Just actually got to see the new Mclaren up close and personal yesterday. I have been pretty impressed from what I read about them, with the various magazines describing some impressive engineering, race bred technology and impressive stats.
They had one in Tampa for a private event that I heard of at the last moment. Fortuitously, I was in Tampa for a meeting so quite lucky.
I had read several reviews saying the car was technologically superior to most, but it's styling left some reviewers flat. Now styling is completely subjective, but I have to say in person, I really liked it. While it is not as timeless to me as the GT, I would not call it 'duller' than the Ferrari 458, as some writers have. It has a real purpose built techie feel to it. I sat in a F458 a few weeks ago and found it a bit more ornate, with some exterior styling that seemed a bit frilly, or in my mind a little more likely to become dated over time. Mind you I would love to have a F458, so it's not a criticism. I think in the flesh, the MP4-12c is every bit as exotic and maybe even a bit cooler for engineering types. The upswing doors are neat and to me preferable to the new Gullwings'.
The interior was very nice, and fortunately for this 6'5" driver, sufficiently spacious. Had about the same legroom as the GT, quite a bit more head room, and the seat bolster/back was much more comfortable for me. It may be a bit tight if I were to wear a helmet, as about 2" over my head of room, but I'm sure it would work. With the carbon fiber upgrades in the demo car, and upgraded interior, it was very nice, kind of space age feeling, and certainly not lacking. Maybe not quite as glamorous or "Italian" inside as the 458, but a bit more decorative than the GT. I think a nice feeling overall.
The Mclaren folks on hand spent more than 45min going over all the cool stuff the car had. They were great and very helpful. Remarkably, there were only about 10 people at the event, not counting the 4 or so folks from McLaren, and the handful of folks from Dew Motorcars, the Tampa McLaren dealer. As an aside, of course, in the hour I was there, with more people working the private ballroom than guests, not one person from Dew even approached me to say hello or ask me if I was interested in the car. Kind of reminded me of Ferrari's notoriously snotty sales folks during the booming economy. Ironically, around then the McLaren guy asked me if I had ordered a car or was seriously thinking about it. I told him I was working with someone clear across the country in California because I gave up trying to order one from my closest dealer, Dew Motorcars, in Tampa. In March I had called their sales manager three times and emailed him twice with no more than 1 brief voice mail back after hours. I then called him two more times and he never called me back. The McLaren folks were shocked and actually wrote it all down. Pretty funny with the sales guys from Dew maintaining their lousy sales skills and not even approaching me in the hour I was there.
All in all I think it will be a great car. The base is around $230k, and the options are plentiful and pricey. Probably hard to get out of there without getting in at around $275 sticker.
They had one in Tampa for a private event that I heard of at the last moment. Fortuitously, I was in Tampa for a meeting so quite lucky.
I had read several reviews saying the car was technologically superior to most, but it's styling left some reviewers flat. Now styling is completely subjective, but I have to say in person, I really liked it. While it is not as timeless to me as the GT, I would not call it 'duller' than the Ferrari 458, as some writers have. It has a real purpose built techie feel to it. I sat in a F458 a few weeks ago and found it a bit more ornate, with some exterior styling that seemed a bit frilly, or in my mind a little more likely to become dated over time. Mind you I would love to have a F458, so it's not a criticism. I think in the flesh, the MP4-12c is every bit as exotic and maybe even a bit cooler for engineering types. The upswing doors are neat and to me preferable to the new Gullwings'.
The interior was very nice, and fortunately for this 6'5" driver, sufficiently spacious. Had about the same legroom as the GT, quite a bit more head room, and the seat bolster/back was much more comfortable for me. It may be a bit tight if I were to wear a helmet, as about 2" over my head of room, but I'm sure it would work. With the carbon fiber upgrades in the demo car, and upgraded interior, it was very nice, kind of space age feeling, and certainly not lacking. Maybe not quite as glamorous or "Italian" inside as the 458, but a bit more decorative than the GT. I think a nice feeling overall.
The Mclaren folks on hand spent more than 45min going over all the cool stuff the car had. They were great and very helpful. Remarkably, there were only about 10 people at the event, not counting the 4 or so folks from McLaren, and the handful of folks from Dew Motorcars, the Tampa McLaren dealer. As an aside, of course, in the hour I was there, with more people working the private ballroom than guests, not one person from Dew even approached me to say hello or ask me if I was interested in the car. Kind of reminded me of Ferrari's notoriously snotty sales folks during the booming economy. Ironically, around then the McLaren guy asked me if I had ordered a car or was seriously thinking about it. I told him I was working with someone clear across the country in California because I gave up trying to order one from my closest dealer, Dew Motorcars, in Tampa. In March I had called their sales manager three times and emailed him twice with no more than 1 brief voice mail back after hours. I then called him two more times and he never called me back. The McLaren folks were shocked and actually wrote it all down. Pretty funny with the sales guys from Dew maintaining their lousy sales skills and not even approaching me in the hour I was there.
All in all I think it will be a great car. The base is around $230k, and the options are plentiful and pricey. Probably hard to get out of there without getting in at around $275 sticker.
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