Earlier this morning we saw our first look at the new McLaren MP4-12C. A video of Jay Leno visiting McLaren at their headquarters has popped up on the Internet showing the car enthusiast checking out the new McLaren. Watch as McLaren’s managing directory, Antony Sheriff, gives Jay Leno a personal tour on McLaren and the new MP4-12C.

Refresher: Power comes from a 3.8L V8 twin-turbo engine producing around 600-hp mated to a 7-speed Seamless Shift dual-clutch gearbox (SSG). 0 to 60 mph is expected to come in the low 3 second range with a top speed of more than 200 mph.

2011 McLaren MP4-12C (low-res):

2011 McLaren MP4-12C:

By: Omar Rana

It’s finally here. Known to us so far as the P11, McLaren today took the wraps off its new MP4-12C – the first road-going McLaren since the F1. Apparently, McLaren thinks that the most exciting part of this car isn’t the engine, but the chassis structure that they call “Carbon MonoCell.”

It’s the first time a car in the supercar segment has been based on such a strong and lightweight chassis made of one-piece carbon fiber. In fact, the tub seen in the gallery weighs just 183 pounds.

Of course, there are many of you, like us, who could care less about the chassis and more about what’s sits under the hood. Power comes from a 3.8L V8 twin-turbo engine making around 600-hp mated to a 7-speed Seamless Shift dual-clutch gearbox (SSG). Actual performance figures of the MP4-12C have yet to be released, but CAR Magazine says to look for a 0 to 60 mph time in the low 3 second range and a top speed of more than 200 mph.

Pricing for the McLaren MP4-12C will range from £125,000 ($206,782 USD) and £175,000 ($289,495 USD). It will be produced in the UK and will go on sale in early 2011. Oh, and the MP4-12C won’t be the only road-going McLaren – the company is working on a range of supercars that will be built at McLaren’s Technology Center in Woking, England.

“The 12C, and future models within the range, will challenge the world’s best sports cars, benefiting from the expertise and virtuosity of the McLaren Group,” says McLaren.

Note: We’re still waiting on the high-res images from McLaren. For now enjoy some low-res photos.

Update: High-res image gallery added.

Click through for more pictures.

2011 McLaren MP4-12C:

- By: Omar Rana

Source: CAR

Last month, Chairman Ron Dennis confirmed that McLaren is working on a line of new high-performance cars, including a successor to the F1. Today, Dennis announced plans for a new facility for the “British-built range of high-performance, high-technology sports cars.” 

Known as the McLaren Production Centre (MPC), the facility will be located adjacent to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. The plant will have the capacity of building up to 20 McLaren sports cars per day. Dennis said that proposed investment would create over 800 automotive jobs.

So what’s the first high-performance sports car planned to come out of MPC? McLaren says that the MPC will release its first “high performance and highly efficient sports car” in early 2011. According to that, we’re guessing it will be the much talked about P11 (codename) that is currently being tested in Woking.

Power for the P11 is expected to come from a 6.2L V8 turbocharged engine from AMG. It will make more than 500-hp allowing for a 0 to 60 mph time in 4 seconds with a top speed of 200 mph.

Click through for the press release.

Press Release:

McLaren Automotive announces plans for new British high technology production facility

- Ron Dennis reveals details of proposed investment supporting over 800 jobs

- McLaren answers UK political and industrial calls for high-tech manufacturing and engineering work supporting exports

- McLaren Production Centre planned to build McLaren Automotive’s range of high performance sports cars from 2011

Ron Dennis, Chairman of McLaren Automotive, announced today plans for the UK home of a brand new British-built range of high-performance, high-technology sports cars. Located adjacent to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England, the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) is a proposal that would provide an important investment in the UK automotive and high-tech manufacturing infrastructure.

An application for planning permission was submitted yesterday (May 19 2009) to Woking Borough Council for the facility that would have the capacity for up to 20 pure McLaren sports cars per day. Aiming to be the UK’s most modern and efficient automotive production facility, MPC would provide employment growth at McLaren supporting over 800 automotive jobs and an estimated additional 1,500 indirectly in the local economy.

The planned building of MPC would also support sustained growth of the McLaren brand in providing high-value, high-tech manufacturing and engineering employment in the midst of the global recession. With its first product, a high performance and highly efficient sports car due to be delivered in early 2011, McLaren’s globally respected road car and racing car development skills are set to redefine the automotive engineering environment in the UK.

