New Sports Car

While yesterday was Ferrari's turn to present his car, McLaren did today. The team presented the MP4-25, the model that will run Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in the Formula 1 season starting on March 14 in Bahrain. The McLaren team that will be the last two world champions in Formula 1, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. According to the company, the 'MP4-25', is a car that carries the British team has worked "more than ever" to tackle "an exciting year."

The McLaren Mercedes team launched its new car for the 2010 season on Friday morning, with the target of clinching both titles after a mixed campaign in 2009. The Mercedes-powered MP4-25 was unveiled at Vodafone UK's headquarters in Newbury. The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team revealed its brand new MP4-25 chassis – the car in which reigning world champion Jenson Button and 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton will contest the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Unveiled at Vodafone UK’s stunning headquarters in Newbury, the 2010 car looks noticeably different from last year’s race-winning MP4-24. MP4-25 features a radical aerodynamic overhaul and a significantly larger fuel tank to take full advantage of this year’s new regulations, and its design team is confident it has explored every possible avenue to maximise the car’s performance.

Horsepower once again comes from our friends in Stuttgart. Mercedes-Benz’s FO 108X V8 subtly improves upon an engine that has become the benchmark in Formula 1, winning the last two drivers’ world championships.

The team kicks off its 2010 campaign with a stunning driver pairing: 2009 world champion Jenson Button and 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton. It is the first time since 1989 – when it ran Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna – that the team has fielded a joint-world champion driver line-up, and marks the first time in Formula 1 history that the sport’s two most recent world champions have been partnered together.

However, the driver line-up represents only a fraction of the team’s remarkable strength in depth. Members of the design team who contributed to the development of MP4-25 can also trace their involvement back through an incredible seven of the team’s 12 drivers’ world championships, five of the team’s eight constructors’ world championships and 112 of the team’s 164 grand prix victories.

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team begins pre-season testing with MP4-25 at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo on Monday.

The independent car division based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England,the McLaren MP4-12C is revealed as the first in a range of high-performance sports cars from McLaren Automotive.The 12C, and future models within the range, will challenge the world's best sports cars, benefiting from the expertise and virtuosity of the McLaren Group.
Through a rich modern history, McLaren's automotive division has already built the world's most critically acclaimed supercar, the McLaren F1 (1993-1998) and the world's best-selling luxury supercar, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (2003-2009). McLaren Automotive now looks to the future with a new range of revolutionary sports cars.



"The 12C is all about performance," said Sheriff. "And in McLaren, we have a very broad definition of performance. We don't just look at the traditional one-dimensional parameters like top speed, we focus equally on useable measures such as in-gear acceleration times, braking performance in all conditions, and efficiency of power delivery combined with the lowest possible fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Sure, 12C is very fast, but it is also the most efficient, most driveable high-performance sports car in the world.
Thorough engineering and market research led to concept development and a clear decision in favour of a mid-engined two door high performance sports car. Intensive work was carried out in the wind tunnel and the driving simulator to ensure that the new car would inherently have superb dynamic qualities.
The McLaren MP4-12C design follows similar principles to McLaren's Formula 1 cars, and the legendary McLaren F1, where everything is for a reason and all lines, surfaces, and details are designed with a job in mind as much as styled. This ensures that the 12C communicates its engineering through its styling and will remain timeless as a piece of automotive design.
"By the time the 12C is launched in 2011 we expect the economic conditions to be much improved. We have already seen significant interest in the car and the supply of the 12C will be relatively scarce; in its first year we plan to produce just 1,000 cars which represents only 3.5 per cent of the 'core' market," explained Antony Sheriff.

The McLaren MP4-12C is powered by a twin-turbocharged, 3.8 litre 90° V8 engine - the 'M838T'. This marks the start of a new era in 'core' segment sports cars - smaller capacity, lighter weight, higher efficiency and more economical power units. The engine has the highest specific power output in its segment which, when allied to its low weight carbon composite chassis, delivers exemplary power- and torque-to-weight ratios.The McLaren engine revs to 8,500rpm, has quick transient throttle response and delivers its abundant torque throughout the rev range. A staggering 80 per cent of torque is available at below 2,000rpm, ensuring great driveability and no need to floor the throttle to deliver performance.
The McLaren MP4-12C has been designed around a demanding mechanical package that puts emphasis on aerodynamics, compact dimensions, performance and efficiency, practicality and comfort. Although the design of the 12C was driven by aerodynamics, it aims to remain contemporary and elegant throughout its lifetime as well as distinctive among its peers.
"The 12C design was therefore led by aerodynamics. At McLaren we have been able to use the Formula 1 techniques and the huge expertise that the company has amassed at the pinnacle of the sport," explained Stephenson.

Aerodynamic efficiency drove the 12C's design. High downforce helps maintain traction, cornering ability and stability while low drag aids top speed and acceleration. It has a completely flat underbody and smooth upper body surfaces to yield a highly effective drag coefficient and generate very high levels of balanced downforce at high speed.

