McLaren MP4-12C GT Can-Am Confirmed for Production as "Ultimate Track Car"
McLaren Automotive has confirmed its wild track-focused MP4-12C Can-Am Edition concept car is heading to production as the most powerful version of the brand’s new sports car yet.
Unveiled originally at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance this summer, the production announcement was made last night at the Circuit of the Americas in Houston, TX as one of the many festivities surrounding the return of Formula One racing to America at the 2012 United States Grand Prix.
Just 30 Can-Am edition models will be made, celebrating the legacy of Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme, who raced McLarens in the Can-Am series and landed several championships.
McLaren is calling this new model “the ultimate track car” and saying that it won’t be subject to the sort of usual regulations the GT3 car it’s based on is, while power will be increased all the way to 630 hp.
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Numerous parts will be swapped out for carbon fiber components, while a massive rear wing is alone responsible for improving downforce by 30 percent. Cars will come dressed in black forged racing wheels with Pirelli racing tires, while inside is a full FIA-approved rollcage with six-point harnesses and a race-spec steering wheel borrowed from the GT3 racer.
And because McLaren doesn’t want you to suffer for style (or lap times), they’ve also installed air conditioning.
Production of the MP4-12C Can-Am Edition will begin in March of at a cost of £375,000 (US pricing has not been announced).
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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