When you think of the name McLaren in the car world, most likely you will remember the legendary Formula 1 racing team that has seen great success in the sport and produced many legendary drivers such as James Hunt, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Then you would also remember the F1, McLaren’s legendary creation from back in the day.
Today McLaren also has a great presence in the world of road cars too, having made numerous models ranging from GTs to ultra exclusive hypercars. However modern McLaren supercars are still a relatively recent thing and all of that is thanks to the MP4-12C or just the 12C for short, McLaren’s first modern road supercar.
The 12C was introduced in 2011 and was in production for about 3 years with a convertible version getting introduced one year later. Now the 12C has a V8 engine and can reach up to around 330 kmph so it is a pretty fast and capable car and provided a proper competition to other supercars of that time like the Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo. The 12C is also very well designed considering it was basically the first modern road car that McLaren made.
Yet somehow despite everything that the McLaren 12C has contributed to the brand, it has become a bit of a forgotten McLaren and not many people seemed to talk about it as much as some of their more powerful and newer cars and it is a bit unfortunate that is the case because what people need to realize is that it is thanks to the 12C, that you have cars like the P1 or 720S or Senna exist because the 12C is what started the new era of McLaren cars.
But I’m hopeful this won’t be for long as I have noticed there are more people that are recognizing and appreciating the 12C’s significance in the McLaren story, with many viewing the 12C as great potential modern classic in the future.
One thing to remember. Every supercar can be great, but only a few can claim to have started a new era. That right there is what the McLaren 12C will be remembered for.
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