McLaren MP4-12C

[freedom_honda]

Unless McLaren fully embrace the alternate energy and electric vehicle revolution going on under their nose, IMO this car and any other exotic sports car will have a very short shelf life. Ferrari will end up with the last vestiges of this obsolete indulgence.
It is just a last ditch attempt by Ron Dennis to be remembered as a motor head genius.
He never was and never will be.

Gordon Murray achieved it and he was very wise moving to city car and economy vehicles after the Mc F1. Unlike Dennis he will be remembered.

Frankly I don't see any of the "revolution" you are talking about. Battery/Electric technology is frankly, rubbish at the moment. They take 5 mins to get to 60mph, run out of juice miles from anywhere, and takes a whole night to recharge. Electric vehicle is just an (relatively) quick fix for the image of the auto industry. Hybrid/plug-in Electric vehicles look and sound green to the general public, but they aren't actually that much greener than a conventional ICE vehicle. Unless engineers can work out a low cost replacement for the catalyst used in current hydrogen fuel cell or batteries that can be recharged fully in minutes and give you a reasonable amount of range, ICE are here to stay.

Despite all the environment stuff, you are missing the point of a supercar. Most people that buy supercars don't give a crap about being green. Jeremy Clarkson being the prime example. There is a reason why Ferrari has made so much money from their road cars over the years.

[autogyro]

This thread is not the place to continue for what must be the thousanth time the discusion on EVs etc.
I suggest the poster read up on the porsche 918, the SLS hybrid, the Ferrari hybrids next year right across their range and many many more.
Those actualy building cars know better.
EVs are inevitable in all road vehicle types.

I am pointing out that Ron Dennis has to take off his motor head blinkers, if he wants to see a sensible future for McLaren road cars.
Building super cars does not take a brain surgeon. It is simple no compromise design for people like Clarkson to salivate over. Failed racing drivers and test drivers usualy get into the media after all.
Its the bu--sh-t baffles brains syndrom.
It is in alternate's and EVs where the real skills are going to be needed.
Not on brain dead TV.

[andrew]

This thread is not the place to continue for what must be the thousanth time the discusion on EVs etc.
I suggest the poster read up on the porsche 918, the SLS hybrid, the Ferrari hybrids next year right across their range and many many more.

And these are everyday afordable cars? Some revolution(!)

[autogyro]

Well Andrew the thread is on a very expensive sports car that is not exactly practical is it.
What makes cars affordable is the manufacturers.
An electric version of this McLaren could easily be cheaper to buy that the ic version. There would be only only one rotating part in the motors for a start, so the cost of the powertrain would be a fraction if there was enough market demand.
The cost would be way lower even with the price of batteries.
Bottom line is people like Dennis and the other motor head manufacturers are delaying EV vehicles from getting into mainstream production.

Lets face it, Ron Dennis is hardly going to champion sensible EVs is he when he wants to sell this last gasp super car.

[andrew]

An electric super car? With a nice throaty whir I suppose?

I suppose they could sell it with a CD of V8 noises.

[segedunum]

McLaren need to do something different with that engineering expertise otherwise this project will sink. It's as simple as that. There is already an oversupply in this market.

[autogyro]

An electric super car? With a nice throaty whir I suppose?

I suppose they could sell it with a CD of V8 noises.

Haha yes.
Patrich Head calls it 'shock and awe' of course.
... so I dont think just a noisy engine has much potential for sensible vehicles performance or otherwise.
An irelevence realy.

[Giblet]

I find the noises of the cars a major part of the appeal. Maybe I'm functionally retarded. Maybe easily entertained. Either way, as a kid you grow up with cars going vroom vroom, and there will always be a majority that want cars especially race cars and super cars, to go vroom vroom.

There is a reason designers spend so much effort giving a car it's tone.

People who have money, want a British supercar, like Mclaren and/or the sound vroom vroom will buy them.

There is no reason with such a simple and modular chassis they can't make a decent electric car down the road.

I don't care if my Smart car goes vroom vroom.

[autogyro]

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/09/13/mc ... ehicle-co/

McLaren took a look at the thread apparantly.
Perhaps they would like to take a look at my system, it would put them streets ahead of the others.

That was a definite plug, sorry.

I leave it up to them but this site gets the first press release if they do.

To all those who want to live in the past and go vroom vroom, wir wir fellas.

[RacingManiac]

Perhaps you should apply for it....maybe you'll actually get money to build your design...

[autogyro]

Perhaps you should apply for it....maybe you'll actually get money to build your design...

Thanks for the suggestion.
However I am a transmission engineer and not electronics.
I have an associate on the project who is though and who has completed already a fully electric super car.

What I need is a feasibility study at this time, as the system has yet to receive negative feed back. Cranfield would like to do one if a budget can be found.

IMO the system would be ideal in hybrid form for the McLaren MP4-12C.
I apologise yet again to the moderators but this is relevent to the car under discusion. I do not wish to go into detail however as the thread needs to focus on all aspects of the MP4-12C.

[xxChrisxx]

McLaren took a look at the thread apparantly.

Dunno if you serious about that, was it meant ironically?

[autogyro]

McLaren took a look at the thread apparantly.

Dunno if you serious about that, was it meant ironically?

Who knows Chris, after all, this is a brilliant site even with my disruptions .
A lot of very experienced and skilled engineers post on these threads, including yourself and I am sure the teams take an interest.

[xxChrisxx]

McLaren took a look at the thread apparantly.

Dunno if you serious about that, was it meant ironically?

Who knows Chris, after all, this is a brilliant site even with my disruptions .
A lot of very experienced and skilled engineers post on these threads, including yourself and I am sure the teams take an interest.

Heh , yeah I suppose there is a chance they read the threads, and this is by far one of the better forums. Just having grown up with the internet, it's a funny concept that anyone in the real world would pay attention to the content of the internet.

[andrew]

I find the noises of the cars a major part of the appeal. Maybe I'm functionally retarded. Maybe easily entertained. Either way, as a kid you grow up with cars going vroom vroom, and there will always be a majority that want cars especially race cars and super cars, to go vroom vroom.

There is a reason designers spend so much effort giving a car it's tone.

People who have money, want a British supercar, like Mclaren and/or the sound vroom vroom will buy them.

There is no reason with such a simple and modular chassis they can't make a decent electric car down the road.

I don't care if my Smart car goes vroom vroom.

You're not wrong there. Super and hyper cars are all about show (visual and audio). Remove the noise and you remove a large chunk of the attraction that excites the neanderthal in all of us. I reckon the vast majority of folk that buy these cars are not doing it for the engineering prowess.