McLaren MP4-12C revealed further

McLaren has revealed complete details for the MP4-12C. The McLaren MP4-12C shows the company’s new approach, in which they make the cars a bit more affordable and more user-friendly.

In 2010, McLaren Automotive passed a significant number of milestones in its development as the world’s newest sports car company. The McLaren Production Centre began construction in March, the 12C made its global public debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed in southern England, in North America the 12C debuted at the renowned Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance event, and prospective customers for the 12C were given the opportunity to see the car in the metal at a series of exclusive presentations hosted by McLaren Automotive’s new retail partners across the globe.
The 12C goes on sale at a groundbreaking price for a carbon chassis-based car and McLaren Automotive will produce up to 1,000 12Cs for sale worldwide in its first production year. With the new McLaren Production Centre fully operational, it is anticipated that McLaren will build up to 4,000 cars across its model range annually by the middle of the decade, a figure that will account for between three and four percent of the annual global market for premium sports cars.

Through a combination of carbon fibre expertise, innovative Formula 1-inspired technologies and development programmes, and a desire to launch a range of ‘pure McLaren’ road cars, the groundbreaking new McLaren MP4-12C has redefined high-performance sports car benchmarks. By March 2010, when the 12C was first revealed, McLaren Automotive was close to achieving its own high performance targets within the intensive testing and development programme. Key segment targets included:
lowest CO2 output and best fuel consumption
highest power with fastest acceleration and braking across all typical benchmark speed and distance parameters
lightest weight, and therefore highest power to weight ratio
All within a package of more subjective, but equally important, benchmarks: comfort, practicality, driveability, and ownership costs. To be a success, and bring innovation to the market, McLaren knew the 12C had to be the first genuine ‘no compromise’ high-performance sports car.

Now, as the first production cars enter the McLaren Technology Centre, segment-best performance data is confirmed. Headline figures include:
0 – 200kph in 9.1s (8.9s on optional Corsa tyres)
CO2 emissions of 279g/km (equating to 24.2 EU mpg combined)
0 – 100kph in 3.3s (3.1s with optional Corsa tyres)
top speed: 330kph (205mph)
100 – 0 kph in 30.5 m (100 ft)
¼ mile: 10.9s @ 135 mph
dry weight (with lightweight options): 1301kgs / 2868 lbs
carbon MonoCell chassis weight: 75kgs / 165 lbs
power: weight (lightweight options): 461PS / 455bhp per tonne.
power: 600PS (592bhp) at 7,000 rpm
torque: 600Nm between 3,000 – 7,000 rpm

Now, the 12C takes carbon innovation to a new level. It is based on a unique one-piece moulded carbon chassis: the MonoCell, which weighs just 75kgs (165lbs). The MonoCell concept required it to provide the perfect combination of occupant space, structural integrity, light weight, and relatively low construction costs. And the ideal chassis from which to deliver ground-breaking efficiency and performance in the sports car market.

The unique new M838T engine powering the McLaren MP4-12C is a 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 engine, designed by McLaren Automotive.
Weighing 199kg (439lbs), the M838T features a dry sump lubrication system and a flat plane crankshaft, which has allowed McLaren Automotive’s engineers to place the engine extremely low in the chassis, lowering the 12C’s centre of gravity and in turn optimising the car’s handling responses.
At the rear, high level exhaust pipes exit the car from a mixing box rather than a conventional silencer unit, saving weight. An optional Sport Exhaust system made from Inconel, an extremely heat-resistant nickel-chromium-based alloy, further reduces weight and enhances the exhaust note.
Mated to the M838T is a dual clutch, seven-speed ‘SSG’ transmission. Using the Active Dynamics Panel situated in the centre console of the 12C’s cockpit, the characteristics of the SSG transmission can be switched through three different settings: Normal, Sport and Track modes. Each provide a progressive immediacy of gear shift, operated through finger-tip controls mounted on a rocker behind the 12C steering wheel: upshift by either pulling with the right hand or pushing with the left, and vice versa to downshift. This ‘one-hand shifting’ principal, and the satisfying mechanical ‘click’ on gearchange, is reminiscent of the shift mechanics introduced and still used in the Formula 1 cars.
The SSG transmission also features a ‘Pre-Cog’ function. By applying moderate pressure to the shift control the driver is able to pre-load the clutch, thereby decreasing latency to virtually zero when the paddle is fully depressed between the shift message being sent and action being taken by the transmission to swap ratios. Gear shift becomes virtually instantaneous.
The SSG system has another trick in its box. If the driver enters a sharp corner too quickly, requiring a strong braking action, there is every chance he will not be in the ideal gear for smooth acceleration out of the corner. If the left-shift control is depressed and held, instead of ‘clicked’, while under braking, the transmission matches engine speed to the correct lowest gear.
‘Automatic’ mode, ‘Launch Control’ and ‘Winter’ modes can also be selected on the Active Dynamics Panel, the latter changing all electronic functions to suit low grip conditions and delivering maximum driver aid and support. There is no traditional manual transmission offered; the two pedal layout offered further scope to create a narrow, lighter, and more comfortable car.

In essence, it is a system that applies braking forces to the inside rear wheel when the car is entering a corner too quickly to make the desired radius – supporting either a driver who has misjudged the corner, or a skilled driver seeking the fastest possible entry and exit from a corner. Under normal circumstances these scenarios would tend towards a state of understeer. Brake Steer controls this and makes the car behave in a more neutral fashion, bringing its nose back on line. It assesses the steering angle to determine the driver’s intended course and applies the inside rear brake to increase yaw rate and resume the desired course.
The system also works on acceleration out of a corner when the inside rear has a tendency to spin, allowing the driver to put power down more quickly.
The 12C’s ESC system is managed electronically by the driver-operated Active Dynamics Panel settings. The 12C provides ample grip and safety in ‘Winter’ or ‘Normal’ modes, yet ESC offers increased slip in ‘Sport’ or ‘Track’ modes.
A unique McLaren Airbrake adds drag and rear downforce when deployed under braking, helping the car to decelerate and meaning more rear brake pressure can be used, hence stopping distances are shortened.
Adding rear downforce also improves the car’s stability under braking to give a more secure feel and optimum track performance: under typical heavy braking, the rear can go ‘light’ as weight is transferred forwards, ‘pushing’ the front of the car down. With an Airbrake, the car behaves as if ‘pulled’ from behind, counteracting the tendency to dive, therefore maintaining traction.
Under heavy braking above 95 km/h, a piston operated by transmission hydraulics raises the Airbrake to 32 degrees. Once the first stage ‘wing angle’ is set, and the Airbrake pushed into the airflow, the centre of aerodynamic pressure forces the bottom of the ‘wing’ back up to 69 degrees: aerodynamics raise the Airbrake to its full and maximum angle rather than relying on a larger, and therefore heavier, motor. This weight-saving solution took almost 50 per cent of weight out of the mechanism.

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