McLaren’s MP4-12C: What the critics say

Car and Driver

McLaren’s new supercar is a study in contrasts. Its 593 hp, V-8 engine is awesomely powerful yet delivers “speed without the spectacle.” In “normal” drive mode, it’s almost “polite to a fault,” which suits an interior whose leather surfaces “are sewn to Savile Row standards.” The better news is that the 12C’s racing heritage is always evident. Push this car when it’s in “track” or “sport” mode, and “gentility is blown out the pipes.”

Road & Track

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Even at 155 mph, the 12C provides “the utmost confidence-inspiring ride.” Features include doors that swing up and forward at the touch of a concealed switch, and a rear air brake that deploys automatically to “move the car’s center of pressure rearward,” providing “better grip, balance, and braking stability.”

The Wall Street Journal

Zero to 60 in three seconds flat? The 12C can do that. In fact, it’s now “the best sports car in the world,” an “era-defining work” of technical prowess. Unfortunately, it’s also a car that lacks passion. Because it’s so well engineered, it’s “oddly flat in affect”—a car that turns “jet-fighter performance” into a “strangely clinical” experience.