RE: Driven: McLaren MP4-12C

[BIGBerries]

hornetrider said:

That's all very well (the review) - but what I want to know is this. Is it clinical?

i always assumed "clinical" meant you had to be very precise in your driving style to maximise its potential rather than how effectively it is able to accelerate, corner, beat a remapped 335d etc etc...
the car actually reminds me of one from grand theft auto

[Richard-G]

BIGBerries said:

hornetrider said:

That's all very well (the review) - but what I want to know is this. Is it clinical?

i always assumed "clinical" meant you had to be very precise in your driving style to maximise its potential rather than how effectively it is able to accelerate, corner, beat a remapped 335d etc etc...
the car actually reminds me of one from grand theft auto

Chuck Norris/ you dont beat a 335d, it merely allows you to race against it \Chuck Norris

[RDMcG]

Based on the reviews, (obviously no personal experience), It seems as if its perfect and passionless. It will kill all performance tests. The styling leaves me utterly cold however. If I had to choose between the 458 and the Macca, I would opt for the 458, which is a magnificent looking car as well as capable.

[scampbird]

K321 said:

i think this car will be a flop in the same vein as honda nsx

the car looks dated, i saw a prototype a few months ago in a mcdonalds car park and when i saw it i thought it looked like a gallardo kit car.


the back end to me looks particularly awful, and plasticky

globally i think this car will be a sales disaster, why would someone in usa,/china/russiapick this car over a 458/997/lp 700/ audi R8

Couple of points I'd make to that. Firstly, if the NSX was a flop they wouldn't have kept on making it for so long. It was a halo car. Secondly, Mclaren has the right badge, so I doubt it will endure the snobbery the NSX suffered.

Looks are subjective, I love it, where I find the 458 a little fussy.

[Chris Chilton]

It's fascinating to see everyone so worked up about the 'soul' thing. I drove the car at the launch a couple of weeks back and it is bloody brilliant. No, I'm not 100% convinced about the styling, but there really is little else to fault.

If you had one of these and a 458, you'd spend more time in this (and with a big grin plastered on your face), no question. I remember people slagging off the R8 before they'd driven that to, and it turned out to be the best thing that had happened to supercars/sports cars for years.

[Scuffers]

K321 said:

i think this car will be a flop in the same vein as honda nsx

the car looks dated, i saw a prototype a few months ago in a mcdonalds car park and when i saw it i thought it looked like a gallardo kit car.

and on what criteria are you going to call it a flop?

From what's been said, they have already got deposits for the first 2 years production, which in my books does not make it a flop.

On the basis that there were only some 106 examples of the F1 ever made, was that a flop too?

Let's face it, they are never going to make this in huge numbers, compared to Ferrari who shipped 6,673 cars last year (467 in the UK), even with the new factory running Mclaren are only talking 1,500 PA

[cathalm]

Harry Monk said:

Your argument would have some credence if any of the British alternatives you mentioned were
a). properly British companies
or
b). better than the German alternatives.

Unfortunately, neither is the case. Which is why the British car industry is in such a parlous state. What is our biggest domestic manufacturer? Metrocabs? We turned into a sweat shop for Japanese and American companies and even that is looking like a dead end.

I'm not trying to run down our country as I would love to see the McLaren stick it to the rest and early reports suggest it just might. I just don't view our domestic output through rose-tinted spectacles. Your login name suggests otherwise.

Bleargh, I wrote an enormous diatribe bullying you furiously. With hindsight it was probably a bit much. I have therefore removed it simply stick to my previous point. You sir, are a ninny.

Edited by cathalm on Tuesday 15th February 14:39

[Chris Chilton]

We did get about 20 mins on the road too, so not loads of time, but enough to sample the ride comfort of the hydraulic suspension - and do some serious speeding on the motorway. Apparently McLaren had squared things away with the local police and there were various McLarens steaming down the road at 190mph+. All driving was done with McLaren chaperones, so there were some very white faces dressed in Hugo Boss exiting the cars when they returned to the circuit!

You know, the R8 V10 is the car that the 12C most reminds me of. It’s just so well rounded: you can see out, the handling is really exploitable and the ride comfort is incredible. That just sounds like fuel for the 'clinical' brigade, but it's what makes cars like the Cayman, Golf Gti and R8 so much better than their peers. I know Autocar will probably twin test the 12C with the Noble M600, but I’m more interested to see how far the R8 could take things.

Of course the 12C is on a different planet to the R8 and everything else. It’s so much faster in a straight line and round corners. You would not believe how well this thing turns into corners. Can’t wait for my next go. The full launch is next month I think. Hope you enjoy the mag tonight.

[scampbird]

Chris Chilton said:

We did get about 20 mins on the road too, so not loads of time, but enough to sample the ride comfort of the hydraulic suspension - and do some serious speeding on the motorway. Apparently McLaren had squared things away with the local police and there were various McLarens steaming down the road at 190mph+. All driving was done with McLaren chaperones, so there were some very white faces dressed in Hugo Boss exiting the cars when they returned to the circuit!

You know, the R8 V10 is the car that the 12C most reminds me of. It’s just so well rounded: you can see out, the handling is really exploitable and the ride comfort is incredible. That just sounds like fuel for the 'clinical' brigade, but it's what makes cars like the Cayman, Golf Gti and R8 so much better than their peers. I know Autocar will probably twin test the 12C with the Noble M600, but I’m more interested to see how far the R8 could take things.

