Configure Pure McLaren
The Car | MP4-12C

All design begins with the driver

At McLaren, we believe that to a build a true driver's car, the first lines of a design concept sketch must be of a driver.   They are the first and most important component. We engineer everything around drivers and for drivers.

Visibility by design

The first and most fundamental part of car control is visibility.  After sketching the MP4-12C driver, we then added in forward sight lines, setting stringent visibility benchmarks. The driver can also clearly see the top of the 12C's front wings, which helps perfect placement of the car when corning. Rear vision is excellent, too.  The result is visibility that gives the 12C driver ultimate confidence and car control.

We've turned saving weight into an obsession

We're obsessed with weight at McLaren. With every gram added, the balance of power-to-weight it tipped, the CO2 emissions increase, and the performance decreases.  So we prefer to avoid adding it in the first place. 

Why Use Steel When Magnesium is 50% lighter? Magnesium is as strong as steel, but 50% lighter. Our engineers saved almost 9lb by designing the dash support beam in magnesium instead of steel, making the 12C the first car in its class to use as a structural component.

Carbon Monocell for Safety and Integrity

We've pioneered a technique that allows us to create a single-piece Carbon MonoCell with no seams or joints to compromise its integrity.  Its solid structure protects the driver, just like our Formula 1 carbon fiber monocoques.   The Carbon MonoCell at the heart of the MP4-12C weighs less than 177lb - substantially less than an all-aluminum chassis.  The lightweight structure at its core plays a vital role in the 12C's class-beating power-to-weight ratio.

Light and Strong

Carbon fiber was first used by the aerospace industry for its incredible strength-to-weight ratio. The Carbon MonoCell is also stiffer than a traditional all-aluminum structure, resulting in significant handling benefits.  We've used carbon fiber where its characteristics can provide true performance benefits. 

Designing the 12C's race derived engine from scratch allowed us to make it lightweight, efficient and powerful.  By combining a unique compact design with weight-saving materials, the M838T 3.8l V8 twin-turbo engine delivers breathtaking performance and class-beating CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency.

High-powered fuel efficiency Smaller capacity, light weight, high efficiency; the 3.8l V8, twin-turbocharged engine produces abundant torque throughout the 8,500 rev range.  80% of the torque is available below 2,000rpm, for extreme acceleration without having to bury the throttle. 

Despite is potency; the McLaren engine produces the highest horsepower-to-CO2 ratio of any car with an internal combustion or hybrid engine on the road today.  The 12C driver doesn't have to choose between power and efficiency: they get both.

From Formula 1 to road

Our racing team rely heavily on McLaren's sophisticated simulator for the testing and refinement of their cars.  So it was a natural step for us to use the same tools and techniques for the development of the MP4-12C.  Used intensively throughout its development, out engineers could refine the 12C's design by building and testing the car in a virtual world before a single piece of carbon was moulded.

Every line has a purpose

Streamlined and lean, the MP4-12C is distinctively McLaren: the low front cowl, the elegant, long windscreen, the unmistakable side air inlets, and the high, aggressive rear.  Every sculpted line of the 12C is designed to enhance its aerodynamics.  By using the same sophisticated techniques and technology we use for our Formula 1 cars, we've been able to use every millimeter of the 12C's body to optimize down force, for improved traction and cornering ability, and to reduce drag for increased speeds and fuel efficiency.