Awesome !

The new McLaren has somewhat the lines of the Audi R8. The rear quarter panel mainly, the rear hatch; while the front fascia looks a bit like a Porsche......those few front lights......the 2nd generation NSX....we'll see....

perfect, it is noticeably conservative but, its bloody McLaren, it has every right to try to be conservative, because its crazy as is

when i saw the 1st pic i thought of exactly of what andy sort of wrote

that the Ferrari 458 and the Lamborghini Gallardo had a child

regarless the car is still gorgeous

i would still prefer a Zonda over this thou.....without hesitation

Me thinks its to conservative, I would have expected something a bit more extreme

Well , you said it all Andy.

The design is really too shy , and yes it immediatly remind an Ascari.

I remenber reading G.Murray about the F1 , and first i was thinking " Eeerg , the man's ego is bigger than the sun " , 16 years laters i think he was far from the truth.

The original F1 is simply a milestone in (super)car history , no doubt about it , only the financial side of the matter was certainly more delicate , but on all others points of view : Aesthitical , technologiacl and of course racing career , the F1 and daughters were unreachable.

This new project should consider other targets , i'm sure , and then should not be compared with Mr Murray's chef-d'oeuvre.

Times are changing , McLaren don't need anymore to create an icon or an emblem , they just need to raise money. Lotus experienced it before , i hope the story will end differently.

I prefer the old one for sure ! This one is so "tasteless".

But I think I know why, it hasn't BMW heart :) and the its design makes noithing for me.

check grammar.

Asacri, Evora, Ferrari V8 Chassis, maybe even Cayman? The F1 has awesome style. With the bulging cockpit cabint was like looking at a LeMans P1 car on the street. The rear fenders, the rakes along the sides, the center driver's position, it was unique, it screamed SUPERCAR. This, compared to what has been released in the last few years, isn;t really doing anything for me. Aesthetically, that car is HIDEOUS and boring in my opinion. I would expect something more innovative and stylish from the likes of McLaren.

Exterior is boring and uncreative (especially in comparison to the F1). I Love the fact that it's TT, but wish it had a little more than 600hp. Hope I can see one in person one day.

im very disapointed in this new mclaren, its body style reminds me to much of an Audi R8 and with the twin turbo v8 i doubt its going to be able to compete with its older brother the F1..but we shall see mclaren are full of suprises

This to me looks like a join of other car bits, but stil, I think it looks very cool

So:

-The front end looks a bi like the f430

-The side air entrances look like the ascari

-Engine cover from a R8

-Rear end like lotus evora

Looks amazing in person.

No styling gimmicks, just pure car.

The engineering is phenomenal. The MP4-12C  delivers the highest horsepower-to-CO2 ratio of any car on the market today with an internal combustion engine ... and that includes petrol and diesel hybrids!!!

Wow!

Its OK.

I agree with everyone here. It is just too soft looking and too conservative.

I can't imagine many potential Gallardo or 458 buyers taking their money to Mclaren and buying this.

It needs more of an edge, like others are saying it looks like a couple of cars put together but the overall shape and appearance isn't anything special. The F1 on the other hand couldn't be mistaken for anything else and I think this one should be no different.

I dont like it, McLaren are selling themselves short, McLaren is supposed to build race cars and the fastest, best handling hypercars in the world, not a general supercar.

Im sure its going to be a great car, but I think they should have made a car a step up from the F1.

The design looks interesting, nice but it would be better if it'd be more agressive. What would also be cool is if it would be the next supercar milestone from the F1. If I had to choose between this one and the F1, no doubt that I would choose the F1 for the better, great looks, for the legendary performance and for the history, the legend. This one looks like a nice market car, but doesn't seem to have enough heart and passion into it. So yeah, BMW would really need to get in on it if they want to make something really special.

Otherwise it would end up being "just another supercar" and I think that Mclaren is much more than just that.

Bahhh....very boring design!  McLaren needs to remain an ultra-super-dupercar producer, and in limited supply!  I feel like trying to grab up market cap will devalue the goodwill surrounding the McLaren name! Soon, telling someone that you "saw a McLaren in the flesh" won't mean much of anything!

best looking mclaren i ever seen! better than the old one, which i never took a second look at in terms of cosmetic looks. when i first saw/heard about it.

