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| The McLaren MP4-12C. How can this one live up to the last one? Photo credit ninjamedia.co.cc. |
McLaren does have some pretty deep roots when it comes to racing. Their F1 team is one of the best in the world with Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton racing for it.
Back in 1992 McLaren decided they wanted to build the fastest supercar the world had ever seen, and boy oh boy did they ever.
The McLaren F1 was the fastest production car in the world from 1998 after hitting 240 mph and obliterating the old record held by the Jaguar XJ220 (213mph) up until it was dethroned by the Koenigsegg CCR seven years later (source).
Powering it to those speeds was a naturally aspirated V12 engine producng a massive 627 horsepower (via allfastcars.com).
The F1 was truly an automotive legend in every sense of the phrase.
So how then is the MP4-12C going to deal following in its footsteps?
The simple answer is that it's not.
It has become fairly evident that while McLaren's new supercar is still going to perform well, it's not in the same league as McLaren's first car. Yet every time the MP4-12C is brought up, it seems the F1 manages to work its way into the conversation as well.
Now, the MP4-12C is no slouch. It still produces 592 horsepower from its twin-turboed V8 engine and can get on to a top speed of 205 mph (via worldcarfans.com). The thing is, breaking the 200 mph mark isn't as ground breaking today as it was a decade ago. Pretty much every supercar company makes a car that goes over 200 mph, often by a fair margin too.
In all likelihood the MP4-12C is a very good car. Problem is, the F1 was so revolutionary, so crazy, so insane, so interesting, that it basically made certain that anything that came after it would be overshadowed.
So, can the MP4-12C be compared with the old Mclaren F1? No, it can't.
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