McLaren MP4-12C

[Corsugone]

Pour ceux qui ont la BBC ....

‘Made in Britain’

McLaren Automotive and the new MP4-12C are staring in a major new BBC series that begins tonight, Monday 20th June, at 21:00GMT on BBC2. ‘Made in Britain’ hosted by Dragons’ Den and Radio 4 Today programme host, Evan Davis, features the MP4-12C as an indicator of the sort of high-technology innovation, and McLaren as the sort of company, that will support economic growth in the UK.

The BBC states on its website: “Who says we don't make anything anymore? In the first of a three-part series on how Britain pays its way in the world, Evan Davis busts the myths that we were wrong to let so much of our manufacturing go abroad, and that we have become a nation of shopkeepers, bankers and estate agents. As he flies in the world's most revolutionary jet and drives one of the world's fastest supercars, he discovers Britain still makes a lot it can be proud of. But post crash, he asks is it enough to meet the country's bills?”

A trailer for the programme, currently available on the BBC’s website asks the question: High value production is what Britain does best, but can exports like the new McLaren bring in enough money to pay for all our imports? Evan Davis finds out just how good the new McLaren MP4-12C is as it gets put through its paces on a racetrack.

Chris Goodwin, McLaren Automotive’s Chief Test Driver, had the opportunity to take Davis around the Dunsfold ‘Top Gear’ test track, presenting him with an exhilarating view of the innovative new high-performance sports car from the passenger seat. The trailer can be viewed at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hjz23

[juliencor]

Car magazine : MP4-12C vs 458 vs GT2 RS vs LP570 Performante vs SLS AMG vs R8 V10

Rockingham laptimes (driven by Stig - Ben Collins) :

Ferrari 458 Italia........01:28,30
Porsche 911 GT2RS.. 01:28,78
LP570 Performante... 01:29,92
McLaren MP4-12C..... 01:30,10
Audi R8 V10.............. 01:31,06
Mercedes SLS AMG.... 01:33,10

[Greezer]

Merci pour la vidéo. J'avoue être un peu "surpris" par les temps..

Edit : J'avais pas fait attention à la remarque de fin. A prendre avec des pincettes tout de même.

[Corsugone]

Ils ont pensé à vérifier la pression des pneus sur la 12C

Reportage de la BBC sur Mclaren. Concernant les locaux, nous sommes en plein James Bond

[Thilo2]

Il avait le frein à Main ....

Non mais plus sérieusement, le pilote n'as pas pu enlever les aides électroniques sur la McLaren qui je penses est un gros désavantage par rapport aux autres voitures de plus il ne faut surtout pas oublier l'article de Chris Harris: http://jalopnik.com/5760248/how-ferrari-spins

Ce n'est physiquement pas possible qu'elle soit moins vite, c'est possible que Ferrari avait prédéfinit les résultats avant de leur filer les voitures. Je me réjouis des autres tests et des commentaires officiels de McLaren que je vais recevoir aujourd'hui...

[Thilo2]

alors concernant les temps de Car Magazine, je viens de discuter avec McLaren qui m'ont dis les choses suivantes:

- La voiture avait un problème de suspension arrière qui était du a un erreur de montage d'un technicien. Le véhicule est un véhicule de présérie et non de production. Après la réparation de la suspension arrière et avoir amené trois voitures sur le circuit le temps le plus lent était de 1min27.5 Il a également cité dans la video que l'ESP ne peut être débranché ce qui est complètement faux.
- La Ferrari avait des trains roulant de challenge qui lui faisait gagner une seconde au tour sur une 458 de série.

Je me réjouis de voir les nouveaux essais d'autre magazines.

Dans Autoexpress ils ont mesuré le 0-60 en 2.9s : http://www.caradisiac.com/McLaren-MP4-1 ... -69775.htm

[Greezer]

...
- La Ferrari avait des trains roulant de challenge qui lui faisait gagner une seconde au tour sur une 458 de série.
...

ça me rappelle un article de Chris Harris tiens.

Merci pour les infos, les temps avoués par McLaren me paraissent en effet plus "logiques".

