May9
Details about McLaren's upcoming P11 have been trickling in over the past few months, and we have a couple of new tidbits to add to the file. The P11 program is progressing on schedule and is slated to be unveiled in the fall of 2009 with an on sale date of March 2010.
Word has it that the P11 is taking aim at the Ferrari F430 Scuderia and the Porsche GT2 and will uses a Mercedes AMG-sourced 6.3L V8 making 550 horsepower. Although the engine will be sourced from AMG, it is believed that Mahle — the company that took over Cosworth — will build the engine. That power will be sent to the rear-wheels and the car should be capable of sub-4 second 0 to 60 runs, as well as a top speed over 200 mph.
Size wise, the P11 should slot between the Audi TT and R8.
Following the launch of the P11, McLaren is expected to offer a Spider version of the P11 in March 2011.
Also on the calendar for the 2011 is an even more high-performance version of the P11 — dubbed the P12. The P12 will channel the spirit of the original McLaren F1 and, as such, will be powered by a V10 making in excess of 600 horsepower. To further push its performance to the limits, the P12's P11-based platform will be completely re-engineered to reduce as much weight as possible.
McLaren recently broke ties with Mercedes after co-creating the SLR supercar, which should clear some room in the McLaren factory just in time to start production of the P11.
Fascinating…yawn
The era of ultrafast supercars isn't in its infancy anymore. There are a dozen cars that do 0-60 in the 3-4 second range and hit 200+ mph. Adding another to the pot is no big deal anymore.
While Gordon Murray is a Grade A DOUCHE, and yes 200mph cars are a dime a dozen these days, the F1 is the SR71 of the automotive industry.
It is faster than many current supercars, and was 14 years ahead of the game.
There's still quite a difference between a 200+ mph car and a 241+ mph car, even if it - most probably - won't be another benchmark as the F1.
gets a big "meh" from me, unless that v8 is straight out of a Mercedes F1 car.
what engine could that be? AFAIK, mercedes/amg doesn't have any V8's at the moment that are capable of putting out that kind of performance…
There were less than 100?
what alot of car "enthusiasts" don't realize (Deanster), is that there is more to a car than straight line power and body kits. this is called engineering. this is called design language. the f1 is a rolling piece of art an will be in the books long after the psudo sports car of today have faded. what cars do you like? charger? camero concept? srt pickups? maybe a really neat suped-up sport compact? i suppose the fast/furious crowd doesn't have the attention span for that sort of thing. some of the comments i see on this website lead me to believe that this is the most savvy crowd. go ahead and fire off some stats you learned on your local tuner forum. your comment is all the talking you need to do.
It sounds like McLaren may be trying to make a real car line for themselves. Nothing as lengthy as Ferrari, but still in the regular mix.
As for the McLaren F1 being a masterwork of the automotive form,
I agree but keep in mind that not every one has a million to throw down like pocket change for a candy bar and connections to let them know the minute the car is open for pre-order or sale to buy one before to absurdly small number of them are sold in twenty minutes.
I am a fan of affordable performance, muscle cars, hot compacts, souped up P/U trucks, and so on because the worth of an engineering team is not what they can do when price is no object but when price is a major hurdle. Performance by the lowest bidder is not my style but keep the price where I won't have to refinance my home to buy or mod one.
I'd like to see a Veyron beater out of Murray.
I want to see a car that can do 260 mph. Now that would turn heads. Its what Mclaren should be aiming for. You're British, for Gods sake! You were at the pinnacle of innovation and invention! Keep going!
What would make money at Mclaren would be a fairly affordable, Lotus style car. Mclaren definitely have the potential to beat Lotus at its own game. They could become a well-known brand without tarnishing their appeal too much. But the F1 2 will have to be very, very, very good. A 260mph Lotus.
V8 faster than the V12? I'd like to see that
This post is total crap. I have this article at home and it clearly states that " The new Mclaren will be a Ferrari F430 competitor". This car (P11) is based on the abandoned mid engine mercedes-mclaren P8 platform which was cancelled by the previous Mercedes head. Mclaren are just going it alone with Mercedes support.
Guessed what engine it will have? Thats right the 6.3ltr V8 from AMG producing 500-600bhp and from the pictures it look gorgeous.
Should hopefully give Ferrari something to worry about.
Commodore, more cylinders does not = more speed.