Markus nissa - yeah, you nailed it. This project can not fail for McLaren, particuarly with their strained relationship with Mercedes. Something tells me that Gordon and his engineers would never of allowed this to happen if he was still there.....he left towards the end of development of the Mercedes ran Mercedes SLR McLaren

The design looks very refreshed...But I would've preferred more cue similarities to the old F1. This one seems more conservative than the old design.

Well first off let me just say that this is a great looking design.  That being said it looks great but also looks like about 10 other cars we know of.  This is not a huge issue as technology progresses with wind tunnel dynamics the supercar shape grows more and more formulaic; but that is not the real issue here.  See IMO the F1 is a very generic type supercar shape as well, but where the two cars differ is in the details.  The detailing on the F1 is so much more unique and recognizable; like the two side ducts extracting air from the front wheel wells and the roof scoop with the louvers down the spine of it rather than a normal side intake setup.  Besides being unique these parts of the aero setup are also some of the main factors contributing to the F1's insane top speed (the lack of front facing side intakes makes it much more slippery).  Now I am not displeased with the near rear end design at all in fact it is as unique as it gets, but I think we are all in agreement that the original rear design with its quad GOLD muffler setup peeking out through the back mesh was just plain badass.  All in all the new car even with its shortcomings should be a great success, it is not missing anything from the supercar equation aside from its design criticisms, but one thing they certainly missed the mark on was the thing that made the F1 so great.  I know that today it is all about efficiency so I understand the turbo setup,  but really the best thing about the F1 was that it was NA; 650 horses of it or something to that effect.  This is what really made the car badass, and not just because BMW made it but because NA is the most classically awesome way to fly.

McLaren is about subtlety, why go mad on design when you have Lamborghini et al to do that?

It's about pure driving and engineering finesse. styling not aggressive enough? I say styling for the subtle man/woman.

This might be a new generation F1

the rear reminds me of those nasty grilles on the Ferrari F355 and Enzo....

.

It is quite a well resolved design, but very bland and generic...not really what the market looks for.... it doesn't move the game on which is odd as everything else is cutting edge

.

I forgot Gordon Murray had left McLaren. Wonder what he thinks of it

front reminds me of a lamborghini and a ferrari love child. looks like the two cars were partying all night then 9 months later a new child is born.

im not a huge fan of the rear as well. im thinking that even if this has been released, its still possible to make some minor changes? side profile is beautiful to me. And i agree with the similarities of lines with the Audi R8 and the Ascari.

Its just me. i dont hate the car, i just think more can still be done or changed to how it looks. given that this is mclaren im pretty sure it will perform well. Slap in some whale tail, a different rear and a slightly enhanced but not too aggresive front and we'll have a winner.

Oh, maybe a change of design on the headlights will do as well. XD

a well done article as well. keep us posted if there are any more progress or changes to this car. ^_^

Really looks a lot like an R8 with a different hood/front section to me. That said, the R8 is a gorgeous car...

i think the new ferrari 458 is a much more beautiful car.

I'm sorry but this new Mclaren will NEVER have the same auro as the original Mclaren F1.

This thing is screaming Azcari all over the place... They're too similar to my taste, so it better have some really good performance to prove itself since aesthetically it's kinda meh...

Who cares guys, its built to driven..fast...who cares what it looks like? For me, it looks good enough.

Look at the second photo! It is amazing to see that the original does not look a minute older than this new model! if not more unique and fresh!  I won't criticize them thou coz I think it's too much to ask for another miracle lol

it needs a front lip spoiler, the bumper is too recessed at the bottom of it vs the top. other than that great car.

I personally like the design, especially for what it is aimed at.  This car is not to meant to be the "next" F1.  It is their "entry level" super car, like the Gallardo and the 458 Italia.  Although the "entry level" super car market seems to be moving further away from that title with every new update.  Comparing this to the F1 is like comparing the F430 to the Enzo.  "The F430 will never hold a candle to the Enzo."   Ridiculous to think in that sense.

