Car Throttle

There has been a lot of discussion about McLaren’s big return to the automotive scene. They never really were gone, as the company struck deals with Mercedes Benz to collaborate on an unique line of vehicles.

Now those days are behind them though and McLaren is setting ambitious goals as it stakes out a future for it’s own. I never was a big fan of the SLR McLaren anyway, so I’m glad to see them making their own cars again.

The new McLaren will be a lot different than the days of the record-busting F1. Pitched as a true British competitor for Ferrari and Lamborghini, it will have a full model lineup. The first result of the McLaren’s efforts is the recently introduced MP4-12C.

The company is going full speed with it’s plans (economic situation supposedly hasn’t changed any of them yet) as the intention is for the MP4-12C to be the volume model similar to way the 458 Italia should be for Ferrari. In order to do that, it’s a must for McLaren to have a strong presence in the North American market.

McLaren is putting together the team to do that right now, recently announcing the regional director for North American operations Anthony Joseph. Joseph (who previously did stints at Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati) will be responsible for setting up 10 McLaren retail locations in the United States and Canada. McLaren’s North American operations will be based out of the New York area. There is still a way to go until the first cars appear here though,as the MP4-12C’ has an on sale date sometime in 2011.