[Avgas]

Ce qui prouve la théorie que certaines voitures des parcs de presse ont des réglages très "optimisés".

[Corsugone]

Inauguration de la concession Londonienne

[Corsugone]

[Corsugone]

Politique de maintenance, très intéressant, devrait aiguiser la curiosité du Lapin ...

A FOCUS ON AFTERSALES AND EASE OF REPAIR

Ease of repair, low-cost of servicing, maintenance, and availability of parts are of paramount importance to the customer relationship and have been key targets since the beginning of the 12C project. McLaren aims to offer segment-leading performance here too. The principle being that a high-performance sports car should not just be a pleasure to drive, but also to own; a car that is efficient to run and own retains a high residual value and ensures its owner becomes a repeat purchaser.

Although McLaren Automotive’s intense development programme and demanding production standards will limit any problems in service, the company has installed a comprehensive range of aftersales safety nets that are designed to ensure the ownership experience is exemplary.

Technical Support Managers at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) provide a solid base for this, but McLaren Automotive has also appointed a group of regional Aftersales Zone Managers who are following exactly the same training process. They will be available 24 hours a day to go anywhere within their region to help resolve any intractable problems that might occur. The next level of support will be the ‘flying doctors’ based at the MTC in Woking who will fly anywhere in the world if an issue cannot be resolved locally. The ultimate support mechanism, and one established for McLaren F1 owners, is that McLaren is committed to bringing a car back to its UK headquarters if an issue cannot be resolved locally.

McLaren expects an innovative combination of new technology and rapid diagnosis to deliver its aspirations for a world-leading level of aftersales support.

Three new market-leading diagnostic processes will form the heart of this service:

1°) Tele-diagnostics determine whether or not a car has an issue:

In the event of the car suffering from a technical or driving related issue, such as a warning light illuminating or an engine or transmission problem, the driver can send a detailed diagnostic message containing vehicle values and error codes from the car’s onboard ECU’s to McLaren, the nearest retailer or the local Technical Aftersales Zone Manager. Within minutes, the customer can expect a return call from a technical specialist to confirm whether or not the car has a genuine technical issue. The specialist can then advise as to the best course of action and this personal and expert service also prevents the huge inconvenience to a driver who has been wrongly informed that he should stop driving simply through a fault in the car’s warning system. McLaren believes this rapid and direct assessment is unique in the industry.

2°) Desktop Diagnostics determine from the MTC what that issue may be:

This saves time by centrally communicating how to resolve an issue before a retailer’s technician tries to determine a fix.

Setting up a relatively small retailer network of an initial 35 locations from scratch allows McLaren Automotive’s aftersales support team to develop a unique system whereby it can control each retailer’s aftersales diagnostic tools from the MTC.

3°) Dynamic Diagnostics communicate how to fix an issue:

McLaren-developed diagnostics will deliver a ‘customer symptom code’ from a customer’s verbal description of an issue. The code is assessed and compared by the same diagnostic tool that has also downloaded information from the car itself. This, again, speeds up the diagnosis by comparing the theoretical – from the car’s own diagnostic feedback – with the reality – exactly what the customer has reported translated into the same digital language as the car’s diagnostic systems.

Looking further along the ownership process, McLaren Automotive will also impose systems that ensure warranty claims are speeded up. A new pre-approval process, managed by the company’s Aftersales Zone Managers, will give aftersales teams instant approval for warranty work.

Warranty and repair work in bodyshops also aims to be industry leading. McLaren Automotive will be supporting retailers in stocking one spare part of each and every component, guaranteeing that parts will be in stock at the dealer should a car need repair. This will speed up repair processes to ensure customers have their 12Cs off the road for the minimum time necessary.

Mike Sopp, Head of Aftersales at McLaren Automotive said, “Despite all the focus on development and production, and our aspirations to build cars that are as reliable, robust and useable as they are exhilarating to drive, we are not so arrogant as to believe that every single car will be completely faultless throughout its lifecycle.

“Owners will be involved in accidents, and some cars will require maintenance, so it is our ambition to ensure that firstly, our customers are treated better than others, secondly, we resolve issues more effectively than any of our competitors and thirdly, we get 12Cs back on the road more quickly than our competitors.

