McLaren MP4-12C

[Corsugone]

Notre ami Ron en rajoute une couche (source Caradisiac)

Ron Dennis place d’ailleurs quelques mots à propos du duel organisé par Top Gear il y a quelques temps entre la McLaren F1 et la Veyron : « Ils ont tout fait pour avantager la Veyron dans ce comparatif. Mais lorsque nous comparions nous même la F1 avec la Veyron, nous la battions même si tout le monde semblait frustré de ne pas voir la Veyron gagner. »

Quelques gentillesses supplémentaires ICI (Worldcarfans) ...

[GVA-SFO]

Puisque c'est ici que l'on parle de la Verrat :

Demander à Mr. Dennis: ..si ça, c'est du lard, ou du cochon ?
voir:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Bugatti- ... dZViewItem

[Corsugone]

Que l'on apprécie ou non le personnage, il n'en reste pas moins que c'est un sacré bonhomme.

[Corsugone]

McLaren Automotive selects Bahrain as home for regional head office

Manama considered the ideal choice for Middle East base

McLaren Automotive announced today the establishment of its regional head office in Bahrain. All distributor-side management, marketing and support functions for the premium high-performance sports car manufacturer will be managed from its new Manama office. The British car company, which was officially launched in March, will begin sales in 2011 with its first ‘pure’ McLaren, the MP4-12C.

With only a few weeks to go before the company announces its first dealerships in the region, Ian Gorsuch, McLaren Automotive’s Regional Director for Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific said the company had chosen the kingdom for its regional office for a number of strong reasons.

“With a Formula 1 racetrack, an excellent business environment and its close proximity to one of our major shareholders, Manama was the obvious location for our regional head office,” said Gorsuch.

The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir has hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix for the past seven years and has excellent facilities for performance testing and hosting events. Last year, McLaren Automotive subjected a 12C prototype to extreme hot-weather testing in the heat, dust and humidity of the Gulf summer. Testing was conducted at the BIC as well as on the country’s desert roads.

Also, the competitive cost and ease of setting up in the kingdom, in addition to the attractive lifestyle offered by Bahrain, were major factors in deciding on establishing the office in the kingdom. On the whole, it was felt that the Bahraini commerical environment was very conducive to doing business on the island.

And with Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (“Mumtalakat”), the investment company for Bahrain, having a 42 per cent stake in McLaren Group as well as a 50 per cent stake in McLaren Automotive, the kingdom is considered a home away from home by the company. As such it made good business sense to be based nearby to maintain close contact between the two partners.

“This is a very positive decision by McLaren Automotive,” said Gorsuch. “We have had close links to the island for some time through our partnership with Mumtalakat, and last year successfully conducted hot-weather testing for the forthcoming 12C here. And now we will be able to take further advantage of the number of excellent opportunities that come from establishing an office in Bahrain.”

McLaren Automotive has a rich heritage in producing premium sports cars for the road. The street-legal F1 model, which was launched in 1992, is still regarded as one of the best examples of supercar exotica. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, one of the fastest cars on the streets today, is also the most successful supercar ever in its price bracket, with over 2,000 cars sold since its 2003 launch.

The McLaren MP4-12C is the first in a range of high performance sports cars from McLaren Automotive and represents ‘pure McLaren,’ from its unique engineering to its bespoke design where everything is for a reason. The 12C, and future models within the range, will challenge the world’s best sports cars, benefiting from the expertise and virtuosity of the McLaren Group. The 12C is set to re-write the rules of sports car design through Formula 1-inspired engineering, a revolutionary carbon fibre chassis, and an absolute focus on efficiency and quality.

The 12C is set to be built in the UK at the new McLaren Production Centre in Woking. It will go on sale in Europe from spring 2011, followed soon after by the Middle East, where it will take up to 20 percent of the 1,000 12Cs built in its first year.

[Corsugone]

Management restructure at McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive

Following the recent spin-off of McLaren Automotive from McLaren Group, the following management restructure will come into operation with immediate effect. Ron Dennis CBE will resume his role of Executive Chairman of McLaren Group and will continue in his role of Executive Chairman of McLaren Automotive.

Martin Whitmarsh has been appointed to two new roles: Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Group and Deputy Chairman of McLaren Automotive. He will also continue in his role of Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. Also reporting to Ron Dennis will be Tim Murnane (Group Legal Director & Company Secretary, McLaren Group) and Andy Myers (Group Chief Financial Officer, McLaren Group).

Each of the McLaren Group companies’ Managing Directors will continue in their roles, as follows:

- Jonathan Neale (McLaren Racing)
- Ekrem Sami (McLaren Marketing)
- Dr Peter van Manen (McLaren Electronic Systems)
- Dr Geoff McGrath (McLaren Applied Technologies)
- Lyndy Redding (Absolute Taste)
- Antony Sheriff will continue in his role of Managing Director of McLaren Automotive.
- Sir Richard Lapthorne has resigned his Non-Executive Chairmanship of McLaren Group and role as a consultant to McLaren Automotive.

Ron Dennis said:

“Following the spin-off of McLaren Automotive from McLaren Group, I’m delighted to announce this management restructure.

