C, the Mercedes C63 AMG Black, and many, many more. These photos will also show a behind the scenes look on the trio of Top Gear hosts, as well as some ninja fighting moves by the Stig. "Those who like to keep up with the fast-moving digital age will have seen our new trailer by now: Ray Winstone, Richard at the NASCAR, James on a rather bizarre lap of Dunsfold, a flying man with wings, Jeremy in a wig blowing up a caravan, a C63 AMG Black in a cloud of tyre-smoke and a new, dapper incarnation of the Stig." Check out the premiere of Top Gear UK Season 18 on Sunday, January 29th at 8pm on BBC2. TopSpeed’s Fastest Cars of 2011
 We’re rounding off our Best of 2011 lists with one that is near and dear to our hearts. This list is all about top speed and top speed only, those who have it and one who hopes to achieve it. Of course, speed hopes are nothing new. The battle for the fastest car in the world has been ongoing since the sports and super cars first made their appearance and more than likely, it will never end. These past couple years have been a game of one-upmanship between SSC and Bugatti with both succeeding in one way or another. But who tops the list for 2011? Before getting into that, we think it is important to note that we only incorporated vehicles that were sold in 2011. For example, the Koenigsegg CCX may have a top speed of 240 mph, but that production ended in 2010, which takes the supercar out of the running for this list in particular. Don’t worry, though, Koenigsegg is still well-represented. Hit the jump to see the top ten list of the fastest cars of 2011. Full story 2013 McLaren MP4-12C Spyder
McLaren’s response to Ferrari’s 458 Italia Spyder is well on its way, thanks to the success achieved by the MP4-12C coupe. The new MP4-12C Spyder was confirmed back in 2009 and should be arriving within the next year if it plans to tackle Ferrari’s drop top. When it does arrive, expect the new model to be priced at a few thousand more than the $230K coupe. The MP4-12C Spyder will feature a retractable hard-top, but will maintain the same mechanical setup and general design found in the standard model. Under the hood, we’ll more than likely find the twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-8 that will deliver a total of 592 HP. This engine will be mated to a 7-speed twin-clutch Seamless Shift Gearbox (SSG) that will be controlled via paddles mounted behind the steering wheel. The 0 to 60 mph will be made in about the same 3.3 seconds, while top speed will be 205mph. UPDATE 01/06/12: Here’s an interesting piece of tidbit we found out about the McLaren MP4-12C Spyder concerning the retractable hard-top it’s expected to come with. According to reports, McLaren will be using carbon fiber as the material for the drop-top roof. And, according to Auto Motor Und Sport, the McLaren will feature a roof system much like the one found on the Ferrari 458 Spider, meaning the roof will fold up first and then sink vertically behind the seats. TopSpeed’s Best of 2011: Supercar of the Year
Going through all of the glorious supercars of 2011 was no easy task, especially since it felt like every random country of the world was developing their own supercar. Each vehicle we came across deserved to have their time to shine on the list for best supercar of 2011, but as time went on, it was clear which ones stood out above all of the rest. A couple of the supercars on the list shouldn’t surprise anyone, especially since they were created by one of the top supercar makers in the world. Then there are the relative newbies to the group that have received enough recognition to warrant praise from the average car enthusiast, but the final vehicle would probably not be recognized by many and its home country may actually cause ridicule to ensue. The end result, however, was enough to give it a spot on our list. Hit the jump to check out which of the supercar bad boys made it to the top of our list for Supercar of the Year. Full story Video: Jay Leno’s McLaren MP4-12C caught in California
Jay Leno is known for his incredible car collection and his latest addition includes a $230,000 McLaren MP4-12C which he chose to unveil at the Supercar Sunday show, held at Westfield Promenade Mall 6100 Topanga Canyon Boulevard Woodland Hills. Luckily, and not surprisingly, someone was on hand to videotape the unveiling. Leno took all precautions necessary in the development of his MP4-12C, even heading over to the McLaren Test Center in Britain a few months ago to pay a visit. He also had the chance to test the car before actually buying it. So, apparently there are a few advantages to being a huge car collector and late night talk show host. Leno’s McLaren is painted in a very cool orange and is powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 weighing only 439 lbs. The engine produces 592hp at 7,000rpm and 443 lb-ft. of torque between 3,000 and 7,000rpm. It can hit a top speed of 205 mph. Video: Top Gear trio rolls around Rome in three supercars
Everyone’s favorite trio since the Three Stooges is back in the headlines after a few months of relative obscurity. Yes, friends; Clarkson, Hammond, and May are coming back for the 18th season of Top Gear and one of the first segments that has been leaked out is a real doozy. The trio was recently spotted filming a segment for Top Gear in Rome, Italy with a trio of exotics that would make any car-loving individual turn green envy. Check out the digs the boys have in their hands - a Lamborghini Aventador, a Noble M600, and a McLaren MP4-12C - and tell us that you don’t want to just to beat up these guys and run away with their supercars. Thoughts of violence aside, we’re actually pretty happy to see these guys back in action. We don’t know what kind of gimmick they have for those three exotics, but considering their long and rather infamous history with the cars they drive on the show, anything short of memorable will be a disappointment. While we await for the season to kick off at the break of 2012, we can sit down and enjoy this video of the three supercars being prepped for the three luckiest men on the planet.
Rendering: Get past the MP4-12C setback and check out our McLaren Special
 As if it wasn’t bad enough that after six years of development, the McLaren MP4-12C gets a rather disappointing - considering McLaren’s formidable reputation for speed - 7:28 Nurburgring lap time, the vehicle also has to deal with the safety issues that have recently plagued its existence. But fear not, McLaren followers, the company has already started to work its way past these problems and have even laid out a number of variants that will hopefully hit the market at a faster rate with better results. We all know McLaren will update the software needed to fix the issues and we find ourselves to be a group of rather positive and forgiving people, so instead of focusing on the mess McLaren has gotten themselves in, we’re going to look towards their future success stories. We don’t exactly know which model the market will be privy to first, but McLaren has three variants in their automotive pockets to dazzle the crowds in their chosen auto show: the McLaren MP4-12C Spider, the McLaren MP4-12C GT version, and the new successor for the F1 supercar, being called the McLaren MegaMac. We’ve come up with renderings for all three to provide an insight past the drama. Hit the jump to get details on McLaren’s three new MP4-12C variants. Full story McLaren MP4-12C laps Nurburgring in 7:28
Safety issues involving the McLaren MP4-12C may not be the only disappointing news surrounding the brand’s latest supercar. The MP4-12C was recently taken to the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit by Horst von Saurma, Editor-in-Chief of Sport Auto, and achieved a lap time of 7:28. A rather disappointing time considering McLaren’s formidable reputation for speed. This Nurburgring time positions the MP4-12C behind the Porsche GT2 RS’ impressive lap of 7:24, even though the GT2 RS posts a slower 0-60 mph sprint at 3.5 seconds to the McLaren’s 3.3 seconds. And that still doesn’t cover the best time at the Nurburgring. The McLaren will fall even lower on the list thanks to the Lexus LF-A which reported a lap time of 7:14 when equipped with the Nurburgring Package. The Lexus is a full 14 seconds faster than the McLaren around the Nurburgring, but can only do the 0-60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds. With the McLaren MP4-12C sporting a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 592hp @ 7,000rpm and 443 lb-ft. of torque between 3,000 and 7,000rpm, we’re thinking a redo is in order. However, for now, the McLaren can take comfort in knowing it beat out the Ferrari 458 Italia’s lap time of 7:38. | featured reviews: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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