Autoblog

It's hard not to follow a story like the veritable fleet of new supercars set to follow the controversial Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The supercar came out of the partnership between Benz and McLaren in Formula One, but while the racing cars have been highly competitive, the SLR has been less so. As a result, Mercedes and McLaren are going their own separate ways for the next generation of high-performance exotica.

Mercedes, with in-house rodders AMG and its racing spin-off, HWA, is preparing two new models to succeed the SLR: the SL65 AMG Black Series (which has been spied many times over) and the SLC (which we've seen disguised in Dodge Viper bodywork). McLaren, meanwhile, is anticipated to produce the new P11 mid-engined supercar on its own, without Mercedes input. The dissolution of the car-producing enterprise between the two powerhouses is not expected to affect their joint grand prix racing program.

The last iteration of the SLR – following the original coupe, the Roadster and the 722 – will be a limited-production lightweight speedster, on which we recently reported. Despite all its available variants, Mercedes has sold fewer than 1600 examples of the SLR to date.

[Source: Automotive News Europe – sub. req'd]

With the mostly unloved Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren set to get the official axe in 2009, the path is clear for the next McLaren-branded supercar to be unveiled. Expected to be built at its facility in Woking, England, McLaren has plans for the as-yet-unnamed vehicle to compete with Ferrari's incredible F430. Rumored to be powered by a 550-horsepower V8 engine featuring a basic design snagged from Mercedes and built by Mahle (that of the former Cosworth tuning fame), the power-to-weight ratio should handily outdo that of the Prancing Horse. Shortly after the new coupe codenamed P11 is unveiled, a convertible version is also expected.

True hardcore McLaren enthusiasts should mark 2012 as the year that McLaren returns to form with a proper replacement for its awe-inspiring F1 of a few years back. Powered by a lightweight version of the P11 architecture, this car codenamed the P12 is expected to be powered by a V10 engine with over 600 horsepower. The waiting list will likely start right... about... now.

[Source: Autocar]

Ferrari may have kicked off the era of the modern supercar with the F40, but McLaren took the concept to a whole new level with the F1. Letting a legendary Formula One designer like Gordon Murray have essentially free reign brought forth a 241 mph, three-seat masterpiece of which fewer than 100 were ultimately built. Others challenged the F1s throne, and the Bugatti Veyron eventually overtook its performance marks, but there is still nothing quite like Murray's original triumph.

McLaren has apparently decided that the time is right to create a successor. They are hard at work on a lightweight two-seater powered by a V8 engine under the name P11. That's one less seat and four fewer cylinders than its forebear, but modern engine tech should be able to render something even faster. British magazine CAR has details of the new supercar that's expected to launch in 2010 in their November print issue.

[Source: CAR]