McLaren has unveiled their new MP4-27 Formula 1 Race Car that will be used during the 2012 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. This year, the car will be driven by the two world champions: Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
The new MP4-27 is a natural evolution of last year’s six-race-winning car, but it has received a number of modifications in order to comply with the new FIA regulations. The 2012 chassis has been substantially revised from the ground-up, with all major systems updated or re-designed for the new season. The racing car has also received more tightly waisted rear bodywork, developed to improve flow to the rear of the car, and a revised cooling system, which re-directs the gearbox oil-cooler. The U-shaped sidepods from last year’s model have also been re-designed due to the new exhaust regulations.
The McLaren MP4-27 Formula 1 Race Car will begin testing on Tuesday February 7th, 2012 at Spain’s Circuito de Jerez with Jenson Button behind the wheel.
In today’s world of ungodly-powered supercars, an old hat that has been lost in the shuffle is looking to re-enter the conversation, determined to remind everyone that while their name hasn’t been mentioned in talks of ’fastest supercar on the planet’, it was a matter of choice rather than cause.
Rumors are coming out of Woking, England that McLaren is finally in the process of developing the long-awaited successor to the iconic McLaren F1. This is the very same car that ushered in a new generation of supercars when it made its debut back in the mid 90s, setting the standard on how supercars are built these days.
While official details are still being withheld, Autocar managed to get some juicy information on what’s in store for this new supercar, including the nickname it’s been given: ’Mega Mac.’
It sounds like it doesn’t inspire a lot of fear and trepidation from its competitors, but nonetheless, we’re confident that ’Mega Mac’ won’t be the final name of the car. Somewhere along the lines, McLaren will have something more suitable for their new flagship supercar. Right now, they are internally calling the new hypercar the P12
UPDATE 11/21/2011: McLaren has confirmed that the company’s next supercar will be called the MP4-27 and it will be launched sometime next year. When talking about the company’s future plans in an official press release, Mclaren said that they were "preparing build-work on next year’s car, MP4-27 – we are nine months into the development programme and have already stored 18,918 individual components from more than 3,000 different works orders and signed off more than 5,500 technical drawings."
UPDATE 1/19/2012: British magazine, CAR,is offering new details on the McLaren successor for the F1 supercar. The magazine reports that the P12 will be share a similar carbon Monocell structure as the MP4-12C and will be powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine combined with a KERS energy storage system. The price for the car will be in the €750k area (or $960,000 at the current exchange rates.
For now, immerse yourselves in the first details of the car after the jump.
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McLaren showed up to the Pebble beach Concours d’Elégance in July 2011 with the announcement of its McLaren Special Operation Program - a program that would offer their customers the chance to customize their MP4-12C in any way they desire. The first model to receive the special treatment was an MP4-12C in a Volcano Orange exterior finish and now we have the second model to don the changes. The second MP4-12C to receive these modifications is called the High Sport and features exterior and interior updates, as well as an extra 75 HP.
Clearly, the exterior benefited from the exquisite orange paint finish, but it also received a new rear bumper with rear vents inspired from the MP4-12C GT3 race car, an extended diffuser, and a modified active rear wing. The MP4-12C also received a redesigned front nose in order to maximize downforce. The extra 75 HP was achieved by increasing the airflow to the turbo intercoolers.
The McLaren MP4-12C High Sport is limited to only 5 units and is now available in Miami dealerships. McLaren hasn’t announced pricing for these special edition units, but expect to pay an extra 50%, at least, over the car’s standard price of about $230,000.
Hit the jump to watch a video of the McLaren MP4-12C High Sport.
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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.
A few weeks ago, Merdad dropped a teaser photo of their tuning package for the McLaren MP4-12C, the first program to be done for the British supercar.
Today, the UK tuning firm has finally unearthed a few details about the car, including the car’s name: the MehRon GT.
The bodykit added to the MP4-12C features a dramatic styling make-over that not only looks wider, but far more aggressive than what McLaren came up with. There’s another newly-released photo that shows the supercar’s more muscular rear end, which predictably comes packed with carbon fiber. And in addition to the extensive exterior modifications, the MP4-12C’s interior also comes with plenty of personalization options depending on the customer’s preferences.
As far as the performance modifications on the car are concerned, Merdad is still keeping that in house for now, opting only to share that the supercar comes with a new SuperSound exhaust system, special design set Merdad lightweight forged wheels and, most importantly, a significant increase in power.
The car is scheduled to be unveiled next year, which means that it gives Merdad plenty of time to completely blow us away. There’s a lot of pressure considering that it’s the very first tuning program for the MP4-12C, but as far as the early returns are concerned, these guys are definitely on the right track.
