Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Why the new McLaren MP4-12C is not a must-have

McLaren just has announced its brand new sportscar McLaren MP4-12C to be sold from 2011 onwards.
While the expected performance of this car is certainly impressive (3.8 liter engine with 600 HP and less than 4 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h), the design isn't. It sort of looks like a smoothened Lamborghini Gallardo. Compared to the McLaren F1, that was really exceptional with its three seats and staggering performance compared to anything else, the new MP4-12C is far less exciting, being in the same league with cars like the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the Ferrari 458 or the latest versions of the Lamborghini Gallardo. Which is okay, but these cars are on sale today and you don't need to wait until 2011. From a car coming in 2011 I would expect much more, both on the performance and the design front. Again, what I would really dream of is a 300-400 HP car with 800-900 kg and the fuel efficiency of a Smart. Now, this is a challenge, isn't it?

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