McLaren cuts the head off of the 2013 MP4-12C to officially make a Spider
McLaren has just upped the ante for its MP4-12C supercar, by chopping its head off! Yes, that’s right, the new MP4-12C Spider has just been unveiled by McLaren, featuring a special retractable hardtop that’s capable of being operated at speeds up to 19 MPH and can fully open or close within 17 seconds.
“I am really excited to announce that the new 12C Spider is now available to order at new McLaren retailers worldwide. The launch of our second model is an exciting milestone in the growth of our company,” said Antony Sherriff, McLaren Automotive’s managing director. “While the 12C is the technological essence of a race car, the 12C Spider incorporates an additional dimension. 12C Spider owners will love the opportunity to lower the roof and hear the unhindered howl of a V8 twin turbo engine at full throttle.”
Of course, powering the McLaren MP4-12C Spider is the standard MP4’s in-house twin-turbocharged 3.8L V8 mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch cog swapper. That means 616hp for a 0-60 run of just 3.1-seconds and a top-run slightly reduced to 204 MPH, down from the coupe’s 207 MPH.
The new 2013 McLaren MP4-12C Spider will begin hitting dealers around the world in November of 2012 for a price of £195,500 or $ 265,750 US.
- By: Chris Chin
Renault Shows Available Customization Options for New Clio 4, Releases a Fresh Batch of Videos
With the internet abuzz about the brand-new Clio Mk4, the French automaker has dropped a few more images that highlight the personalization programme for the supermini along with three new videos.
The new generation of the Clio introduces a broad range of styling options for both the inside and outside of the sub-compact / B-segment model.
In these photos, we see some of the available features for the Clio 4′s exterior including the contrasting color accents for the front grille, rocker panels and alloy wheels, along with a selection of decals that can be applied to the roof, hood and other parts of the body.
Renault also offers an extensive personalization programme for the interior.
If you scroll down, you will also find two new promo spots and a clip with Renault’s head designer Laurens van den Acker and designers Antony Villain and Yann Jarsalle talking about the styling of the new Clio Mk4.
Want To Know What An Electric-Car Only Race Sounds Like?
Visit any major race track on any day of the week and there’s bound to be a cacophony of noise as professional race teams or enthusiastic amateurs drive lap after lap in praise to the gods of gasoline.
But what would it be like if every car going around the track was powered by electricity? What would it sound like then?
At last week’s highly popular Refuel 2012, electric car drivers and race enthusiasts answered that question once and for all.
Incoming search terms:
- Powered by Article Dashboard anxiety
Aaron Robinson: It’s Time For Toyota To Kill Scion
Jack Hollis played baseball for Stanford and was an outfielder in the minors, so you’d think the current head of Toyota’s Scion division would be able to recognize a bum pitch when he sees one. Yet Hollis finds himself having to swing for the fences off the knuckle-ball decision to sell the Toyota FT-86/Subaru BRZ in the United States as a Scion. This Scion, the FR-S, will be a new “halo car” for Toyota’s hipster brand, Hollis tells us. Well, thank mercy for miracles because that’s just what we’ve been pining for—a halo car for Scion.
Scion is a brand conceived in a focus group, born in a fluorescent-lit marketing department, and wet-nursed by copious spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. It can claim no pedigree, no history. No Mr. Scion ever lived to turn his personal ambition into automobiles. When you buy a Scion, you buy into something akin to a second-year MBA’s class project on ways to penetrate the youth market by a car company that pins its fortunes almost entirely on aging baby boomers.
Scion’s 2003 launch was propelled to unexpected (even within Toyota) heights by the original xB, the car that made cubes cool. The little xB was a fantastic value and far outsold its initial estimates. But since the xB’s bloat into a small minivan and a “redesign” of the tC coupe that barely distinguishes it from the original, Scion’s numbers have deflated.
In the first quarter of 2012, the four available Scion models (iQ, tC, xB, xD) scored just 15,171 sales, only a bit more than what the Honda Fit alone tallied (12,625). No doubt, Scion’s lineup has weakened. Hollis says the vaunted xB—basically Scion incarnate—may not even be replaced when the current one rolls out to pasture.
Mercedes-Benz and BMW have also turned out their share of clinkers. The difference with Scion is that—as with Plymouth, Mercury, and, in its later years, Saturn—the brand can’t be defined as anything but a thinly varnished play for incremental volume. Nothing roots it to the market beyond the immediacy of this week’s deal. Without a continuous supply of fresh, flashy product and advertising, its resiliency is that of butter in sunlight. And now, to initiate the rescue of its foundering experiment, Toyota awards Scion the most important new sports car in a generation.
Video: Another Victory for Team Bullrun at Oulton Park
Bullrun, Motorsports, United Kingdom — By Matthew Hayhurst on July 3, 2012 at 4:00 pm — No Comments
The Britcar MSA Endurance Championship is well underway, and the Bullrun Racing Team pulled off yet another impressive victory at the Oulton Park Race Circuit on June 24th, 2012. Not only did the team manage to drive their Lotus Evora into the chequered flag and finish first in their class – they finished first overall.
Martin Byford and Richard Adams qualified first in their class and fifth overall for Round 5 of the Britcar championship. David Green was absent from the race because the annual Bullrun car rally in the United States, in which Bullrun racing is sponsored by, took place over the same weekend.
Having proved their competence in wet weather conditions in the practice session proved an advantage over the competition and aided the team in their pit strategy.
Despite a minor incident early on in the race involving a rear-end bump from a rival team, the Bullrun Lotus held strong and ran in the top four for the entire race.
Video: 2013 SRT Viper heads over to Jay Leno’s Garage
Look what popped into Jay Leno’s Garage? Yes, it’s one of the very first examples of the 2013 SRT Viper. Of course, Leno didn’t get to drive the new Viper but received a proper walk around from the SRT folks.
Check out more news on the SRT Viper.
Hit the jump for the video.
Refresher: Power for the 2013 SRT Viper comes from an all-aluminum, mid-engine 8.4-liter V10 that makes 640 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a Tremec TR6060 6-speed manual transmission with a shorter throw shifter, closer gear ratios and a final drive ratio that has been shortened to 3.55 from 3.07.
Jaguar F-Type Takes on Goodwood
Normally automobile prototypes are kept in secret and camouflaged to hide their form when in public. Remember the mystery car we blogged about last week?
Not so with Jaguar. The British automaker wants very badly for us to know that it is developing the F-Type, its first true 2-seat sports car since the E-Type. In fact, last weekend Jag sent the convertible up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in front of crowded grandstands. None too subtle. The F-Type was still camoed, but well labeled so there was no mistaking what it was.
It was driven by Mike Cross, Jaguar’s Head of Vehicle Integrity – a fancy name for a wonderful driver who could make marks in a drifting contest.
Incoming search terms:
- Powered by Article Dashboard communication satellite receivers for sale
- Powered by Article Dashboard ny auto show discount
- Powered by Article Dashboard group technology
- Powered by Article Dashboard how factual is world net daily?