The overwhelming response to McLaren’s first stand-alone supercar, the MP4-12C, is that it is hi-tech and raucously fast, but may be lacking in exotic and head turning credentials against the likes of the Ferrari 458 Italia. Do you think that’s fair comment? We’re not so sure.
If alfresco motoring is your ‘thing’, however, then the recently announced McLaren MP4-12C Spider might very well be the pinnacle of open topped motoring. Arriving 12-months after the hard top coupe, it might also steal some critical acclaim in the styling deparment from its arch nemesis, the 458 Italia Spider.
Shy exhibitionists need not apply for convertible supercars, nor those who aren’t financially blessed, shall we say, but let’s not let the sordid matter of coin get in the way of what will undoubtedly be a magnificent driving machine if the hard top is anything to go by.
The MP4-12C’s hardware remains the same as the colossal 460 kW 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 found in the coupe, which has recently had a few upgrades for the upcoming 2013 model year. The folding roof of the MP4-12C Spider, however, removes a layer between driver and engine within a few short seconds, filling the ears and melting the heart with the sound of high-revving V8 thunder.
The MP4-12C Spider’s construction will share the same carbon fibre monocoque of its hard top brother and this means the 0 – 100 km/h sprint will be in the 3 second-odd range and top speed will be over 310 km/h. McLaren’s biggest competitor, the Ferrari 458 Spyder, weighs only 50 kg more than the hard-top 458, but it’s still 30% more bendy even after the reinforcements have been called in. We bet the Woking engineers will come up with better figures for rigidity and weight for their drop-top supercar – that’s the Woking way these days.