“We know that in the automotive business customers are, more often than not, more concerned about how issues are resolved, rather than the issue itself. Starting from scratch, with a relatively small retailer network planned, and with the technical support we have at McLaren, we have been able to develop brand new bespoke systems and devices that will support quick and effective communication with the customer and resolution of issues. We are not prepared to let poor aftersales support spoil the ownership experience,”concluded Sopp.

Carbon at heart

McLaren’s unique one-piece moulded carbon fibre-based MonoCell chassis offers a genuine innovation in the high-performance sports car market. Providing strength, rigidity, stability under crash impacts and a predictable form from which to mount key components such as the revolutionary ProActive chassis suspension, the MonoCell is far from just a contributor to weight reduction. It also provides a stronger and simpler solution to chassis construction when compared to the likes of aluminium, especially where repair is concerned in the event of an impact.

Claudio Santoni, McLaren Automotive’s Function Group Manager responsible for the MonoCell said, “In the extreme case that the MonoCell may have been damaged, the damage is assessed by McLaren regional technicians at the dealership in conjunction with engineers at the McLaren Technology Centre. Repairs are possible on sections of the MonoCell that are not critical for crash performance. If there is any doubt over the repairability we will simply replace the MonoCell, rather than risking a repair. One of the commercial opportunities that industrialisation of carbon chassis production gives us is exactly this; the ability to take this ‘no risk’ decision-making to our quality control. It is also, we believe, a clear advantage over aluminium and steel vehicle structures, which are more often repaired, but run the risk of retaining undetected weaknesses.”

Aluminium crash structures, front and back, mimic the chassis design of racing cars and have been designed to soak up the forces associated with most front and rear impacts. These are ‘bolt-on-bolt-off’ structures and are therefore easy (and relatively inexpensive) to replace. Just as with the exterior and interior design of the MP4-12C, everything that lies under the skin plays a part in delivering a new type of sports car to the market.

[ZeusRS]

alors concernant les temps de Car Magazine, je viens de discuter avec McLaren qui m'ont dis les choses suivantes:

- La voiture avait un problème de suspension arrière qui était du a un erreur de montage d'un technicien. Le véhicule est un véhicule de présérie et non de production. Après la réparation de la suspension arrière et avoir amené trois voitures sur le circuit le temps le plus lent était de 1min27.5
- La Ferrari avait des trains roulant de challenge qui lui faisait gagner une seconde au tour sur une 458 de série.

Dommage, le "mal" est fait et les temps publiés...
Pour la 458, je ne suis hélas pas surpris, même réflexion que Greezer...

Du coup, je me réjouis également des prochains tests...
(Carton rouge à Mc Laren pour l'erreur, ça ne leur ressemble pas d'être négligeants comme ça...)

[Thilo2]

Ah oui je suis entièrement d'accord quand à la négligence cela ne les ressemble pas, je trouves assez dommage car je comprends qu'il est important pour eux de publier des articles mais celui la ils auraient pu d'en passer. Enfin il reste encore des publications allemandes, françaises, puis les "Gear" à prononcer leur verdict.

[La grenouille]

Ah oui je suis entièrement d'accord quand à la négligence cela ne les ressemble pas, je trouves assez dommage car je comprends qu'il est important pour eux de publier des articles mais celui la ils auraient pu d'en passer. Enfin il reste encore des publications allemandes, françaises, puis les "Gear" à prononcer leur verdict.

Et les publications Suisses

On a hâte.

[David]

Ah oui je suis entièrement d'accord quand à la négligence cela ne les ressemble pas, je trouves assez dommage car je comprends qu'il est important pour eux de publier des articles mais celui la ils auraient pu d'en passer.

Peut-être un sabotage organisé par la concurrence en introduisant "une taupe" au sein de l'usine ?

Perso, je suis absolument fan de cette auto et tellement confiant en McLaren que si j'avais les moyens, j'aurais déjà signé le bon de commande depuis bien longtemps et le résultat de ce test ou même des prochains à venir n'aurait rien changé du tout.

Me reste plus qu'à gagner à l'Euromillions demain !