McLaren’s MP4-12C: What the critics say
McLaren’s new car sells for $229,000.
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
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Quiz of The Week: 20 - 26 July
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: The dark world of illicit gambling
Podcast Plus, the pension pot shortfall and Obama's silence on Harris
By The Week Staff Published
-
Leonora Carrington: Rebel Visionary – an exhibition of 'unearthly delights'
The 'captivating' show features over 70 pieces spanning everything from paintings to tapestries
By The Week UK Published