McLaren reveals the MP4-12C

The new car is expected to be priced in what McLaren calls the 'core sports car market’, taking aim at the likes of the Ferrari 458 Italia when it goes on sale in early 2011.
Conceived under the codename P11, the MP4-12C uses a carbon fibre skeleton which McLaren calls the Carbon MonoCell, an unusually light one-piece structure. While the material is expensive, this allows for a much quicker, cheaper production method, and the whole tub weighs just 80kg. McLaren claims that the MP4-12C weighs around 1300kg in total, helped by further weight-saving measures like forged aluminium hubs for the brakes. 
The new supercar is powered by a 3.8-litre V8 mounted 90 degrees, producing around 600bhp, developed in-house by McLaren themselves and fitted with twin-turbos. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and the V8 engine has a dry sump and a flat-plane crank like a race engine, to lower the centre of gravity and allow a higher rev limit of 8500rpm. 
Performance figures are still unclear at the moment, but 100km/h is expected to come up in around three seconds, while the MP4-12C will clear 320km/h with ease. There will also be several electronic technologies to allow the car to harness its power properly.
One of them is Brake Steer, which uses the stability control to dial out understeer by braking the inside rear wheel. This is achieved by having an aerodynamically sound body to help keep the MP4-12C planted, with no protruding spoilers or air vents and a flat underfloor. 
At the rear, the MP4-12C's rump is dominated by the V8's cooling needs; the diffuser aids rear downforce, twin exhausts exit high and central and most of the back end is left open to extract hot air, while the rear lamps are cleverly hidden in the top two horizontal black bars. An air brake pops up at speed to improve stopping ability. 
The other new technology is the twin-clutch gearbox, which McLaren dubs the Seamless Shift Gearbox, or SSG. It has two wet clutches and something called Pre-Cog, which works when the driver half presses or pulls the paddle to warn the car before a gear change, and then changing into the desired gear. 
The flip-up doors are activated through touch pads, into an interior that is characterised by snug sports seats, with a 7-inch multimedia screen dominating the centre console. Launch Control prepares the car for a quick launch from rest, while drivers can pick Normal, Sport and High Performance settings for throttle response, gearshift speed and damper settings. 
McLaren expects to sell just 1000 MP4-12Cs worldwide when it is launched in 2011, which it says is 3.5% of the core sports car market it is intending for the car to compete in.