In today’s world of ungodly-powered supercars, an old hat that has been lost in the shuffle is looking to re-enter the conversation, determined to remind everyone that while their name hasn’t been mentioned in talks of ’fastest supercar on the planet’, it was a matter of choice rather than cause.
Rumors are coming out of Woking, England that McLaren is finally in the process of developing the long-awaited successor to the iconic McLaren F1. This is the very same car that ushered in a new generation of supercars when it made its debut back in the mid 90s, setting the standard on how supercars are built these days.
While official details are still being withheld, Autocar managed to get some juicy information on what’s in store for this new supercar, including the nickname it’s been given: ’Mega Mac.’
It sounds like it doesn’t inspire a lot of fear and trepidation from its competitors, but nonetheless, we’re confident that ’Mega Mac’ won’t be the final name of the car. Somewhere along the lines, McLaren will have something more suitable for their new flagship supercar. Right now, they are internally calling the new hypercar the P12
UPDATE 11/21/2011: McLaren has confirmed that the company’s next supercar will be called the MP4-27 and it will be launched sometime next year. When talking about the company’s future plans in an official press release, Mclaren said that they were "preparing build-work on next year’s car, MP4-27 – we are nine months into the development programme and have already stored 18,918 individual components from more than 3,000 different works orders and signed off more than 5,500 technical drawings."
UPDATE 18/01/2012: The British magazine CAR is offering new details on the McLaren successor for the F1 supercar. The magazine reports that the P12 will be share a similar carbon Monocell structure as the MP4-12C and will be powered by a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine combined with a KERS energy storage system. The price for the car will be in the €750k area (or $960,000 at the current exchange rates.
1993 McLaren F1
Full details behind the aesthetic look of the McLaren Mega Mac have yet to be revealed, but there have been some rumblings that the car will feature a carbon fiber Monocell that’s similar to the 175-pound version found on the McLaren MP4-12C. In addition to that, the Mega Mac will also feature a number of components found on the just-released McLaren supercar, including a re-tuned pushrod suspension, hydraulic anti-roll control, adaptive dampers, active aerodynamics, front and rear spoilers, Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, and traction control to name a few. Inside the car, McLaren is focusing on giving it a minimalistic feel that promotes function over luxury to keep the car as lightweight as it can be. Despite that, modern touches of technology will still be present in the car, including an on-board data logging computer with its own video camera.
It’s certainly hard to picture exactly what this new supercar is going to look like, but as far as vague generalizations are concerned, feel free to analyze it as a car that’s "bigger, angrier, and more functional-looking" than the MP4-12C.
Performance
1995 McLaren F1 LM
The Mega Mac is rumored to come with a 5.0-liter V8 engine that has been developed in partnership with Ricardo. This engine comes with an output of 800 horsepower and is mated to a Graziano seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Performance figures suggest that the Mega Mac will be capable of hitting 0-60 mph in just 2.8 seconds – that’s a tenth of a second slower than the almighty Veyron – 0-100 mph in 5.5 seconds, and 0-200 mph in just 20 seconds.
Pricing
Awkward nickname notwithstanding, the Mega Mac – sounds like a Big Mac on steroids - is expected to fetch a price tag of somewhere in the neighborhood of £350,000 to £400,000, which is about $566,000 to $647,000 based on current exchange rates. Before you go bananas over the thought of owning one, best be informed that McLaren is planning on building just 500 examples of their new modern-day machine.
It is anticipated to make it debut in late 2012 or early 2013.
Competition
1996 McLaren F1 GTR
Once McLaren unleashes this supercar sometime in 2014, you can expect it to immediately gun for the title of fastest car on the planet, a title the company hasn’t held since the legendary McLaren F1 burst into the scene in the mid 90s.
On that note, the Bugatti Veyron, Pagani Huayra, and the Koenigsegg Agera R should have one on the road and one eye on the rear-view mirror for the McLaren ’Mega Mac’. It may still be a few years away from hitting the road, but the sound of a McLaren’s piercing engine shrieking across pavements is something that the supercars of today should be very cautious of.
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