Great car, needs better wheels, looks like they just got some cheap ones from the local tyre joint!!

disapointing. looks really dated.

Crap name. "I've got an MP4-12C", sounds pretty lame. It's OK for car nerds to talk in chassis codes, but to actually name the car that........... Do you get one of Ron's dodgy old leather jackets to go with it?

I don't like the look, especially the rear, period.  However, I wonder what kind of driving experience and lap times this car can provide  I am really interested how much faster around a track vs F430 Scudi.  

To be ok'd by Gordan Murray, this car has to be something special.    

I think as a development of the McLaren brand its a step in the right direction. It's a subtle reminder that they are still here and making real sports cars. The MP4-12C looks more refined and maybe diluted, but at the end of the day it would be a more practical car to take on Ferrari, Lambo and Porsche at that end of the market. It's still pushing the envelope, bringing Mclaren's experience and technology, especially engine tech and composites into production for the road car. I'd imagine this would have amazing chassis dynamics and would likely see it proved in GT Sport scar racing.

It has been almost 20 years since is the McLaren F1 debuted...  but is the world ready for a successor? I'm sure the lads at Woking are working on it!

It seems that the R&D for this project did not go nearly as far as the last gen McLaren F1, it now has resulted in a cookie-cutter gallardo wannabe. I'm sure they have there reason's, but damn the F1 was the fastest road-going top notch car in it's day and held it for a while.  This just hangs out with the regular mid range exotics.

Plus they got rid of the best driving position, in the center, 3 seats, wtf!!

Tim, "who cares what it looks like?", you've got to be kidding me.  No way I'm putting a poster of this generic style up in my garage. Back in the 90's style was so prevelant in exotics and supercars. You could instanlty tell a Diablo from an f50 as it ripped past you. Imagine this car did, and you actually had to sit there and wonder or even argue just WTF you just saw?

Hopefully Maclaren will get the hint, as most of the opinions out there revolve around the "ho-hum, generic supercar bodystyle" exterior, spice it up, and make your jaw drop as you try to fumble with your cameraphone as it whips past you.  

Karl Karlsson - Gordon is working on a successor to the original F1, although it obviously wont be a McLaren product...he just needs to get his T.25 micro car out the door first

To be honest, when i first heard of this car, i expected something a little more extreme from the company that turned out what was once The Worlds Fastest Production car. I think that this car is pretty good though.

Looks like a Hyundai Genesis supercar

Looks like a Hyundai Genesis supercar

Am I the only one who thinks it looks like a Tesla from the high 3/4 front left view?

If the intention with the styling was to create a car that wouldn't date very quickly then why have they created a car that already looks dated before the first one has gone on sale?

No doubt it's got all the ingredients to be a stellar driving tool, and the engineering and technology under the skin are simply awe inspiring but in the real world, where supercars that sell are as much of a visual statement as they are a dynamic one, this one fails on the first part and that's quite a shame. Especially given that, judging by the images, a restyle of the front, rear and sides of the car without affecting its functionality or packaging would be quite simple really.

I want to like the styling, but find myself unable to.

It looks like a late 90's car to me.

I still like it, but stylistically, not as much as the Ferrari Italia.

Its a nice looking car, but looks too refined for a McLaren. It definitly needs to be more aggressive looking. The rear view however, is fuckin sick !

what an interesting change of strategy in terms of engine design.  For the original F1, Gordan Murray insisted that no Turbo to be used b/c of lags.  Now that turbo technology has dramatically changed, Gordan Murray did not hesitate to jump on it.  And that "tub" cockpit is something.

reminds me of the lotus evora slightly but bigger and slightly hulked up

Thought it was  F430 at first............too Bland, the rear is sexy though, not a fan of the exhaust outlets...Way short of my expectations from the creators of the maybe the greatest road car ever, would have preferred a tweeked BMW V10, or 12..........

хмм.. не знаю..

как-то новая "лайт версия" макларена не впечатляет.. даже на вид =\

хотя я просто по-прежнему не могу принять современный автомобильный дизайн..

он в основном бездушно компьютерный =\

а вот старый МакЛарен) это настоящая машина =)

On Thursday morning I woke up extra early to pick up a friend and head to Germany. Our destination was