Motoring Weekly

'Configurator' puts McLaren buffs in the driving seat

April 21 - 27, 2010
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'Designed around the driver' has been the prevailing concept for McLaren's new sports road car and the maker's of the MP4-12C want to put customers in control with a click of the button, writes Stan Szecowka.

Future buyers and sports car enthusiasts alike can now put themselves in the driving seat and specify their ideal 12C using an interactive online 'car configurator'.

It was developed using data obtained from the McLaren Automotive design and engineering teams at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England.

The 12C configurator will link to McLaren Automotive's 35 retail outlets in 19 countries across the globe, including the Middle East, when retailers are appointed from May.

It brings McLaren's innovative automotive technology closer to its first customers, allowing them to enjoy specifying their preferred 12C options from a range that literally offers millions of combinations, the company says.

A choice of 17 different high-grade exterior paint finishes begin with blue, silver and white available as standard on the 12C. A further eight may be selected from the special range of finishes, which includes McLaren orange, a solid hue which was the signature colour of McLaren race cars in the 1960s and 1970s. Unique to the 12C is a 'driver zone' interior option. In addition to combining Alcantara, leather and carbon inside the cabin for both driver and passenger, owners are able to further personalise the area immediately around the driver.

Having driven the 12C experimental prototype (XP) vehicles, and made an appearance at the recent launch of McLaren Automotive to the world's media, 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button and 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton were keen to be the first to specify their ideal 12Cs.

Visitors to www.jensonandlewis.mclarenautomotive.com will see the team-mates interacting with the online configurator in a new short film.

To specify your ideal 12C using the same technology visit https://www.mclarenautomotive.com/uk/p11/Configurator/default.aspx#/configurator







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