New McLaren Super Car: No Longer Just a Rumor

It probably has more to do with the fact that this car was developed on the TG test track, and the lap is conducted from a standing start. I'm surprised you dislike the car so much, since you are a big fan of the GT-R and they appear to be quite similar cars.

It doesn't look or sound special enough. Sure, it's fast as heck, but it also lacks the drama. I can't explain why I feel this way.
 
It was tuned on that very track. What do you expect?

And it's also strange how the GT-R, Evo, and other Japanese cars tend to be at the top of Best Motoring's favorite and fastest cars lists...

And how American magazines tend to get such amazing results with Mustangs, CTS-V's and Corvettes...

"Strange"...

Yup... I mean look at Best Motoring... an NSX beat the Lamborghini Gallardo and Murcielago! That could never happen in real life.

Well... it beat them over the first two or three laps... then the Murci and Gallardo drivers snapped out of tire conservation mode and destroyed the Japanese car.

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American magazines are full of articles showing the GT-R beating American cars around the track (though not on the drag-strip). So are British magazines, and German magazines... and...

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And Top Gear's last few lap-record holders have included a Swedish car and a number of Italians. While they may show some bias in coverage (the whole Fiesta episode read like a poorly-disguised commercial...), and the TGTT "Lap Record" doesn't take into account prep-time, number of laps and driver-variability, I doubt they would go so far as to fake the lap time... not that they would need to, considering, as Stevisio says, the MP412c was developed there.
 
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Yup... I mean look at Best Motoring... an NSX beat the Lamborghini Gallardo and Murcielago! That could never happen in real life.

Well... it beat them over the first two or three laps... then the Murci and Gallardo drivers snapped out of tire conservation mode and destroyed the Japanese car.

Wrong. The NSX had overheating problems do to Gan San and his crazy late late late braking.

I dont like the car either and cant seem to get it either (Mclaren).

Best Motoring is the best Car Magazine in the World. Driven by true champions and the times they put up with the NSX, R35 or whatever on those tracks are practically the same on other battle against other car batlles. Sure Top Gear is entertaining. Where curious amateur guys drive and challenge them selves, but in my opinion nothing more than that.
 
Brake overheating? But still... he used up the brakes and still only managed to just stay ahead of the Murci, which, by rights, should have burned up both brakes and tires in one lap. If you have to drive the car 11/10ths to stay ahead of another going 8/10ths, then it's obvious which car would be faster... but a minor quibble.

Best Motoring is fantastic. Not always the fastest car wins, thanks to the reverse grid start and the need to overtake everyone else to get up to first, but it's always entertaining.

Top Gear's majors aren't great drivers, but at least the "Stig", or whichever random professional driver is playing "Stig" at the time, is a good test of pace.

Except for that whole variable conditions and weather problem at the track...
 
Brake overheating? But still... he used up the brakes and still only managed to just stay ahead of the Murci, which, by rights, should have burned up both brakes and tires in one lap. If you have to drive the car 11/10ths to stay ahead of another going 8/10ths, then it's obvious which car would be faster... but a minor quibble.

Best Motoring is fantastic. Not always the fastest car wins, thanks to the reverse grid start and the need to overtake everyone else to get up to first, but it's always entertaining.

Top Gear's majors aren't great drivers, but at least the "Stig", or whichever random professional driver is playing "Stig" at the time, is a good test of pace.

Except for that whole variable conditions and weather problem at the track...

Well said.

I didnt mean brake overheating (NSX brakes are crazy good and the car is super light too. I driven one. It can make you sick when braking), i meant overheating when reving the car so much when braking. It puts too much stress on the engine.



And you clicked too many times on the button to post :lol:
 
NSX is superlight? The lightest NSX (02+ NSX-R) weighs 1240kg while most weighed 1340kg minimum with the heaviest being 1403kg....thats still 40kg more than the MP4-12C (1300kg) but yes it is less than the Murcie and Gallardo (iirc).
 
niky

My bad. Posted too quickly. I was thinking along the lines of qualitative reviews where Top Gear loves British cars for the same reasons they hate German cars, etc. etc.
 
