Thoughts on McClaren 650


GTdrummer

GTdrummer

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Mar 13, 2010
2,134
Richmond Virginia
Giving serious thought to trading my 2013 12C Spyder on a 650 Spyder. I like the P1 type front and the added power. I also think the 650 will accelerate 12c depreciation.

Pricing came out today. Not much above the 12.

Thoughts on 650?
 
I think you've made the right choice. The 12c is still a compelling car and if the price is driven down because of the 650 i'll take one :)

The P1 is in a class all by itself though.
 
i just called the dealer to make a deposit. I don't want one until next spring though. Agreed I was going to try and pick up a 50th Anniversary car, but the 650s looks better from the pics i've seen.

Otis
 
Is the 650 S that much better than the 12C ?
Is it better because is a bit faster ? You can't explore its limits on the streets, really. It's possible to track it a couple of times by a regular owner, too expensive to make it a track car.
I'm really trying to justify getting a 12C. What would the market price difference be in the summer between a slightly used 12C and a new 650S ? Talking about coupes, not spiders.
 
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It seems obvious the 650 was priced fairly close to the 12c to kill the latter car. The latest news is that 12c production has been stopped so McLaren can focus on the 650. McLaren is also working on an entry level P13. None of this points to continued production of the 12c. The 12c will be yesterday's news shortly and prices will respond accordingly. Get the 650.
 
I've got a track day scheduled for 4/17 in the 650 and will let you know after that. I spent about 45 min in a 12C last weekend and was very impressed.
 
MNJason said:
I've got a track day scheduled for 4/17 in the 650 and will let you know after that. I spent about 45 min in a 12C last weekend and was very impressed.
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Jason,
How did you land that? Do I need to come help?

Rob
 
otis said:
Jason,
How did you land that? Do I need to come help?

Rob
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JaxGT was nice enough to hook me up with his sales guy from Tampa at Amelia Island last weekend. He was the one that invited me. Apparently the chief engineer from the UK will be at the event. Its at Sebring on 4/19. Still finalizing details. There is a cost, apparently, for non-owners, but I'm willing to pay it. I'll let you know when I confirm.
 
Pretty sure I just ordered one that will look like this. (evasive language is practice for discussion with spouse)
 
The 12 C with only around 3500 units produced, could become a collectors car in a few years. That's if they will indeed stop production. My info is the 12C is dead in North America, but will continue in Asia and EU as the 650 is priced quite a bit higher in those areas.
 
The problem there is the "Ferrari Syndrome." Continuous mild upgrades dilute the value of previous generations, except for the occasional halo car (e.g. Enzo, P1).

To me, the cool thing about the 12C is the cutting edge technology, which, of course, is no longer cutting edge. It's not a beautiful car, but what an awesome drive. So...as a collectible, I don't see the attraction. As a driver car, I would be freaked out by the thought of m&r 10 years down the road.
 
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We should start a thread on the best cars to have, drive, keep and why, under $500k.
 
ROCK said:
We should start a thread on the best cars to have, drive, keep and why, under $500k.
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Agree. And at this rate that will include the GT for awhile...
 
I drove one yesterday a very impressive car - very fast, nimble and an incredible gearchange in track mode. I have not driven a 12C so I cant compare.

WP_20140325_003.jpg
 
I actually met and hung out with 2 McLaren corporate guys at the Amelia Concours about 2 weeks ago. Great and cool guys. One guy is one of their top engineers. After a drink or two, he pretty much said the 650s has some slightly different front trim and only about 35 hp more than the 12c - a mere 5% bump. Unnoticeable performance difference to 99.9% of folks. The 12C will, and has depreciated because of it, which makes it, as W.Mitty said, the performance bargain of the decade. If only I had more time...
 
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Xcentric said:
The problem there is the "Ferrari Syndrome." Continuous mild upgrades dilute the value of previous generations, except for the occasional halo car (e.g. Enzo, P1).

To me, the cool thing about the 12C is the cutting edge technology, which, of course, is no longer cutting edge. It's not a beautiful car, but what an awesome drive. So...as a collectible, I don't see the attraction. As a driver car, I would be freaked out by the thought of m&r 10 years down the road.
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The 12C is still cutting edge IMHO, until you get to the 918 or P1, which are $1million cars. From what Mclaren folks told me directly, the 650s really has no major perceivable differences over the 12C.

I also would in no way call the McLarens collectible, for the very reasons you sighted. The Ferrari syndrome is clearly affecting values. I do think that having more models available to choose from might help McLaren boost their brand recognition in the US some, as clearly they lag behind Ferrari (in that parameter only).
 
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jaxgt said:
From what Mclaren folks told me directly, the 650s really has no major perceivable differences over the 12C.
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Further evidence the 12c is done, and, if true, a rather cynical attempt by McLaren to capitalize on the cachet of the P1 by screwing the nose of the hyper car on the 12c. At first I thought the picture Mal posted showed the 12c, so similar are the cars from the rear quarter view.

The 12c is a wonderful performance car, but the styling is terribly bland, something I find very unusual from a British manufacturer. The 650s is better, but not by much. The 12c would have made a much bigger splash had it not had a "design committee" aesthetic.
 
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I tried to objectively evaluate whether to wait and order a 650 or proceed with the purchase of a 12c. The real question in my mind was whether the price/performance equation made sense. In the end, given the discount I got on for my new 12c, I decided that a facelift was just not worth it to me. I really can't blame Mclaren for marketing the 650s as the latest and greatest, and I hope they succeed because I want Mclaren as a company to succeed. However, jaxgt's analysis is spot on. Truth is such a beautiful thing.

One of the most amazing things for me about the 12c is that I always thought it had bland styling. However, in person, the car is stunning. I'd swear the car is genetically related to me; I take terrible pictures but boy am I sexy in person.
 
Mitty - you have reached your capacity for BS describing your looks. Your friend, Dr. Frank
 
w. mitty said:
One of the most amazing things for me about the 12c is that I always thought it had bland styling. However, in person, the car is stunning. I'd swear the car is genetically related to me; I take terrible pictures but boy am I sexy in person.
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I agree. I was killing time in Palo Alto last year and strolled into the Mclaren dealership, since I had never been near one before. I had always thought the styling was on the bland side myself, so I was quite pleasantly surprised how striking I found the car to be in person. I ended up testing a loaded white spyder, and fell in love. I just didn't love it enough to drop $300k.
 
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