With the recently released Ferrari 458 Speciale already being heralded as one of the greatest Ferraris and greatest supercars ever, it has definitely heated up the ongoing fight between the 458 and McLaren 12C. While the Ferrari 458 Speciale is still less powerful than the standard 12C, its fancy electronics and driver involvement and enjoyment are said to be in an entirely different league.
However, according to new reports from Autocar, McLaren could be planning its very own hardcore road-going variant of the 12C to compete with the 458 Speciale. These reports suggest that the new car won’t simply be sold as an uprated 12C but instead, a completely stand-alone model receiving its very own styling.
It is said to be based around the same carbon fiber Monocell as used by the 12C but could feature an uprated variant of the supercar’s 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine delivering around 650 hp. That is around 30 hp more than the standard 12C. In addition to this power increase, torque will rise while carbon ceramic brakes would likely come standard alongside a selection of other performance changes.
Styling of this hardcore McLaren 12C is said to be heavily inspired by the P1 hypercar and it will also feature an upgraded interior.
While all of this sounds good, we’re a bit sceptical about it being sold as a stand-alone model with its own styling. It is hard to justify a business case for designing and developing an entirely new supercar just a little bit faster than the standard 12C. Because of this, we think it’s more likely the car will simply feature new body panels and aero components and some technical upgrades like the 458 Speciale compared to the standard 458.
[Via Autocar]