Very confusing. Almost all the car mags show the Mclaren is slower, then on the Top Gear show at the test track it runs 3 seconds faster than the 458. Either Top Gear are lying or The 458's provided for all the other tests weren't exactly standard, or the MP4 provided wasn't exactly standard.

Its silly to talk about the fact that the MP4 was developed at that track because in previous magazine tests it was also tested at that track showing a slower time than the 458.
 
Do note: The McLaren comes with two tire options. On the less extreme option, it's much slower than the 458 around most tracks, on the better tire, it has shown to lap almost exactly as quickly. This is similar to the GT-R situation, where the Dunlops have been shown to lap much quicker than the standard-fit tires.

Also, it is possible that the McLaren was driven in more favorable conditions on the track...


My bad. Posted too quickly. I was thinking along the lines of qualitative reviews where Top Gear loves British cars for the same reasons they hate German cars, etc. etc.

Ah. There's bound to be some bias in terms of subjective assessment, but then, the Top Gear presenters do have an eclectic taste in cars. Clarkson owns a few American and German cars, actually... and has owned a number of Ferraris.

Still have yet to watch that clip in full, though...
 
Plus their test car looks like it had the carbon brake option along with the stickier rubber which would result in it being faster than the 'base' MP4-12C.
 
Very confusing. Almost all the car mags show the Mclaren is slower, then on the Top Gear show at the test track it runs 3 seconds faster than the 458. Either Top Gear are lying or The 458's provided for all the other tests weren't exactly standard, or the MP4 provided wasn't exactly standard.

Its silly to talk about the fact that the MP4 was developed at that track because in previous magazine tests it was also tested at that track showing a slower time than the 458.

http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins

Remembered this article when I read that line.
 
Ah... Chris Harris. If I were a Ferrari owner, I'd send him my FXX in consolation... :lol:
 
If it were up to Top Gear, the E-type Jag would be the fastest car around their track.
 
Admittedly, I am actually of the type that finds the idea of a car that sacrifices flair for practicability much more appealing and fun. ^^ Still, I am amazed that despite being designed to be more practical, based on it's many reviews, the Ferrari 458 still maintains the higher laptimes and performance on the numerous tracks where two rivals are pitted.

It's almost like the Ferrari is the Kirk, whilst the McLaren is the Spock, and I am definately a Spock man first, and henceforth, a McLaren man.
 
There's no denying that the Empyfortwelvecee has received some disappointing reviews recently which has been disappointing enough for anyone looking forward to this car but must have been a mahoosive nut shot for Ron and the rest of McLaren. According to the new edition of Evo magazine they have taken the criticisms on board and have already made changes to the car and have more in the pipe line.

So far they have fitted a new induction kit that is activated when sport power mode is selected so now it "erupts in a new symphony of sound, reaching a howling climax as the red line appears" and gives "a proper, spine-tingling induction roar as each gear pops through", this all sounds very good indeed. Also the gear paddle rocker weight has been reduced so it isn't a chore to change gear. They are also making changes to the steering pick-up points and the support of the rack to make the steering feel more fluid all of which will be changes made to all customer cars.

Looks like another group test will be in order by the time the car hits the show rooms although it's a shame these changes weren't implemented before the TV shows got hold of it.
 
Neal
There's no denying that the Empyfortwelvecee has received some disappointing reviews recently which has been disappointing enough for anyone looking forward to this car but must have been a mahoosive nut shot for Ron and the rest of McLaren. According to the new edition of Evo magazine they have taken the criticisms on board and have already made changes to the car and have more in the pipe line.

So far they have fitted a new induction kit that is activated when sport power mode is selected so now it "erupts in a new symphony of sound, reaching a howling climax as the red line appears" and gives "a proper, spine-tingling induction roar as each gear pops through", this all sounds very good indeed. Also the gear paddle rocker weight has been reduced so it isn't a chore to change gear. They are also making changes to the steering pick-up points and the support of the rack to make the steering feel more fluid all of which will be changes made to all customer cars.

