Vodafone McLaren MP4-27 Mercedes

[raymondu999]

The MP4-27 definitely has tighter rear bodywork.

Your scale is off. The rear wing main plane and flap alone look different.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcFm154Q5nI[/youtube]

[Just_a_fan]

Okay my first view;

The car looks really fat, although the bodywork suggest they put a lot of work in internal aerodynamics the car body seems to fat and can be tightened a lot over the season, possibly to extend development life? The MP4-25 had a decent life, the 26 had a really short life, barely any new parts.

I honestly doubt, as a mclaren fan, that this car is going to give them a title, and I doubt they'd come close to having a chance.

The diffuser though gives me the idea they are hiding something there, looking forward to see what.

Interesting. So how much downforce do think this car will make? What about drag? Where do think they can find downforce and reduce drag from the design? Do you think the car has better downforce and drag figures than the -26 or the RB8? Do you think it has a better or worse L/D than the -26 or the RB8?

I'm interested because you seem to be able to tell a lot from these few pictures and the "fact" that the car is "fat".

[myurr]

Rear suspension geometry is different. The rearward arms look like they've been swept forward (presumably to help tighten the rear of the car).

The rear of the side pods as a whole do still look quite bulky in comparison to the Red Bull, but they do seem a whole load smoother. Looking to improve quality if not quantity of air to the rear as well as for the internal air flow?

[raymondu999]

Here is Mark Hughes' take on the car:

Sky Sports' Technical Analyst Mark Hughes believes the MP4-27's evolution-not-revolution appearance has revealed that McLaren are still yet to uncover the secret of Adrian Newey's ongoing success at Red Bull.

Unlike the newly-unveiled Caterham CT01, the 2012 charger launched by McLaren on Wednesday does not, at first glance, appear to mark a radical departure in design concept. Amid fevered speculation that the new car would signal an 'aggressive' and innovative new era for the Woking outfit, the surprise upon the MP4-27's unveiling was that it wasn't much of a surprise after all.

"Looking at the McLaren it's clear they have continued to follow their own path. It's just a re-configured 2011 car with adjustments made for the new regulations, most notably the new short sidepods which no longer feature the L&J shape when viewed from straight-ahead. In length, wheelbase and general layout, it looks very much like last year's car - and indeed that seems to be what Paddy Lowe is saying," Hughes told Sky Sports.

Although aware that it's far too early to make any definitive judgements on how the car might or might not perform on track, Hughes - Autosport Magazine's GP editor and Autocourse's Technical Expert - believes the MP4-27's familiarity is a tell-tale sign that the team are yet to work out the secret of Red Bull's dominance.

"Good though last year's McLaren car was, it was no Red Bull. Ever since the 2009 RB5, the Red Bull concept has been quicker than McLaren's. Yet still there is a reluctance at McLaren to throw away what they understand in order to pursue a concept that they do not fully understand. You'd only get to understand it if you committed to it and tried to make it work - but that's a risky strategy.

"I'm guessing Adrian Newey's looked at those pictures and smiled his blink-brief smile: his secret still hasn't been de-coded."

[jordangp]

It must be said, this car is much the anticlimax we were fearing. A very conservative design, I hope we see some radical development throughout the year.

[horse]

I don't think there is very much added by what Mark Hughes is saying, do you? OK, sure, they've not made another RB, but the RB concept was heavily reliant on its diffuser operation last year, so who's to say an evolved RB7 is what is required this year?

Nonetheless, they (RB) are the best packaged team (save, perhaps, Williams' tiny gearbox) and, to me, it appears that McLaren and trying to improve on theirs. Whether or not the Mercedes engine systems are capable of being as tight and the Renaults, IDK. It might be a big factor in the "fatness" as wesley put it.

[F1.Ru]

Has anyone else noticed how high (compared to 2011) that tea-tray is? It seems to extend all the way forwards to the front wing uprights.

After looking a second time from the side on view , it looks like an additional tray to the tea-tray that protrudes from the front of the main tub (under the driver). I think it's what beelsebob is asking about a couple of posts back.

And another interesting things that is missing is Mac's additional cooling inlets, Mp4-27 must have those cooling ducts, as sidepod cooling arrangement become narrower. So hoping to see them in the testing version.......

[Just_a_fan]

Here is Mark Hughes' take on the car:

Sky Sports' Technical Analyst Mark Hughes

Hmmm, so he's a "technical analyst" and he has failed to make any technical analysis at all from that quote. Just a "it doesn't look like a Red Bull" analysis.

Wow, wish I could get a job like that...

[xpensive]

While the picture-aerodynamicists of this fine forum never cease to amaze me, the McLaren MP4-27 all of a sudden made Mike Gascoyne's Caterham creation even uglier, hats off!

That double-tea-tray under the car is intriguing however, deep-thinker Mark Hughes must have missed that?

[ledzep4pm]

It looks like the mp4-27 has tons of inherent rake and the exhausts are intended to seal the sides of the diffusor.

The exhausts have to point between 10 and 30 degrees UPWARDS. How can that possibly seal the diffuser, which is DOWNWARDS. BTW the exhaust gases come out of the holes on the top of the bulges and don't permeate downwards though them

Instead of fan boys writing what they think are ideas that would make the car go faster, maybe they could engage there brains and contribute in a useful manor to a technical disscusion [-o<

[gridwalker]

Does anyone think that the "conservative" nature of this design may be related to Martin Whitmarsh's stricter interpretation of the RRA, resulting in fewer resources being expended than would have been the case before? It does seem like a very basic concept when compared to previous design iterations.

[jordangp]

The relative simplicity and conservative design, leads me to favour the look of the Caterham to this car

[ForMuLaOne]

Most of you seem to be irritated by the paint job. To me the sidepods are quite radical. Watch the huge undercut at the front. Forget the exhaust bulk and you have a quite narrow rear.

[scarlet]

It looks like the mp4-27 has tons of inherent rake and the exhausts are intended to seal the sides of the diffusor.

The exhausts have to point between 10 and 30 degrees UPWARDS. How can that possibly seal the diffuser, which is DOWNWARDS. BTW the exhaust gases come out of the holes on the top of the bulges and don't permeate downwards though them

Instead of fan boys writing what they think are ideas that would make the car go faster, maybe they could engage there brains and contribute in a useful manor to a technical disscusion [-o<

Don't be so dismissive and inflammatory. Nobody here knows fully how the airflow will affect things, hypothetically an exhaust wake leaving an outlet 10 degrees upwards could end up lower by the time it gets to the end of the car.

[Pup]

The car looks nice. Very elegant. To me it looks like the car they would have produced last year, were it not for the aborted octo-exhaust and moosepods. Very much a development of the 25. Looks fast, and that's always good.