McLaren Hints at Roadgoing Version of GT3 Racecar

Just the Facts:

• McLaren plans to build 20 copies of the MP4-12C GT3 racer, at $512,000 each.
• The company already has sold out the first year's production of the MP4-12C.
• McLaren's second new model is due in 2014, with a third in 2015-'16.

WOKING, England — McLaren Cars has sold out the first year's production of the MP4-12C, and now has 1,700 advance orders from customers. In addition, executives are hinting that a roadgoing version of the just-announced MP4-12C GT3 racecar is in the pipeline.

Managing Director Antony Sheriff says that the company won't be offering the extensive variations on the MP4-12C that Porsche does with its 911. Instead, it will meet specific customer needs with a few derivatives, "but won't over-egg it."

McLaren will build 20 GT3 racecars for customers, and reckons that it offers a very competitive package with properly organized backup and spare parts for the $512,000 list price.

The company is about to open a brand new factory to build the 12C, which is currently assembled in lower volumes in the facility previously used for building the Mercedes SLR. The all-new facility, located on the same site, has the capacity to build 4,000 cars annually on two shifts.

Sheriff says the company will launch a new product — either an all-new model or a derivative — every year from now on.

A second all-new model will arrive inside three years, by which time McLaren Automotive, the road-car division, will be breaking even, says Sheriff. Due by 2014 at the latest, this vehicle is more expensive than the MP4-12C and is described by insiders as having "very interesting" styling, a contrast to the MP4-12C, whose design has been criticized for being a bit ordinary by supercar standards.

Of the 4,000 annual output at the new plant, 1,000-1,500 will be accounted for by the MP4-12C. The rest will be made up of the second new model and a third car, whose launch date is probably 2015-'16.

Inside Line says: An ambitious plan, with some formidable competitors already well ensconced in the supercar market. — Richard Bremner, Correspondent