Bought a Mclaren 12C

Congrats and enjoy! Looks great!

 

Congrats Lee on your the new addition. I love the white with the red interior. I've been thinking more and more about the 12c due to the prices starting to drift around the $200k range for a pre owned example. I think that's a lot of car for the money. Enjoy it!

 

I bought one as well. I bought a Fire Black 12C Spider with carbon ceramic brakes. I get it in about 10 days. I drove it for the first time this weekend and I was completely blown away. It absorbs bumps that typically unsettle my Ferrari 458 Spider and it is most definitely a faster car. It has an amazing solidity to it like it's carved out of a single piece of stone. When I drove the McLaren I could really feel how much tighter the carbon fiber chassis is compared to conventional cars. It's hard to describe but brilliant to drive. Best suspension I've ever felt as well. It's very thrilling to drive. There are certainly some things that aren't perfect on the car, as there are on the 458, but the major critique that it lacks emotion rings completely hollow to me. It excites me just plenty and I can't wait to try it on the track.

It won't change my love for my 458 or FF (it is one more car to love!) but it is going to be so much fun! If the 12C Spider is this amazing the P1 is going to be mind-blowing! I put a deposit down on the P1 as well.

Here's a pic:

 

Lee,

Thanks. I can't wait to get it next week. It's going to be so much fun!

 

I have driven basically nothing other than the LMNOP for almost 3 months now, unless I have to take the dogs somewhere or park at the airport. Groceries. Check. Office. Check. Rain. Check. No reason at all. Check.

I wonder if these cars are going to catch on after all.

 

Assuming the early coupes will be $175k shortly, sounds like a great buy....but can't get over that the 4th largest metro area in the country has no dealer.

 

I don't know what shortly means, but over the last 4 months or so they seem to have stabilized at $200K plus asking. Some 10K mile cars dip below that.

I think the group that bought the last of the new cars and those jumping in at 200K used may absorb the available cars enough to reduce supply and bolster prices. And the bunch buying now just seem to me, anecdotally, to intend to hold onto the cars longer.

Another 10%+ drop will take a year or so IMO.

 

I think you're right. Prices have stabilized.

One thing that I've noticed is that the average 12C has more mileage than the average 458 of the same year. 12C drivers seem to drive their cars more.

 

Mayor,

Ferrari drivers seem overly obsessed with keeping their mileage down. Maybe they have a few cars to choose from and save the the Ferrari for special drives.

I don't really understand the point of not driving the car myself. I've had my 458 Spider since January 5th and I already have over 2,500 miles on it. I'd have more if I had a longer drive to my office Enjoyed every one of them and plan to put the McLaren into regular rotation as well.

 

Congrats on your McLaren, enjoy it and drive it in good health. I have had mine for one year this week, I was one of those that paid full Pop, and good thing about depreciation is, that now I have no reason to sell it.

 

Great outlook, tony!

 

Shhhhh....you guys are gonna get banned on Fchat!! Plus Bob won't be able buy one for $175K if the prices keep bumping up! ;-)

Ritesh

 

Just cracked 3k miles today in about the same number of months. The car just does it all.

 

They are fantastic are they not, I still cannot get over the rush from the speed on these cars. I mean they are so fast it is not even funny.

 

What is amazing is my good friend has given me a standing offer to drive his 458 and I just don't find myself motivated enough to do it

 

Congrats on the purchase! And the deposit on the P1 as well. How long did they say it would take to get the P1? Any ideas on what color you'd get? The Amethyst black (dark purple) at Goodwood looked really nice, but the volcano yellow stood out really well oddly enough.

 

Keith, definitely do it, the 458 is a fantastic car, different from the 12C as it feels you can slide it easier and the DCT shifts IMHO are superior to the 12C, however the 12C is much faster regardless of any ringer test 458's.

 

No answer back yet on delivery date. I expect they'll be working on that after Pebble Beach. I was at Goodwood and I loved the Amethyst Black car and also loved the Volcano Yellow. McLaren sent me a bunch of renderings of different colors schemes to look at. When I was at MTC before Goodwood they had a rendering of the P1 in Pearl White with the rear wing in carbon fiber. I think that's my favorite at the moment. But I still love the first one I saw in Volcano Orange as well...

I think I'm going to have to go to the factory and watch a bunch of different color schemes come off the line to really figure out which one makes my heart sing the loudest. It will be really tough to decide!
BTW, here's another amazing P1 color (no idea what color it is)...

 

You should. It will make you feel even better about your 12C! It's a different feeling and equally intoxicating. Plus the 458 is a more practical car - more room inside, conventional doors, more storage space, easier to get in/out of. If you can own them both I highly recommend it!