Ron Dennis said: “Ever since we revealed the McLaren F1 sports car in 1992, it has been a long-held dream of mine to launch a McLaren sports car company. Designing, developing and selling globally the best sports cars in the world is just half of that equation; building them to previously un-matched levels of quality, with ground-breaking technologies in a production facility in the UK is key to satisfying that dream. I believe that if the McLaren Production Centre is given the go ahead, it will be an engineering centre of excellence of which McLaren and the UK can be proud.”

Following a thorough planning process McLaren submitted a formal planning application that takes the McLaren Technology Centre’s (MTC) successful 2003 development as its lead precedent.

Six years ago, McLaren worked in partnership with Woking Borough Council and the Horsell Common Preservation Society to build an award-winning “˜Foster+Partners’-designed headquarters that offered extensive public access to its grounds and restored previously contaminated land. MTC’s build and integration into the landscape enabled sustained growth of McLaren Group companies to 1500 employees, adhered to strict planning controls and legal obligations and won a Royal Town Planning Institute award for its planning delivery. It is Ron Dennis’ aim that the McLaren Production Centre will follow a comparably successful process.

Dennis continued: “It would be easy enough to consider building McLaren sports cars in existing productive and experienced foreign factories; a number of which are knocking on our door. However, McLaren is a great British company founded over 40 years ago that should, in my view, continue to design and build our own products.”

McLaren’s plans for the MPC further support recent political and business calls for the creation of high-tech manufacturing and engineering jobs to support the UK’s growth out of recession. A Woking Borough Council decision on McLaren’s planning application for the McLaren Production Centre is anticipated at the end of July.

The proposed “˜Foster+Partners’-designed manufacturing centre complies with all key planning principles set by the existing planning consent and features a building sunk into the ground to minimise visual impact, substantial new areas of tree planting and re-contouring to effectively disguise above-ground views, and improves access to public land for recreation.

- By: Kap Shah

Under the guidance of CEO Ron Dennis, McLaren is planning to climb back to the top of the supercar ranks with a line of new high-performance models including a successor to the F1. According to AutoCar, McLaren is looking to take on high-end performance models such as those produced by Bugatti and Koenigsegg.

Sources say that McLaren will use the Ferrari 430 Scuderia and the Gallardo LP560-4 as the benchmark for a line of new supercars that will be designed and engineered in the UK.

According to recent interview with CEO Dennis, McLaren has earmarked £250 million ($331 million USD) for its supercar program. Also, unlike its predecessor, the next McLaren F1 will see a larger production run.

Sources say that McLaren has been talking to its Formula One partner Mercedes-Benz to re-engineer its engines or its upcoming models. While nothing is official yet, AutoCar says that McLaren is looking at Mercedes-Benz’s 6.2L V8 AMG for its supercar lineup.

- By: The Daily Auto Editor

Source: AutoCar

Next to its much talked about P11 supercar, McLaren engineers and designers are reported to be hard at work at a family of sports cars. Besides the P11, McLaren will be building three separate model ranges after space is freed up at its Woking headquarters when it ends its relationship with Mercedes-Benz and the last SLR variant rolls off the assembly line.

The P11 supercar will go head-to-head with the Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Power will come from a 6.2 liter AMG engine producing 550-hp mated to a double-clutch gearbox. Other than that McLaren is planning two other Ferrari rivals but also in the works is a £60k ($97,944 USD) McLaren sports car.

McLaren is supposedly looking at an affordable coupe to throw into the Porsche 911 segment mix, and if it is greenlighted we can see the car on the road within three years. CAR says that Mercedes-Benz could still be the engine supplier for the car since it holds 40% share in McLaren.

Source: CAR

The folks over at AutoExpress have caught a prototype of the upcoming McLaren, codenamed the P11. The highly-anticipated P11, that will hit the roads in 2010, was caught undergoing testing at McLaren’s base in Woking, Surrey.

While it’s hard to see anything through the heavy disguise, one thing is clear. It’s as compact as McLaren has promised. The smaller and less expensive McLaren will be a rival to the Ferrari F430 and the Lamborghini Gallardo.

What kind of power is it going to bring to the table? Sources say that we’ll see at least 500-hp from a turbocharged 6.2L V8 from AMG. 0 to 60 mph for the P11 will come in around 4 seconds with a top speed of 200 mph. The engine will be mated to a semi-automatic paddleshift gearbox. Carbon brakes are also likely to join the list.

Head over to AutoExpress for the full shots.