Here at V Engineering, we absolutely love the 12C. We should do, after all we launched it.
After I joined McLaren in April 2010, McLaren Project 11 was in the VP phase (Virtual Prototype, meaning the cars were production intent models). Development of McLaren Automotives first road going model had stretched back as far as 2007. Of course being a McLaren, it had to have an all carbon fiber tub construction for both light weight and absolute strength, as well as giving a nod to the CF history of the F1 team stretching back to 1981 with the first CF tub F1 car, the MP/4.
Up until then, CF tubbed cars had been cripplingly expensive to produce…. Laying up sections of the CF matt piece by piece, molding them, adding resin, then firing them in autoclaves was an incredibly labor intensive process. Enter carbo–tech in Austria, who had been automating the CF parts process for a few years before. The joint venture was started, and an all new process of making a massive tub tool in two pieces, laying the CF matting inside, then injecting the resin was created…manufacturing a complete CF tub in just 4 hours…weighing 78 kgs. It was a revolutionary step in sports car manufacture, and one that till this day hasn’t really got the recognition it deserves in my opinion.
The engine was revolutionary too… a design from the legendary engine builder Cosworth was to be used, 3.8 litres, twin turbo V8 with variable intake and exhaust geometry, which created an engine that was incredibly clean, fuel efficient and very powerful. I was fortunate enough to spend two months in Germany with our documentation supplier, Reinsich, completely stripping one down and rebuilding it for the purposes of compiling our forthcoming workshop manuals in the all new McLaren Retailer Portal. The main thing that stunned me about the engine was its sheer simplicity…you could tell this engine was designed to be ripped apart in a paddock, then put back together quickly to win races. All the different components had nuts and bolts that would only go back in on place (differing lengths). An incredibly well designed engine for a technician to work on (in my opinion!).
We launched a little late in July 2011, mainly due to IRIS issues, but when the 12C was launched it was a busy time. The newly formed dealer network had all been given a massive spare parts stock to include an engine and gearbox, but also everything that you could find on the car less body panels (stocking large panels or a tub was of course a big space problem). The launch went exceptionally well, yes we had failures but all of the parts were in stock, so parts issues simply didn’t happen. Every day at 4pm in the main board room at MTC, a wash up meeting took place….every single technical report from all the dealers world wide was discussed. Every single engineering department was present, and every single issue was then allocated to that department, we had solutions immediately or at least the very next day. It was a incredible time and really underlined the F1 style of support and management that typified those magical early days in McLaren.
Over the next 2 years of the 12C’s life, and thanks to that massive focus on solving issues fast, there were many updates, some electrical, some mechanical, some body….some updates (called platform updates) were combined together to provide the best client experience. Steve and I were all over Europe with another flying doctor, Paul Cooper, supporting the 12C..great fun, and great days with dealer techs and staff, all fantastic car guys to work with.
The 12C has since become one of those cars that you either love or loathe. Yes there were a few issues, but given that it was an entirely new car by an entirely new manufacturer in a brand new facility, I think it was an incredible job done and one that still to this day I am incredibly proud of.
Coming from mainly Ferrari in the previous 25 years of my career, what really astounded me were the people, the car, and the dealer network that we had created. In 2013 the 12C evolved in the 650S, people said at the time it wasn’t different enough, but it was everything we learned and made better. The 650S to this day is my best all round supercar, incredible ride, quality, performance…and judging by the amount of tech requests we had, a downright bloody good car.
However my own favorite between the two remains the 12C. Yes it does not look quite so modern as the 650S, but the lines and outline shape of that very simple Frank Stephenson design pay homage to the legendary F1. To me that is priceless. That is why we love the 12C!