Remember the Jaguar XJ220? No? You weren't even born back then? Oh, well then, let me tell you that all it had was a 3.5L V6, just a V6 and with that it held the record for the highest top speed of a production car at 217 MPH.
jonnycat, you might have to wait longer than you think. Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but Gordon Murray's not going to have anything to do with the P11 or any McLaren successor. Last I heard Murray left McLaren and set up his own design studio. His next project is mass producing a micro car like the Smart, and he's courting investors as we speak to do it.
I don't know why jm1681 calls Murray a douche, but somehow that's the impression I get from him too. He takes every opportunity to compare everything else to the F1 and tout how great his design was. The F1 was definitely ahead of its time, but the design's getting dated.
Anyway, I remember hearing about the P8 but not the P11. Car mag's pretty specific, maybe the P11 really will be an F1 successor, but how the hell will McLaren build it? The F1 got a Bimmer V12 because BMW as McLaren's F1 partner at the time. Mercedes and McLaren have cut ties, so there goes AMG. HWA was founded by one of the original co-founders of AMG, so when Merc. left, it left. McLaren's engine supplies have dried up, where else can they turn?
Thx Stuart for clearing that up.
I hear you Blakkar but I also like to see what can be done. For instance the Porsche 959 was a uber car as well in the 80's. It took the market 20 years to catch up to it it was that great.
The same can be said for the F1. It took the engineers years to approach the F1 and note that the cars that come close (Enzo, Veyron, MC12) still cost about the same as the F1.
The F1 was highly overated. Looked up back issues of car mags from back when the F1 debuted. If you read between the hype, yes, the car was very fast. But handling was iffy, lots of understeer and not really stable at high speed. The brakes flat out sucked. The A/C didn't work for shit and the car overheated even on a 78degree day under medium usage.
The 241 speed record was for a specially prepared car with longer gear ratios and aero tweaks not on the production car.
The Veyron does 253 out of the box, is fantastically more luxurious and functional, and will wipe the floor with an F1.
Gordon Murray's McLaren successor is 'spiritual' and will be under a different and yet disclosed name; he has no ties with McLaren.
Mercedes-Benz is working with HWA on the replacement for the SLR. HWA is their in house racing division responsible for the Black-Series.
How many times must I tell you little darlings to read evo and Car (these are British car magazines)? You'd know all this already.
F1 was at times overrated, but any car company that has a stereo manufacturer make their head unit lighter, is okay in my book. The F1 was sharply focused and beautifully built it.
P11 will be a blindingly fast, stunningly built and a lightweight slice of perfection.
Leozug, you fucking asspacking douchebag.
What the FUCK do you know about engineering and design language? You're saying this will stand the test of time, that the design language is timeless?
You fucking tool, you're so deluded you should be in a straightjacket. NOTHING about this design is special. In fact, it's a DIRECT knockoff of the previous McLaren, which has aged well but would not, under ANY circumstance, be known as a designer milestone.
You need to educate yourself about what a REAL enduring design is, like the Lambo Miura from the 1970's, the Ferrari 456, etc. This thing looks like a NORMAL fucking high end sports car, no meaner or cooler than a Gallardo or a 430.
I'm saddened that they've taken a step back in engine choice (a perfectly balanced V-12 to a shaky V-8? Come on!), to say the least. Going back to 2 seats is also a big disappointment, IMO. Come on, McLaren, this looks like it's going to turn out just like all those other 200+ MPH supercars out there.
Not a big fan of the F1 but consider the fact that it had 650hp and so does the Enzo. The Enzo's top speed is 210+ and the F1s is 241. I'd say the car has some special characteristics to it on top of the fact that it is more practical than an Enzo.
hey deanster,
nice to hear from you again. actually i have years of experience in engineering and fabrication and have a bachelor's degree in graphic design and i am currently getting my second bachelor's degree in transportation and product design. we happen to learn about things like design language. as far as i remember all of my professors, who happen to be designers in the industry would and do agree that the f1 is a design milestone. what i want to know is what makes you enough of an authority on anything to make any claim what so ever?
your buddy. lz
LOOKS VERY NICE.
Scarface, McLaren's engine partner when the F1 was released was Ford and durinf the development period it had been Honda. To my memory there has never been a Mclaren BMW F1 car, but I could be wrong.
.
