After the usual guessing games in the media about ‘the next new car from McLaren’ it was a Volcano Red 12C Spider that hit the headlines today as the official stablemate to the now-familiar MP4 12C. It was a logical move by McLaren who is likely to be developing a range of cars that enables the company to compete head-on with its natural rival – Ferrari.
Much is made of the ‘Retractable Hard Top’ because really the only difference between the new Spider and its sibling Coupe is in the er…roof. It also turns out that the 12C was originally designed to be a convertible at the outset anyway so the chassis and MonoCell design needs no strengthening at all and is well up to the job.
Performance-wise the Spider is up there with the Coupe since it shares the same 616 BHP 3.8 V8 twin-turbo powerplant and unless your life is measured in milliseconds there is no discernible difference to the way both cars perform.
The Spider has ushered in some further updates to the 12C ‘range’ with the addition of new colours, new interior trim, new wheel designs plus a ‘Vehicle Lift’ system for those speed bumps that would challenge a Land Rover Defender in some London streets!
Looking at the first PR images of the car the shape seems a lot more interesting than the Coupe especially rearwards from the seat headrests – but this is a car (like the Coupe) that has to be seen in the flesh methinks before any objective judgements are made.
How much is a Spider then? Well the company is quoting 195,000 of your English Pounds and while you can place your order now it will be November this year before the first cars are delivered.
Want to mock-up your dream 12C Spider? Go to www.configure.mclaren.com and lick your lips!
For further information on the new 12C Spider or the MP4 12C Coupe give The car Spy a call on 01732 760699 or email sales@thecarspy.net
The Car Spy 