Car Throttle

It's been a long road to the McLaren MP4-12C. We attended an event last year for the opening of McLaren San Francisco and got to experience the MP4-12C (or 12C as they call it) first hand. For some customers, the wait has been years. It is about to get just a bit longer. AutoWeek is out with a report about slowed production at McLaren's plant in England. The delays are due to some minor quality issues that have impacted some of the first deliveries - a total of 59. While there was some rumors about the issues being safety or performance related, McLaren says that is not the case. Tony Joseph, head of McLaren North America says: "There are no safety concerns for

Singapore-based billionaire Peter Lim has completed a substantial investment in McLaren Automotive, the supercar manufacturer based in the London suburb of Woking. Forbes states that Lim derives his fortune from having a 5% share of palm oil giant Wilmar International. McLaren’s press statement announces that Lim will join the Automotive Board of Directors with immediate effect. The announcement of the addition of Lim to the board marks a significant step in McLaren’s global growth strategy as he has great influence in the Asian markets. It seems that McLaren hope that Lim will enable them to consolidate and strengthen the company’s position within Asia. Demand for what McLaren dub as the very first ‘pure’ McLaren car, the MP4-12C has been extremely high with Asian/Pacific retailers quoting

Continuous improvement - it is something necessary if you want to stay at the top of your game. Some automakers take it heart more than others. Many leave their products to last their model-cycle with just minor tweaks; others give mid-cycle enhancements (MCE) that we think are a good move. McLaren is a company known for its meticulous approach to product development, and it isn't waiting to improve its product. We experienced that first hand at a company launch event last year, meeting with executives of the company and getting a feel of the philosophy that is very deeply ingrained. PistonHeadsreports the company has taken input from automotive journalists, dealers and customers and already applied to the MP4-12C supercar. They include a new acoustic induction kit

In May, McLaren released videos of its racing series MP4-12C GT3 race car. The series is designed to prove the car's mettle and build further awareness for the MP4-12C. McLaren has a long history in racing. In February, production of the MP4-12C began at McLaren's site in Woking, England. There, over 1,000 cars are planned to be built over the next year. Reports have said that, based on those production numbers, the car is sold out for quite some time. Despite just recently introducing the MP4-12C GT3 racer, the company has already announced improvements to the car. Changes are making their first appearance at this weekend's Goodwill Festival of Speed in England. It will be running up the hill at the

Ahahaha, oh my. An "entry level" supercar - right, that makes sense.  It used to be there were sports cars that normal people could afford (Mustang, Corvette, Porsche 944, etc), and Supercars that only oil barons and filthy rich Enron executives could afford (F512M, Countach, Cizeta Moroder, EB110.)  As the industry moves along, though, we've actually developed upper and lower echelons of the supercar.  It's funny to think of something costing nearly a quarter-million dollars as being "entry level," but despite all the insanity of the Ferrari 458 Italia, it's not the craziest thing they make. There didn't used to be a lot of choice here, either - you could pretty much get an F355 or an Esprit, and a few others have crept in here

Late last year, McLaren confirmed a racing program for the MP4-12C. With an extensive history primarily rooted in motorsports, it was a no brainer. McLaren Automotive wants to get in on the action and attention afforded by racing the new MP4-12C. The result is the MP4-12C GT3 racing program, done in partnership with CRS Racing. For now, McLaren is starting out small, entering the 2012 European FIA GT3 Series in full force. This year, just one car will be fielded for competition, but McLaren is preparing 20 cars for next year's series. The company is accepting entries from private racing teams who would like to purchase the car to race. We walked away impressed when we checked out the McLaren MP4-12C at a private event in San

Over the past few years we have been witnessing the birth of a new volume manufacturer in the super car industry - McLaren. When we met with McLaren executives at an event in San Jose last year, it was clear there was a real excitement about the company and a view that was taking place was something big. The company has undertaken an extensive and meticulous five-year development process of the MP4-12C. That process has finally culminated with the MP4-12C's official start of production, which took place yesterday. Chassis 01 has yet to be completed but it is winding it's way through the production process at McLaren's Technical Center (MTC) in Woking, England. The site where most MP4-12Cs will be built is a site adjacent to the

McLaren has been readying its MP4-12C supercar for quite some time - we've been hearing about the car for years but the official unveiling took place in late 2009. Since then there have been a few delays, but the car is on track for global sale this year. The length of time is part of a painstaking development process that results in the impressive vehicle we hear about today. In San Jose last year, CarThrottle attended an unveiling and launch of McLaren San Francisco by Price Family Dealers. We came away impressed - its a car that pictures just don't do justice to. One thing we haven't known about the car is its pricetag - various figures have been bandied about, with them mostly being pegged

The McLaren MP4-12C is a supercar that has been in the works for quite some time. McLaren Automotive has put a staggering amount of attention to detail in to the car, obsessing over the final product. That has resulted in a bit of time before announcement last year and delivery of the production model next year. CarThrottle attended a preview of the vehicle last month and was quite impressed with what we saw. One of the few things about the car that hasn't been known for certain - pricing information, has now been revealed for global markets. Until now pricing for the MP4-12C has been pegged in the $250,000-range. While the United States has yet to see pricing officially released, that looks to have been

McLaren Automotive is moving full-speed ahead with its efforts in launching the MP4-12C. The supercar was designed to take the brand into the world of volume exotics, and no expense was spared in the effort. In May of this year, McLaren announced locations for 35 dealers. While McLaren has a rich automotive history known to us enthusiasts, they are starting from scratch in creating this dealer network. It will be separate from the network that serviced the F1 supercar. As McLaren works to get that network ready for launch next year, CarThrottle attended a preview of the MP4-12C for the Palo Alto, California location. It will be referred to as McLaren San Francisco. Over 600 businesses applied to become McLaren dealers - a very high number that was