The LM5 was designed as a vehicle which could rekindle the drama and sophistication of the legendary McLaren F1. And while McLaren have since revealed the MP4-12C supercar, it's not exactly in the same league as the technological tour-de-force which was the original F1.
The McLaren LM5 is a concept created by Matt Williams, a graduate of Coventry University's Transportation Design degree program. The LM5 was produced as his final year project.
The styling of the F1 was primarily dictated by function. However it also retained a unique sense of character and presence. Williams thought it would be interesting to develop the brand identity of McLaren - but more specifically the F1 model - and bring it into the 21st Century. And while the LM5 concept was designed to offer a similar personality and overall stance to the F1, it was also designed to utilize more extreme and race-influenced bodywork.

The McLaren LM5 concept features the same three-seat layout with a central drivers seat as the old F1. All three sports seats have an extremely slim profile to reduce weight and free up interior space, and instead of conventional safety belts all the seats feature racing-style four-point harnesses. The multifunction steering wheel features a central display for the tachometer.
The proposed engine for the McLaren LM5 concept is a worked over 5.0 litre V10 sourced from BMW. Mounted midship in the carbon fibre pre-preg chassis this unit would make the LM5 a force to be reckoned with on both road and track.
While the LM5 is at the moment just one man's idea of what the F1's successor could look like, the design itself uses both past and present McLaren influences giving it a sense of realism. And It's important to remember that McLaren themselves have made it public knowledge that they're working on developing a successor to their most iconic car within the next couple of years.

This sports car combines the old yet astounding SLR race cars of the 50s and the latest and meanest technology of high-performance supercars. With the power of race cars and the sleek, curves and designs of a luxury car, the combination from the two car manufacturers is hard to beat.A blast from the past and a taste of the future, this might just be a good description of the latest sports car that came out from a collaboration of Mercedes-Benz and McLaren, two big giants in the car manufacturing industry. We're talking about the 2004 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
This supercar is definitely fast. SLR McLaren sports a 626-horsepower supercharged 5.5-liter V8. Also, it has a full carbon-fiber monocoque, features crash structures and body panels. And with the supercharge V8 engine, you can see the 2004 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren go from naught to 60 miles per hour in less than 3.6 seconds. Top speed has been measured to exceed 200 mph, a feat that can only be achieved by very few even among the high performance sports cars. It was the high-performance division of Mercedes-Benz which created the V8s. The AMG were the ones who hand-build the supercharged V8 engines with top notched precision and quality. It is not at a big surprise to see the supercharged 5.5 (5439 cc) liter dry sumped 90 degree V8 engine to produce around 466.8 kW at 6500 rpm (626 hp) and 780 N·m (575 ft·lbf) torque at 3250 - 5000 rpm. The numbers maybe daunting but the sound of the engine will appease the minds of those who long for the perfect high performance cars.

Mounting that V8 engine into the body of SLR exotic car is also not as traditional as one would like to expect. The engine in SLR sports car is placed in a front mid-engine position just behind the front wheels. Instead of using the traditional oil-pan, dry-sump lubricants are used. With this innovation, it is highly possible to mount the engine to a level that used to be unachievable. Because of the low position of the engine in the supercar's body, the results are more than one hoped. The new Mercedez-Benz SLR McLaren race car has better aerodynamics and better handling due to the lower center of gravity.
Not only does the mean features of the sports car that attracts attention but how the two car companies were able to fuse their own traditions and expertise into a single exotic car. For one, McLaren's expertise in Formula 1 has been imbibed wholly by the SLR's design. The composition of carbon fiber material that was used in the body of the new SLR sports car is so Formula 1. Because of this body, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren has become more rigid and surprisingly strong.
The SLR also has a five speed automatic transmission. There are modes, the Sport, Comfort and Manual which basically covers every known driving style. Sport is for everyday use, Comfort for bumpy or slippery roads, and Manual gives you control over the gears either through the touchpad or the levers on the steering wheel. When you use Manual, you open up three more modes, namely Sport, Supersport and Race. Speed increased significantly as you go up shifts.
With all these features it is not surprising that the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is classified as a sports car and a supercar. Remember to get this right, though, the "SLR" does not stand for "Sportlich, Leicht, Rennsport" which is German for "Sport; Light; Racing" as most people think. Its real meaning is "super-leicht, Rennsport" which means "super-light, racing." The sports car is being sold with a base price of €443,066 £300,000 or $450,000.

McLaren Automotive officially presented MP4-12C supercar, previously known under the code name P11 and is the first car from the time of the legendary F1.
Double mid McLaren MP4-12C was completed “in one piece” carbon chassis, which carries the aluminum and special plastic body panels. Eight-installed 3.8-liter engine with an angle of 90 degrees to the collapse of the cylinders and the two turbines. Its capacity is about 600 horsepower and maximum torque is 595 Nm (80 per cent of which is already available from 2000 rpm).
The motor will be used with the seven-Graziano robotized transmission with dual-clutch transmission and a choice taxied. According to preliminary data from the ground up to “hundreds” McLaren supercar will drive for about three seconds. Its top speed of 320 kilometers per hour.
Sales of McLaren MP4-12C, which is scheduled to release a limited edition of one thousand copies, will be no earlier than 2011. The car will do to the markets of USA, UK, Germany, Europe and the Middle East.