Looks like another group test will be in order by the time the car hits the show rooms although it's a shame these changes weren't implemented before the TV shows got hold of it.

Sounds like a lot of immature jokes can be derived from that set of quotes...

It's good that they're making changes and improving the model, but the biggest issue seems to be the clinical and serious nature of the car. Perhaps this is what the engineers intend, but it seems to be a common complaint from reviews. It's incredibly difficult to love a car that doesn't have a personality. I'm not sure how'd they'd improve it, but it certainly won't be found in reducing the effort needed to click the paddles to change gear.
 
Automobile Magazine says the MP4-12C is two seconds slower around Rockingham than a 458, nearly two seconds slower than a GT2 RS, and a bit slower than a Gallardo convertible. Two seconds on a 1:30 lap is a lot. Who the hell was driving that car?

EDIT: Apparently their Rockingham car had a leaky suspension.
 
funny in so many test what impressed me the most is how fast the GT2/ GT2RS REALLY is.

given it has the engine at the wrong place!
 
funny in so many test what impressed me the most is how fast the GT2/ GT2RS REALLY is.

given it has the engine at the wrong place!

If you have the balls and skill to drive it fast, the GT2 is very fast.
 
funny in so many test what impressed me the most is how fast the GT2/ GT2RS REALLY is.

given it has the engine at the wrong place!

All 911's are usually decent on the track, so it's no surprise that the GT2RS is quick seeing as it has over 600bhp, a shed load of torque, reasonably light weight, MPS Cups, and the most developed suspension set up ever to grace a road going 911... I'm somewhat surprised it's not a bit faster than the 458/MP12.

The engine isn't in the wrong place, it's just in a different place ;)
 
The engine is actually in the right place. Porsches make excellent race cars thanks to the rear engine layout... Gives them great braking performance and excellent corner-exit traction. I'm not surprised the GT2RS is a supercar slayer... Considering it's built specifically for track performance.
 
Automobile Magazine says the MP4-12C is two seconds slower around Rockingham than a 458, nearly two seconds slower than a GT2 RS, and a bit slower than a Gallardo convertible. Two seconds on a 1:30 lap is a lot. Who the hell was driving that car?

EDIT: Apparently their Rockingham car had a leaky suspension.

That's CAR magazine, from the UK, unless they ran he same exact story is sister publications.
The 458 ran a 1:28.3, gt2rs ran a 128.77, mp12c ran 1:30.06. Traction control was the blame for slow times.
Couple days later mclaren took the car out there and ran a 1:27.7.
I think the point of that article was to show that the editors and Collins were pretty shocked that the car was slow. They preferred it over the others but in the end it was slower than it felt.
After the lap as the car entered the pits, a message popped up on the dash saying the hydraulic system controlling the roll needs attention. They fixed the problem and gave the car to Collins for another lap, only this time they put the sticky Corsas back on. 1:29.24 is what the car did in the end, with all aids turned off. Collins said it was the "sweetest road-going turbo I've ever driven."
 
Yeah rear engine Porsches aren't actually the best as race cars....there's this effect known as 'levering' where the weight of the rear mounted engine and trans can pivot on the rear axle and lift the front wheels up, not exactly the best thing to have when putting the power down in a corner. Mid engine cars do without this as they can give as much or more traction whilst not causing the front end to go as light.
 
Yeah rear engine Porsches aren't actually the best as race cars....
Wikipedia
The Porsche 997 GT3 RSR has a dry weight of 1,220 kg (2,690 lb) and 450 bhp (336 kW; 456 PS). In 2007 Porsche had also installed front air louvers that channel air into the radiators and exit through the bonnet. For 2011 Porsche added splitters to the front and increased the tyre diameter to cope with the understeer problem. So far the GT3 RSR has been the most successful GT car ever.
There's no other GT race car with more victories under its belt.


Seems to work pretty well, no?
 
I didn't say it was a failure did I? I said it wasn't the best....There's also other factors at play such as, oh whats it called? Balance of Performance! How bout that...
 
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