hey Tony, lots of conjecture the P12 car uses a lot of the 12C, sort of a pumped up 12C ...i get the feeling that isn't really the case??
So do I get that feeling. Reports (i've seen) so far are that P12 uses the same core chassis and engine block as the 12C. I'm kinda doubting that. Anyone know different? Alex
Let's just say its definitely not a pumped up 12C. One month to go, frankly when you guys see it, you will be shocked in a very good way.
It does but the engine makes a lot more HP and has KERS. The car has a lot more engineering and looks completely different. It's sort of a road LMP 1 with curves. The back is fantastic and interestingly it has a few P 4/5 styling cues as well. It's very light 2596-2700 lbs Dry from reliable sources and I've been told pulls 2G's on road tires which means huge downforce for a road car.
+1 No Central Seating on this one. Displacement is still unknown, unless you know Jim, but I heard something I cannot post.
interesting, thanks guys! it makes sense that the P12 should have more displacement, as simply turning up the boost can offset throttle response at low/mid rpm and potential lag issues, which would be beneficial IMO it'll be interesting to see is mclaren can do even better than Ferrari has, making a road car with the feel/sensations of an F1 car?
The Veyron's top speed is only theoretical for most of its owners anyway, unless they specifically go to VW's own test track. Otherwise, you simply don't have enough space to reach it. That's a nice statistic to quote, but is little more than just bragging rights. I do concede that the Veyron is an astounding car though. I think ~200-220mph is plenty for any hypercar - it ensures top speed isn't going to be a limitation on most tracks around the world. Really, the focus should be on driver involvement, styling, handling, acceleration, and build quality. Top speed is a very low priority these days, isn't it? All the best, Andrew.
Some interesting quotes from people that has seen the photos of the car: "Cortwagner": "I had the honor of seeing a full slide show of the new car this last weekend. All I can say is WOW, Holy Smokes this new car looks every bit worthy as a replacement of the F1 and a VERY serious weapon in the supercar war. It's AMAZING, and normally, I am very demur about how I percieve all of these new super cars. I was not a fan of the Enzo when styling when it came out, and not a lover of how the Pagani Huayra looks and I am also a bit underwhelmed by the 918. All I can say is I wish I could say more, but anybody that appreciates and understands airlfow, fluid dynamics, down force, and great styling will be a HUGE fan of this car. It's Mega in every way, I think Ferrari has it's work cut out for itself." "Wtdoom" (MP4-12C owner): "I have seen the pics here too in the UK a while back. I'm not sure how it will end up looking in the flesh but its a very brave and futuristic design. The lights curve around the front vents, there's a bonnet vent and a roof scoop. The doors have very interesting design details that were not very clear and the rear is very unique. I think it will look better in the flesh." "TAG": "The cost of aero and only the aero revision on the McLaren MP4-12C (HS), cost about $500-600... So the cost of the X-1 project could hardly be $1.2-1.3 million. Then the tooling and so on... Probably around $3-4 million incl some profit on the project for McLaren Group. Ferrari cashed in $4 mill on the P4/5 project + the donor car, a few years back. The McLaren "P12", according to a friend of mine who owns a Porsche 959 S (white), it has been thoroughly developed and it developes about 980-1010 ps incl KERS specially developed from McLaren electronics. Weight to power ratio of 1.2 kg/ps, he also said it has slashed the lap record for a production car at Silverstone (and also been tested at some other tracks) by a BIG margin! How much? We should know within a month or a few! I'm pretty confident that, someone or some are going to order a road going LM version of it!"
The Veyron Super Sport has 1,5 kg/ps; 1,43 kg/hp the Pagani Zonda R; 1,16 kg/hp the Koenigsegg Agera R and 0,92 kg/hp the SSC Tuatara. The things behind the 1,2 mark are something really special.
Any hints to the final design in these pics? http://www.olivermankowski.com/mclaren.html http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=1FW&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&biw=1525&bih=654&tbm=isch&tbnid=-Rl891ABgvFWHM:&imgrefurl=http://www.olivermankowski.com/projects.html&imgurl=http://www.olivermankowski.com/images/mclaren_model.png&w=683&h=419&ei=Ia45UJTtJsStygHwJg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=373&sig=113714954651382377437&page=4&tbnh=143&tbnw=200&start=69&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:69,i:368&tx=70&ty=75
i'm curious, and something i think Jim can uniquely help with, is about KERS for public use? ...what i mean is, we notice on racing cars how the large voltage a KERS storage system has can create a potential hazard to those coming in contact with the vehicle ....we also see the extra precautions that have/are being taken as a result being outside a racing team environment, it will be interesting technically how mclaren (and others) will accomodate for this?
KERS can be made totally safe in a road car environment. I do wonder about servicing it. These are very complex systems and require a high degree of knowledge to trouble shoot. The Driver interface is also interesting as the torque is instant. Until one gets some experience I wouldn't suggest switching off the Traction Control...
Is there any way of adding a dial to adjust the initial severity of the KERS discharge to make it a little easier to use? All the best, Andrew.
