McLaren MP4-12C Makes North American Public Debut at Pebble Beach
It may be on the Concept Lawn at Pebble Beach, but the McLaren MP4-12C is not a hypothetical model – even if it’s named like one. One of very few carbon chassis vehicles in the world (a list which also includes the Lexus LFA, displayed directly next to the MP4-12C at Pebble Beach), this new McLaren model was not designed to be the supercar performer that the McLaren F1 was, but rather a usable exotic that will rival, and possible beat, the Ferrari 458 Italia in all categories.
Seeing it in person for the first time, with the Pebble Beach venue being its first North American showing, we’re still not sold on its looks, with an overall shape that doesn’t make us want to put up a poster of the car on our wall.
Power for the MP4-12C comes from a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 that makes 600-hp and 433 ft-lbs of torque and makes it to the ground through a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. McLaren estimates a 0-60 mph time of less than 3.0 seconds. The elapsed time to 124-mph (200 km/h) is set at under 10 seconds.
Exact pricing for the MP4-12C has yet to be set, but will be between $225,000 and $250,000. So far, six dealers have been announced in North America, including Auto Gallery in Beverly Hills, CA; Park Place in Dallas, TX; Miller Motorcars in Greenwich, CT; Price Family Dealerships in San Francisco, CA; Lake Forest Sportscars of Chicago, IL and Dew Luxury Motor Cars in Tampa Bay, FL. McLaren is expected to announce their representatives in Philadelphia, Orange County, Toronto and Miami shortly.
GALLERY: McLaren MP4-12C
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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