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Filed under: Convertible, Performance, First Drives, McLaren
McLaren's Icon-Beater Loses Its Top, Gains More Thrills



So far, so good for McLaren Automotive. Since the MP4-12C coupe started deliveries roughly 16 months ago, there are now 1,500-plus more great supercars traveling the roads of our planet. There have been potholes, particularly the hotly awaited initial UK comparison tests in 2011 that (frankly) both we and McLaren felt the MP4-12C would ace versus the Ferrari 458 Italia & Co.

In almost every test, the 570-horsepower Ferrari eclipsed the 592-horsepower MP4-12C and, beyond lap time tenths and hundredths, the victory was based almost purely on emotional issues: disappointing exhaust sounds from the 3.8-liter twin turbocharged V8, clinically efficient chassis responses tempered by little excitement through the steering wheel or seat of the pants, or an exterior that didn't look quite special enough.

While the exterior of the 12C coupe will take a few years to make "more special" (some at Autoblog share in this criticism), creating a spider version with a folding hardtop automatically dices up the styling conversation on any car. So, we arrived in Malaga, Spain, for two whole days of driving madness in what could easily be termed perfect conditions on road and track, and all for the MP4-12C Spider. That's spelled with an "i".Continue reading 2013 McLaren MP4-12C Spider [w/video]
2013 McLaren MP4-12C Spider [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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