 

I finally drove a 2012 458 and thought I'd chime in on my impressions, unavoidably biased by owning a 2012 MP4-12C.

I won't bother with looks, given the inherent subjectivity of the subject other than to say the 458 is very dramatic, undeniably Italian and iconic.

From a power perspective, the 458 is clearly and noticeably slower than the Mac. And not by a little bit, either. I honestly don't know how the early tests had the 2 on par in terms of acceleration.

The 458 is much more lively feeling. The steering ratio is much quicker and suspension stiffer even on the softest setting. The 458 exhaust note is more strident due to no muffling by the turbos and the extra 500 rpm of rev range. In addition, to get the most out of the 458, you really need to run it way past 6000 rpm, whereas the Mac can accelerate very briskly even shifted at 6000 rpm. I suspect these differences are in large part the basis of the "dramatic," "involving" and other adjectives attached to the praise lavished on the 458 driving experience when compared to the Mac.

Objectively, none of these things make the 458 any faster or better-handling, it is just a feeling the car gives you. The Mac can do anything the 458 can do and more, it just does it with less drama and is therefore less appealing to many. To me, it's just a difference in how these super cars get the job done, and I'll take the softer base ride and greater power of the Mac, as to me I get the best of both worlds for a car I tend to drive daily and on track. The 458 is a special occasion car and the Mac is a daily driver that can make EVERY drive as special as you like. Maybe that is why I have over 3300 miles on my Mac and my buddy is under 1000 on his 458.

The doors and lower sill make the 458 easier to get in and out of, and the 458 is more spacious and airy-feeling inside, with larger side glass. The 458 has more storage inside, such as a usable glove box and door pockets. While I like the Mac doors, I have to admit that they are unnecessarily dramatic and not only make ingress/egress more difficult, you have to be sure you park with a substantial amount of room on the side of the Mac.

On the other hand, as bad as IRIS is on the Mac, at least it is readily visible instead of a tiny display to the side of the 458 tach that handles nav, music, radio and phone. Then again, the 458 can display oil pressure and temperature, and the Mac does not have ANY oil pressure gauge of any kind and two uncalibrated "bar graph" things for water and oil temp. Both cars are a bit poorly thought out in terms of infotainment and gauges. They have all kinds of cool gizmos, but if I just want to see large displays of all temps and pressures (e.g. water temp, oil temp, oil press) at the same time, neither car will do that that I can figure out.

I prefer the operation of the 458 DCT. At a stop, it does not creep, whereas The Mac requires a pretty significant brake pedal pressure to avoid the car moving forward on you. But then again, the stationary paddles of the 458 are a bad idea compared to the moving paddles of the Mac. The Mac has too much slip on 1st and second gear from a stop, whereas the 458 feels like you are constantly connected and in gear when you have that gear selected.

I don't care for the wheel-mounted switchgear on the 458. First, it makes for a larger wheel and at my advanced age I can't read the tiny print on the mannetino without reading glasses. I know its supposed to be all F1-like, but unlike an F1 car, the 458 has room for a dash and dash-mounted switches. You won't see a prototype car with every conceivable control squeezed on the wheel and it's silly to do it on the 458 (that said, the Audi R18 has a hell of a lot of stuff on the wheel, but again it is a very cramped cockpit) . And a "Race" mode is simply pretentious. A 458 is not a race car. I prefer the simple powertrain switches in the Mac center stack and the fact that I can independently adjust powertrain and suspension on the Mac, something that appears to be impossible on the 458. And I prefer that the most aggressive mode is "Track," not "Race." Oh and the 458 dial for "pit speed" is so pretentious it makes me want to barf.

Finally, the Mac has things the 458 does not have, like a carbon fiber cockpit, lighter overall weight, active rear aero, and hydraulic assist for the suspension to affect roll, squat and dive.

Overall, I can see the appeal of both cars, but I honestly think the Mac is a better car if you want to use it regularly and have the greatest performance envelope. If it were not for the doors, the Mac is actually more usable in terms of comfort and convenience. I am fortunate to still be limber enough that the door is not an impediment, so no big deal.

I remain firmly convinced that the premium price (the price delta between my Mac and the 458 of the same year was well over $50K) is a tribute only to the power of the Ferrari brand, and nothing more. Heck, my buddy did not even know the Mac was a twin turbo car when he drove mine! Me, I like hearing the subtle turbo spooling and whine in the exhaust and the blowoff valves, as there is so much purpose behind those sounds.

But life is full of examples of brand and presumption prevailing over intrinsic merits and value.

 

Thanks. Trying not to be too inflammatory