Autoblog

McLaren MP4-12C Spyder to get trick folding hardtop

Noah Joseph — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:31:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, MISC

If you're going to go up against the Ferrari 458, a coupe isn't going to do it alone. No, for that you'll need a convertible version, too, to steal away customers who'd otherwise be putting their names down on the wait list for the 458 Spider.

Lamborghini knows that, as it has demonstrated with successive versions of the Gallardo. Audi knows it too, as it has shown with the R8 Spyder. Aston Martin makes a DBS Volante and Porsche offers a 911 Turbo convertible. So if McLaren is going to play in this league, it's going to need a convertible version of its MP4-12C. And if it's going to outshine these soft-topped contenders and pick up market share from the 458 Spider with its innovative folding hard-top, it's going to need a similarly impressive parlor trick, too. Fortunately that's just what's coming down the pipeline.

According to the latest intel from British weekly Autocar, McLaren has been collaborating with Webasto on a new type of roof mechanism for the upcoming 12C Spyder. Now if the name Webasto sounds familiar, that's probably because it's the same German outfit that developed the apertures for the Mini, Volkswagen Eos, Volvo C70 and, most crucially, the Ferrari California and 458 Spider.

For McLaren, Webasto is said to have made a three-piece folding roof that stacks in between the seats and the engine, allowing the twin-turbo V8 to be viewed through its clear compartment cover - something the 458 cannot boast. The panels themselves will likely be crafted from carbon fiber like much of the rest of the MP4-12C, but as for the nomenclature we'll have to wait and see. The only other roadgoing convertible McLaren ever produced was the SLR Roadster, whose name was likely determine by Mercedes-Benz, not by McLaren. Other convertibles on the market take the name Spider, Spyder, Speedster, Roadster, Cabrio, Cabriolet, Drophead Coupe, Volante or simply Convertible.

McLaren MP4-12C Spyder to get trick folding hardtop originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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McLaren MP4-12C Spyder coming this year

Zach Bowman — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:29:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, UK, MISC

Our friends at Car and Driver recently spent some time poking and prodding around McLaren headquarters in Woking, England, and they have confirmed plans for a convertible MP4-12C. This isn't exactly earth-shattering news, having been rumored since 2009 and even spotted earlier this year, but it does suggest the program is on track for a public reveal this year. The MP4-12C Spyder is expected to be mechanically identical to its hard top cousin, which means buyers can look forward to finding twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 with 593 horsepower kicked out through the rear wheels.

The report says McLaren designed that engine along with its partner, Ricardo, to serve as the beating heart behind more than just one model. In addition to the lidless MP4-12C, McLaren is hard at work on a true successor to the F1. That machine will feature more conventional side-by-side seating and a dual-clutch gearbox bolted to a higher-output version of the same 3.8-liter engine. McLaren also has its heart set on creating a full product line. What does that mean, exactly? Car and Driver says we can forget purist-affronting models like an SUV or a sedan, but the odds are fairly high that the stable will swell beyond the three models mentioned here. Color us excited.

McLaren MP4-12C Spyder coming this year originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 May 2012 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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McLaren MP4-12C Spyder caught on camera with its top down

Noah Joseph — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:33:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, Convertible, Performance, MISC

If you're going to make a mid-engined supercar, you've got to make a roadster version. You simply have to, and that's all there is to it. Ferrari does with the 458 Spider, just as it did with the F430, 360, 355 and 348 before it. Lamborghini does with the Gallardo. Audi does with the R8. And soon McLaren will with the MP4-12C. We know it will - it's just a matter of time. And now it appears that time is coming up soon.

Caught by in spy shots by Britain's Car magazine, the MP4-12C Spyder carries a folding solid roof mechanism - not unlike that found in the 458, but unlike the Ferrari's, does not hide the engine. That's because the system is more of a targa top. It's reportedly being built for McLaren by Webasto and - intriguingly enough - Lotus, made of aluminum and plastic, and can deploy or retract in about 17 seconds while rolling at up to five mph.

Otherwise it's expected to be mechanically identical to the fixed-roof version, complete with twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 pumping 592 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. Expect the 12C Spyder to roll out some time later this year - in time for the summer, if McLaren's as smart and quick about it as it is with most things.

McLaren MP4-12C Spyder caught on camera with its top down originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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