It's been over a decade since the British racing giants made history with the fastest production car ever made (at the time), their iconic F1. Only 106 of the hyper cars were made but Chairman Ron Dennis has made a striking statement "Since 1966, when McLaren first raced in F1, 106 teams have come and gone - and that tells me that if we stay solely as an F1 team it will lead to extinction." Their latest creation, the MP4-12C is said to be an attempt to avoid the fate that has cursed many of their fellow F1 brothers, by becoming a fully fledged road car manufacturer.

Dennis claims the company will build over 1,200 of the cars in the first year alone, producing around the same amount of cars as the companies it will be competing with. It will cost around 150,000 which is standard supercar money and there have been 1,600 pre-orders already.

The factory which is set to be producing the car by 2011 has not yet been built, but when it is it will create 300 new jobs. The MP4-12C was revealed by McLaren at a press conference at their futuristic headquarters outside of Woking, it was uncovered by its first two test drivers, team F1 racers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

"The 12C won't take you to the edge of what's possible; it will take you to the edge of the edge. It's what we call an 'and' car. It's powerful and efficient; lightweight and safe; fast and comfortable" Explained Antony Sheriff, Managing Director. Its lightweight construction will be built around a revolutionary Carbon Monocell which is astoundingly strong and will be capable of reaching 60mph in "under three seconds".

There is no denying that this is a supercar, it's not going to cause as much of a stir as the F1 but the bigger question is whether the success of this car and this brand will wear off when they lose their exclusivity? Will every millionaire want one if they know the wont own the only one on the roads? It's a question that only time will answer but one that could determine the future of this Formula racing giant.

The new McLaren is bound to cause a few driving bans as many of the owners of the previous F1 were convicted of speeding within months of receiving the car.

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