Testing the 2011 McLaren MP4-12C

The 2011 McLaren MP4-12C has taken another step closer to production with the end of the first phase of its development process. Over the next few weeks, the first prototypes, built last December and codenamed "XP" (Experimental Prototype) will be replaced by second-generation cars.

Ahead of the first shakedown test of the new batch of prototypes, we were given exclusive access to Chief Test Driver Chris Goodwin and Technical Director Dick Glover at the McLaren Technical Center in Woking, England.

McLaren also provided a video that it's using to promote the new supercar.

Another Step Closer to Reality
The new cars, codenamed "XP Beta," have been styled to replicate the production version of the 2011 McLaren MP4-12C and feature a revised cooling package. Rumors have been circulating that McLaren has been having trouble cooling the twin-turbo 3.8-liter twin-turbo M838T V8 that McLaren engineered with Ricardo, the well-known British supplier of innovative automotive technology, and Glover admits it's been a challenge for this 600-horsepower powerplant.

"It is about balancing the load around the cooling circuit," he explains. "If you have too much cooling, you get too much aerodynamic drag, and so it's important to get the balance just right. We are never just going to take the safe option with this car."

Goodwin has the enviable task of developing the car's dynamic repertoire and has been testing mules of the MP4-12C since mid-2007. "This car will be defined by its driving experience," he says. "This is a high-performance sports car but we've also added loads of comfort. It will be very usable."

Dial-a-Ride
The driver of the 2011 McLaren MP4-12C will be offered three modes — Track, Sport and Normal — to alter the throttle, transmission and suspension calibration. "This is not a marketing exercise," says Goodwin. "The setups are manually chosen by the driver and they make a big difference." To us, it's significant that the suspension can be tuned independently of the throttle and transmission.

Goodwin continues: "We've spent a lot of time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany and on the open roads, but we'll also be testing on billiard-table smooth circuits. This car will feel great on a circuit, but it also needs to work on the journey home. We're putting a lot of effort into ensuring that the car will deliver a fun experience at 50 mph and at 200 mph."

A successful GT racer, Goodwin is also responsible for demonstrating McLaren's Formula 1 cars. "I've benchmarked everything from Lewis Hamilton's title-winning '08 F1 car to a Smart and they will all influence the MP4-12C," he says. The road car development team has also made extensive use of McLaren's multi-million-dollar F1 simulator, although Goodwin isn't keen to oversell the Grand Prix links.

"McLaren F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen has driven the car," admits Goodwin, "but not really in an official capacity. It would be much easier to develop a car for a Formula 1 driver, but then we'd only sell 20. We want to create a car that makes the average guy feel like a Formula 1 driver."

World Tour
After our meeting, Goodwin was due to shakedown the new prototypes in the U.K. before heading for the Idiada facility in Spain for more high-performance testing. This follows an extensive test program for the XP cars, which has taken them from the heat of the Bahrain Circuit in the Middle East to the freezing wastelands of Arjeplog in Sweden.

What we can say for sure is that McLaren is leaving nothing to chance.

While such exhaustive testing in different environments is part of the regimen for mainstream cars from mainstream mass-market manufacturers, this is a new sort of thing from a manufacturer of specialty cars. For McLaren, this exhaustive process serves as a potent statement of intent.

Ian Gorsuch, McLaren's regional director for the Middle East, explains: "The Middle East is likely to account for around 12 percent of sales and it's important that those buyers understand the brand. Word gets around very quickly if any car develops problems and it's important for them to know the car will work in their conditions from Day One."

This, coupled with the extra dust and humidity of Bahrain, also helps explain why McLaren chose to test the car in the Middle East ahead of California's Death Valley.

Like Tesla, Only Really Fast
The next phases of development for the 2011 McLaren MP4-12C have already been carefully planned. The first VP (Validation Prototype) cars will be built in the first and second quarters of next year, before production begins in December.

Only then will we be able to say with certainty whether the world has a new supercar manufacturer capable of taking on Ferrari and Lamborghini. But what we can say for sure is that McLaren is leaving nothing to chance.