McLaren make 'affordable' supercar

18 March 2010

McLaren Automotive have unveiled details of an "affordable" £150,000 supercar to be built in a new £40 million production plant.

The new car will use a one-piece carbon-fibre chassis and allow the firm to sell the car for around half of the £300,000 price tag that would normally be expected of a supercar.

The MP4-12C car will be constructed at a 32,000 square metre facility in Woking, Surrey, which will be completed in 12 months and is expected to create 300 new jobs. Around 1,000 of the new cars will be made in 2011, with annual manufacturing of the vehicles reaching 4,000 by the middle of the decade.

Ron Dennis, chairman of McLaren Automotive, said: "We have long held the dream of building a range of McLaren high-performance sports cars that take the raw elements of Formula 1 principles, processes and performance and forge them into a unique package - one that offers customer-focused requirements of quality, efficiency, comfort and reliability."

The company plans to sell the 12C through McLaren retailers in 19 countries, with North America expected to account for around 30% to 40% of the market.

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