The SLR had a Mercedes-Benz engine because Benz approached mcLaren to help them build a supercar and profit from their association with F1. The McLaren had a custom-built V12 BMW engine because McLaren paid them for it. . They will do the same thing now, McLaren Automotive is run as a completely separate entity from McLaren Racing.
SOMETHING FRESH COMING OUR WAY.
A4 to answer your question I believe there were only about 65 McLaren F1's made in the world.
Shit I like this car!
Blakkarr:
"I am a fan of affordable performance, muscle cars, hot compacts, souped up P/U trucks, and so on because the worth of an engineering team is not what they can do when price is no object but when price is a major hurdle."
There you go again, thinking first and typing second. I agree with you, but I also love this car.
Aston Martin: "I want to see a car that can do 260 mph." Watch "Knight Rider" or you're out of luck.
meanpants555: "P11 will be a blindingly fast, stunningly built and a lightweight slice of perfection."
yep.
Didn't a Saleen just do 256 MPH? Despite a 71 old test driver and it cornered at 210. I guess it doesnt count because it is just a damn American car.
http://blogs.motortrend.com/6216409/supercars/ssc-breaks-production-car-top-speed-record-hits-25583-mph/index.html
Swerve: I hope I have those kind of 'nads when i'm 71!
They say 2 things on men continue to grow thru out entire life. 1 of them is your ears.
Me too.
the record was broken by the shelby super cars ultimate aero not a saleen
McLaren should go after Lotus. They have similar brand values, but McLaren is just too high quality and thus too expensive.
Top speed is worthless, beyond showing engineering savvy. I haven't gone over 85 mph since I was 17.
^^^Tru Dat!
The car pictured above is the original McLaren F1. So unless there are some images that aren't loading correctly for me, I don't understand why people are commenting on its looks.
Also, the fastest F1 was the F1 LM, which couldn't do 241mph. Because it had increased downforce it was aerodynamically limited to about 225. So, it's conceivable that in every respect other than the "regular" versions 241/231mph top speed, the new P11 could beat the F1. Although it would need a 0-60 time of under 3 seconds instead of 4 and obviously need to go fairly significantly faster than 200mph.
Overall, I think it would be quite interesting to see McLaren try and compete directly with Ferrari… especially if they're going to use AMG engines, as they're in pretty sharp contrast with Ferrari engines.
Also, the 100-ish production number for the F1 is arrived at by including all of the race cars.
Bring back the Ford GT90 lol
This doesn't add up to me- I don't see McLaren pussing out and making anything short of a car that would dominate the supercar market.
I love the Mclaren F1 LM pictured above. I also think the way they had the seating arrangement with the driver up front and middle was a genius idea. Yeah jonmiles I'm with you on that too. It sounds like Mclaren is almost underpinning itself. They have the technology and the capability to create one the best supercars in the world why are they planning on making something that would compete like on Lotus territory? If you ask my Mclaren has the capability of coming out with something that could top the Veyron but, maybe they are going for something else this time around.
MOst people who drove the famed Mclaren F1 thought it was really unstable and handling was iffy and the brakes weren't up to scratch. I cannot ignore the quality of the build, the ingenuity and the beauty of it, which is brilliant, but as a car to drive it wasn't that cracked up to be. Once more, a specially prepared one was the reason why it had the top speed record. I f you take your Mclaren F1 now and find its top speed it won't touch 241. A veyron does all that without special preparations other than the key. Let's see how this car comes out, and don't call it a step backwards, this is 2008 and with ever stringent laws they may not be able to do the things they did back then
For a Veyron high speed test, I think you also need special tires. The standard OE tires, I believe, are only rated to the max speed you get without the key.
whoopy do… when can u actualy take a super car that fast when u own 1? NEVER. i have seen 2 bugatts sittin by the side of the road tryin to look good. a ferrari get stuck on a speed hump here down my road and the national speed limit is 70 in the uk. also i was caught and stoped by the police the other night for accelrating 2 fast away from the lights they said it could be done as reckless driving… i did -0-40 in 5ish secs… work that shit out. all ths 200+ 0-60 bullshit is pointless unless there build to race.
@ SwerveEarly
"They say 2 things on men continue to grow thru out entire life. 1 of them is your ears."
The other is your nose. Sorry, dude…
Why don't they use the BMW V12 that helped the F1 write the supercar rule book?