“The two companies will have separate shareholdings, and will continue to be headquartered in Woking, Surrey [UK]. McLaren Group will be based at the existing McLaren Technology Centre [MTC], while McLaren Automotive will be based at the brand-new McLaren Production Centre [MPC] which is now being constructed alongside the MTC.

“I have enormous confidence in the senior management teams of both McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive, and am pleased that both companies will be extremely well served by those senior management teams, now and going forward into the future.

“Finally, I would like to pay tribute to Sir Richard Lapthorne for his work over the past year. His knowledge and experience have been very beneficial to the senior management teams of both McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive. For that reason, as Executive Chairman of McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive and also personally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sir Richard for his wise counsel and wish him well for the future, personally as well as professionally.”

Editors’ note:
The two companies’ boards are therefore now as follows:

McLaren Group
- Ron Dennis (Executive Chairman)
- Mansour Ojjeh (TAG Group Holdings)
- Sheikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al-Khalifa (Bahraini Mumtalakat Holding Company)
- Talal Ali Al-Zain (Bahraini Mumtalakat Holding Company)
- Martin Whitmarsh (Chief Executive Officer)
- Tim Murnane (Group Legal Director & Company Secretary)
- Andy Myers (Group Chief Financial Officer)
- Ekrem Sami (Managing Director, McLaren Marketing)

McLaren Automotive
- Ron Dennis (Executive Chairman)
- Mansour Ojjeh (TAG Group Holdings)
- Sheikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al-Khalifa (Bahraini Mumtalakat Holding Company)
- Talal Ali Al-Zain (Bahraini Mumtalakat Holding Company)
- Martin Whitmarsh (Deputy Chairman)
- Tim Murnane (Group Legal Director & Company Secretary)
- Andy Myers (Group Chief Financial Officer)
- Antony Sheriff (Managing Director)

[Corsugone]

Article très intéressant, il traite du réseau de distribution Mclaren. Trois concessionnaires semblent retenus pour l'Angleterre. Pour une voiture livrée, Mclaren fournira (ou vendra..) au concessionnaire l'ensemble des pièces détachées associées afin que le client n'est pas à attendre en cas de maintenance. (comme déjà précisé dans les pages précédentes de ce post).

Peu original, Mclaren sélectionne des concessionnaires à l'assise financière et réputation solide; 600 sur une première liste, 150 questionnés, pour un total de 35 retenus au niveau international.

Intéressant aussi les 'flying doctors" basés à Woking capable de se déplacer dans le monde entier pour résoudre un problème et si nécessaire ramener la voiture à l'usine ... un truc déjà vrai à l'époque de la Mclaren F1. Avant cela, un responsable régional se sera déplacé afin de réaliser un premier diagnostic.

Nombre de détails intéressants dans cet article.

[Corsugone]

Pour le plaisir des yeux, difficile de se lasser de la chaine de montage clinique des premiers modèles.

[Lambo8]

Je sens qu'elle va me plaire !

[GT Driver]

Je sens qu'elle va me plaire !

+1, mais je veux la voir en vrai !

[Corsugone]

Reportage très intéressant incluant une interview de Chris Goodwin et d'autres personnages clés du programme Mp4-12c, pour ne rien gâcher la vidéo est disponible en HD. Il s'agit d'un reportage chinois ou japonais, va savoir, je ne comprends pas les sous-titres ???

[bence]

With only a few weeks to go before the company announces its first dealerships in the region, Ian Gorsuch, McLaren Automotive’s Regional Director for Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific said the company had chosen the kingdom for its regional office for a number of strong reasons.

Ils veulent essayer d'en vendre en Afrique?

[ze_shark]

J'ai écouté dans l'avion une longue interview de Bob Lutz sur le podcast d'autoblog, il parlait notamment du fait que les berlinettes à moteur central arrière l'ennuyent prodigieusement, la seule nouveauté étant de savoir où les constructeurs iront loger une prise d'air additionnelle.

C'est assez vrai de toutes les Ferrari récentes, même si ils ont eu le coup de crayon un peu plus heureux avec la 458. C'est aussi vrai de la MP4-12C ou de l'Evora, des dessins insipides, prédictibles.

[Corsugone]

Le refroidissement d'un moteur centrale arrière est un vrai casse-tête, allez en parler aux propriétaires d'Exige à moteur suralimenté. Sur le forum du CLF, l'ex-président du Club Lotus France a bien décrit les affres de l'utilisation de son ex-240R en période estivale. Sur circuit, il se faisait taper par une 111R et le gars n'est pas un manche au volant. Un échangeur air-air sur une coco-minute, le moteur, ne sera jamais efficient sans un aérodynamisme parfait, loin d'être le cas de l'Elise/Exige, ce qui explique grandement les formes "insipides" nécessaires à la résolution du problème.

A ce titre, Mclaren proposera prochainement un modèle d'entrée de gamme, le sera-t-il sur la base du châssis de la MP4-12C ou un nouveau modèle à moteur centrale avant, moins complexe, l'avenir nous le dira ... je suppute un petit coupé sportif type Elise ... à suivre.

[Falcon]

Merci pour ces belles photos de la chaîne.

C'est impressionnant comme c'est propre !

[Corsugone]

Un MP4-12C en balade ....