McLaren MP4-12C

Called the MP4-12C, it’s set to make all the headlines at next week’s Frankfurt Motor Show. The car follows in the footsteps of the legendary F1 of the Nineties, and aims to take McLaren straight back to the top of the class.

While bosses have still to confirm 0-60mph times or a top speed, the newcomer is powered by a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine and has a featherweight body.

So it’s safe to predict a sprint time of about 3.5 seconds and a 200mph maximum.

The complex name is born out of McLaren’s motorsport heritage.

It comprises the chassis designation of its Formula One racers (MP4), an internal code number (12) and the use of carbon in the car’s body and chassis (C).

Mated to the powerful engine is a ‘Seamless Shift’ double-clutch gearbox that alters the speed of gearchanges to suit everyday use or performance driving.

What’s more, the 12C becomes the first production model to use the lightweight carbon monocoque found in grand prix cars. This Carbon Monocell tips the scales at only 80kg, is incredibly rigid and doubles as a safety shell.

Further weight savings have been achieved with the introduction of aluminium and cast-iron composite brakes. Buyers will be able to specify even more powerful carbon ceramic anchors as an optional extra.

In addition, McLaren has fitted a ‘virtual’ limited-slip differential, similar to that on Ford’sFocusRS.

The company’s Brake Steer system stops the inside rear wheel spinning to limit cornering understeer. As with all the safety packages included on the 12C, though, the driver will be able to adjust the level of interference to suit their taste.

Another feature is McLaren’s new Proactive Chassis Control suspension.

This is based on double wishbones with coil springs, and replaces the traditional anti-roll bars with an adjustable roll control system. This limits body movement in corners – but the suspension is decoupled when travelling in a straight line, so that it can absorb bumps well.

While comparisons between the 12C and the F1 are inevitable, the two cars are very different.

The F1 was the ultimate money-no-object, limited-run road car. But with the MP4-12C, McLaren plans to become a major supercar producer, building 1,000 in the first year of sales.

The F1 was the ultimate money-no-object, limited-run road car. But with the MP4-12C, McLaren plans to become a major supercar producer, building 1,000 in the first year of sales.

The car is due here in 2011, and will take the fight to the the Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo.

McLaren P1

This is the McLaren P1. Officially, McLaren is calling the P1 a design study, with the final production version being shown next year.

In reality, the car that’s coming next year will ­probably look very much like this.

The P1 looks imposing in the ­photographs, but it’s actually little bigger than the current MP4-12C and is shorter than a Porsche 911.

The orange sections of the bodywork are the creation of McLaren’s design boss Frank Stephenson (who also did the Mini) and the matt black parts were shaped in McLaren’s wind tunnel.

McLaren says its car will only do around 239mph! Not fast enough to catch a Veyron, but it’s still pretty quick and will be devastatingly fast around a track.

Volkswagen may have made the Bugatti Veyron very speedy, but the German company doesn’t have the experience of McLaren when it comes to lapping a track quickly.

Like the MP4-12C, the P1 has a monocell carbon-fibre chassis using the same doorframe assembly as that car.

The outer panels are made from carbon fibre and the model will weigh under 1,300kg, which is amazingly light.

It’s likely that the P1 will feature an array of active aerodynamic details that will be automatically adjusted as speeds increase.

There’s a huge diffuser at the rear of the car and the pronounced flat bottoms of the sideskirts suggest that the P1 will sit down on its suspension at high speed so that more down-force will be ­generated.

Formula One is governed by technical rules, but that doesn’t apply to a road- going supercar, of course. So McLaren’s engineers can try out loads of ideas on the P1 that are banned in F1.

Take active suspension systems for example. The P1 could feature this and an active anti-roll system that virtually eradicates body roll as the car goes into a corner.

This, and the active ­aerodynamics, will mean the P1 will be untouchable on a racing circuit.

The P1 will use a tuned version of the MP4-12C’s twin-turbo 3.8 litre V8 that should produce something like 800bhp.

That will be boosted by an F1-like KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) that uses a pair of flywheels delivering up to 160bhp in short bursts, giving a total power output of 960bhp.

The KERS system will really help with acceleration away from the lights and we can expect the P1 to blast its way to 60mph in less than three seconds.

Word is that the car has already ­demolished the lap record at Silverstone for a road-going car.

The P1’s technology isn’t just limited to speeding around a track.

Apparently the windows are made of a type of acrylic, which repels water when it hits it, which means the P1 can do without windscreen wipers.

McLaren says it’s going to launch a new car every year between now and 2020. Only 500 P1s will be built.

McLaren P1

Behold, the much teased McLaren P1 supercar. The replacement for the venerable McLaren F1 and the dream of drivers everywhere.

McLaren promises nothing less than "the best driver's car in the world on road and track." For once, we're not at all skeptical.

What you're seeing is not a production car exactly. This is a "design study" that'll debut in person at the Paris Motor Show but one that is supposed to preview the next generation car — set to go on sale within 12 months.

Here's what McLaren's chairman Ron Dennis has to say about it "P1 will be the result of 50 years of racing and road car heritage. Twenty years ago we raised the supercar performance bar with the McLaren F1 and our goal with P1 is to redefine it once again."

Otherwise, McLaren is fairly mum on details. It'll be faster and more expensive than the 12C, but otherwise they haven't said much. There are plenty of rumored specs that say the vehicle will have a 3.8-liter V8 producing 803 horsepower matched to a 160 horsepower KERS system giving it 963 combined horsepower.

McLaren X-1

It might seem like something from the set of Thunderbirds, but this wild-looking supercar is a McLaren 12C underneath.

Called the X-1, it’s the first one-off from McLaren’s Special Operations (MSO) – a newly formed division responsible for bespoke cars.

The X-1 has been created for an “anonymous car enthusiast”, and debuted today at The Quail - an event during the Pebble Beach weekend in Monterey, California - after two-and-a-half years of development.

The design is the work of McLaren’s Royal College of Art graduate Hong Yeo, and took 18 months alone.

Every part of the carbon-fibre bodywork was built especially for the X-1; the only thing that’s carried over from the 12C is the glass. As a result, the X-1 is 109mm longer and 188mm wider, but the same height as a standard 12C. Yet it weighs the same, at around 1,400kg.

McLaren says the customer demanded a timeless design. Inspiration came from classic models such as the 1961 Facel Vega, 1939 Mercedes 540K and 1971 Citroen SM, while art deco clocks, Airstream trailers and even aubergines influenced the styling. The most striking feature is the rear wheelarch, which hinges upwards if you need access to the tyre underneath.

Both the interior and the mechanicals are identical to the 12C coupe’s, so the X-1 gets the latest 616bhp version of the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8, making it capable of more than 200mph.

After its debut in Pebble Beach, the X-1 will return to the MSO headquarters in Woking, Surrey, to be checked over before it’s delivered to the lucky buyer for an undisclosed fee.