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McLaren 12C
Overview
Manufacturer	McLaren Automotive
Production	February 2011 – April 2014
Assembly	United Kingdom: Woking, Surrey
Designer	Frank Stephenson
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-door coupe 2-door retractable hard-top convertible
Layout	Longitudinal rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Doors	Dihedral
Powertrain
Engine	3.8 L M838T twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission	7-speed SSG Graziano dual-clutch
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,670 mm (105.1 in)
Length	4,509 mm (177.5 in)
Width	1,908 mm (75.1 in)
Height	1,204 mm (47.4 in)
Kerb weight	1,434 kg (3,161 lb)
Chronology
Successor	McLaren 650S

The McLaren MP4-12C, later rebranded as the McLaren 12C, is a sports car produced by the British carmaker McLaren Automotive. Manufactured between 2011 and 2014 and designed by Frank Stephenson, the MP4-12C was available as both a coupe and a retractable hard-top convertible, the latter known as the "Spider".

McLaren started developing the 12C in 2005. The company used prototypes from other carmakers as test vehicles for the upcoming project. The 12C marked McLaren's return to producing a production car since the F1, which ceased production in 1998. The 12C debuted online as the MP4-12C in September 2009, and McLaren began series manufacturing the car in February 2011, at the company's facility in Woking, Surrey. The 12C has a carbon fibre composite chassis and a turbocharged V8 engine that generates a power output of 453 kilowatts (616 PS) and a torque output of 600 newton-metres (440 lbf⋅ft).

McLaren debuted the 12C Spider in July 2012. The production of the 12C ended in April 2014, following a manufacturing period of three years during which more than 3,400 units were manufactured. It was succeeded by the 650S, with which the 12C shares most of its components.

Name

The McLaren Formula One team has used the "MP4" prefix as its chassis designation since 1981. This acronym stands for "McLaren Project 4", which originated from the merger of Ron Dennis' organisation, Project Four Racing, with McLaren. The "12" in the name refers to McLaren's internal "Vehicle Performance" index, which evaluates cars based on four key criteria: power, weight, emissions, and aerodynamics. The "C" in the name signifies that the car features a carbon structure. In 2012, McLaren dropped the "MP4" part of its name, simplifying it to "12C".

Development

McLaren used two Ferrari 360s as test mules to develop the MP4-12C.

McLaren began developing the 12C in 2005. In June 2007, the magazine Autocar reported that the McLaren's upcoming sports car would be independently built by the company, stating that this would give the company "a chance to re-establish [its] credentials at the top-end of the market". The upcoming sports car would mark McLaren's return to producing a production car since the F1, which ceased production in 1998. To develop the upcoming sports car, McLaren used modified versions of existing vehicles from other manufacturers as test mules. The first prototype, called the MV1, was a Ferrari 360 that featured a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine and side vents for additional cooling, which were incorporated into the production model. A second prototype, the MV2, was a modified Ultima GTR used to test the braking system and suspension components. A third prototype, the MV3, was another modified Ferrari 360 used to test the exhaust system. McLaren subsequently developed two in-house prototypes, the CP1 and CP2, which featured a "MonoCell" monocoque and were used to test heat management and performance.

McLaren produced over fifty experimental prototypes and tested in various regions to evaluate their performance in different environments. The testing locations included hot weather conditions in Bahrain, Arizona, and Nevada, cold weather conditions in the Arctic and Sweden, high-altitude conditions in South Africa and endurance testing on various circuits and roads in Europe. The head of testing for the programme, Geoff Grose, noted that the development team established bases at Idiada in northern Spain and the Prototipo facility near Nardo in Italy, where they conducted 24-hour testing sessions as well as 18-hour sessions from 8 am to 2 am the next day.

In 2008, Frank Stephenson was appointed as the lead design director of McLaren, becoming chief of the project late in its development. Stephenson made some adjustments to the design of its headlights, front bumper, and interior elements. His contributions were mainly small alterations, as the overall design of the car was already well-established at that point. The final design of the MP4-12C was unveiled online in September 2009, with its physical debut occurring at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2010. Following McLaren's investment of £50 million into its production facility at Woking, Surrey, which could build approximately 4,000 cars annually, the official manufacture of the MP4-12C began on 2 February 2011. David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, officially opened the building on 18 November 2011.

Design

Rear view

The 12C incorporates a carbon fibre structure called the "MonoCell". Compared to traditional riveted alloy structures, the MonoCell's weight is reduced and its stiffness is improved. The design's cost-effectiveness, swift production and flexibility made it suitable for adoption in other McLaren models. The company invested £127.7 million into the MonoCell. Manufactured by Carbo Tech in Salzburg, Austria, the carbon fibre structure weighs 80 kilograms (176 lb). The advances in carbon fibre fabrication reduced the time required to produce a MonoCell from 3,000 hours for the F1 and 500 hours for the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren to four hours for the 12C. The development of the MonoCell also created approximately 100 new jobs, both in the construction of the new facility and in the production of the monocoque. Carbo Tech went on to manufacture the MonoCell for McLaren cars for over eight years, making this the world's largest carbon fibre order for series-produced cars.

Working with McLaren Automotive in taking this fundamental engineering step in carbon-fibre engineering and production will, we believe, enable carbon technology to establish itself ever more in motor-vehicle production.

— Karl Wagner, Carbo Tech CEO

The 12C is a sports car with the body style of a two-door coupe. Incorporating dihedral doors, the 12C features a rear-wheel drive layout with a longitudinally-placed mid-engine. The 12C features a double wishbone and hydraulic suspension, the latter referred to as the ProActive Chassis Control. The car uses rack-and-pinion and electric power steering. The standard front brakes of the car feature a four-piston fixed calliper configuration, paired with a two-piece front rotor. The 12C uses a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine called the "M838T", which was produced by Ricardo PLC in West Sussex, England. It produces a power output of 453 kilowatts (616 PS) at 7,500 revolutions per minute (rpm) and a torque output of 601 newton-metres (443 lb⋅ft) at 3,000 rpm, sufficient to the car a 0–97 km/h (0–60 mph) acceleration time of 3.1 seconds and a maximum speed of 333 km/h (207 mph). The car's transmission is a seven-speed dual-clutch manufactured by Graziano called the SSG.

References

Bibliography

• Anema, Sybrand (2010), The 300 Club, Dorrance Publishing Company, ISBN 978-1-4349-5564-7
• Rehkopf, Jackie D. (2011), Automotive Carbon Fiber Composites, SAE International, ISBN 978-0-7680-7577-9
• Rudnick, Leslie R. (2013), Synthetics, Mineral Oils, and Bio-Based Lubricants, CRC Press, ISBN 978-1-4398-5538-6