Of course the 12C is on a different planet to the R8 and everything else. It’s so much faster in a straight line and round corners. You would not believe how well this thing turns into corners. Can’t wait for my next go. The full launch is next month I think. Hope you enjoy the mag tonight.

The clinical thing is a bit too much an automotive cliche these days. It was old back in the 348 vs NSX days. So a car is brilliant at everything. That just makes it very, very good, doesn't it? And when you open that garage door, and you know that whats behind it looks good, will start first time, will be fun whatever the conditions, then it becomes incredibly endearing. For me, cars that can't be used all the time, that don't like to start, that aren't reliable get really tiresome really fast. And then they get sold.

Great Car mag this month by the way, read it cover-to-cover last night.

[cathalm]

K321 said:

i think this car will be a flop in the same vein as honda nsx

the car looks dated, i saw a prototype a few months ago in a mcdonalds car park and when i saw it i thought it looked like a gallardo kit car.


the back end to me looks particularly awful, and plasticky

globally i think this car will be a sales disaster, why would someone in usa,/china/russiapick this car over a 458/997/lp 700/ audi R8

I would think maybe because they want the best car. There are still some of us who enjoy cars for the driving experience and not for their quality to substite for a splendid velour handbag or a simply delightful pair of Manolo Blahniks.

It is still Pistonheads- Speed Matters, not Pistonheads- Posing and effete concerns of aesthetics matter.

[simonpeter]

We have always had the technical ability to produce brilliant cars like this. What a shame we can`t build a mass market car to compete with the Germans! We only invest in the specialist markets. Why can`t the man on the street buy British. Maybe Ron Dennis thinks about millionaires only :-)

[Harry Monk]

cathalm said:

Bleargh, I wrote an enormous diatribe bullying you furiously. With hindsight it was probably a bit much. I have therefore removed it simply stick to my previous point. You sir, are a ninny.

Edited by cathalm on Tuesday 15th February 14:39

When you have no argument, go with the ad hominem. The tactic of the internet bully.

[Chris Chilton]

The 12C is not going to be a sales disaster. Whatever you think of the styling - and many will love it - it drives well, is solidly engineered and has the pull of the McLaren name that F1 racing ensures is already know worldwide, even in emerging markets. Plus it's not a Ferrari!

[Harry Monk]

Chris Chilton said:

Plus it's not a Ferrari!

That will deter many but attract some. What I like about this car is that it appears to be a proper driver's car in a sector of the market dominated by posing pouches. Let's hope that there are enough customers in this category who value its attributes.

[Davey S2]

Harry Monk said:

That will deter many but attract some. What I like about this car is that it appears to be a proper driver's car in a sector of the market dominated by posing pouches. Let's hope that there are enough customers in this category who value its attributes.

Or alternatively the first examples arent bought by Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney

[Davey S2]

Chris Chilton said:

Apparently McLaren had squared things away with the local police and there were various McLarens steaming down the road at 190mph+.

I dont believe any police force would sanction top speed runs like that.

[Harry Monk]

Davey S2 said:

Harry Monk said:

That will deter many but attract some. What I like about this car is that it appears to be a proper driver's car in a sector of the market dominated by posing pouches. Let's hope that there are enough customers in this category who value its attributes.

Or alternatively the first examples arent bought by Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney

I think I'd cry. Can McLaren refuse to sell to footballers and rappers? Please?

[Harry Monk]

Davey S2 said:

I dont believe any police force would sanction top speed runs like that.

I've been on a few press launches in Sicily where I think the main attraction is the unbending and incorruptible police presence.

[Streetrod]

Chris Chilton said:

We did get about 20 mins on the road too, so not loads of time, but enough to sample the ride comfort of the hydraulic suspension - and do some serious speeding on the motorway. Apparently McLaren had squared things away with the local police and there were various McLarens steaming down the road at 190mph+. All driving was done with McLaren chaperones, so there were some very white faces dressed in Hugo Boss exiting the cars when they returned to the circuit!

You know, the R8 V10 is the car that the 12C most reminds me of. It’s just so well rounded: you can see out, the handling is really exploitable and the ride comfort is incredible. That just sounds like fuel for the 'clinical' brigade, but it's what makes cars like the Cayman, Golf Gti and R8 so much better than their peers. I know Autocar will probably twin test the 12C with the Noble M600, but I’m more interested to see how far the R8 could take things.

Of course the 12C is on a different planet to the R8 and everything else. It’s so much faster in a straight line and round corners. You would not believe how well this thing turns into corners. Can’t wait for my next go. The full launch is next month I think. Hope you enjoy the mag tonight.

Hey Chris, nice to have someone from the motoring press on here that has actually driven one.

I have driven the 458 and the R8 V10 and I have to say I prefer the R8 as it felt more rounded. Not as fast of course but more of a car you could see putting some serious mileage on. I felt the 458 was too influenced by the electronics. If you turned them off the car became almost undriveable, but maybe that was just my lack of skill.

I also felt that on the road the R8 was actually quicker than the Gallardo. It just felt like it gave you more confidence.

I think McLaren have taken the R8 concept and ramped it up to another level, what do you think?

Edited by Streetrod on Tuesday 15th February 15:52

[Streetrod]

Here you guys what appears to be the first Drag race between the McLaren, the 458 and the Porsch Turbo.

HOW FAST IS THE MACCA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXP71C59IBs