McLaren 12C Can-Am at Pebble Beach

A (currently) one-off McLaren MP4-12C – the McLaren 12C Can-Am – is heading for Pebble Beach, previewing a track-day MP4-12C.

The McLaren MP4-12C is a one-off track-focused MP4-12C, developed by the same McLaren GT team which developed the MP4-12C GT3 race car, and its heading for Pebble Beach this month to tempt US track-day enthusiasts.

Developed without the constraints of a racing series, the 12C Can-Am is based on the GT3 car and adds a new aerodynamic package – which improves downforce by 30 per cent – with a carbon fibre splitter with little winglets atop, a huge rear tray of a spoiler and a carbon fibre diffuser.

McLaren has had yet another fiddle with the 12C’s ECU (they recently upgraded the power output of the MP4-12C) and have managed to squeeze 621bhp out of the 12C’s 3.8 litre V8 which, coupled with a weight drop to 1200kg, should make for fierce performance.

To make sure the 12C Can-Am can stop, McLaren has fitted an uprated braking system from Akebono which hides behind a set of black satin finished lightweight racing alloys shod with Pirelli racing slicks.

The cabin is race-basic with a steering wheel designed to make you thin you’re Lewis Hamilton and you sit in black race chairs with a full six-point harness. There’s also a full race-spec rollcage and lots of carbon fibre detailing plus AirCon to keep you cool under pressure.

McLaren are obviously aiming for the lucrative – and high-profile – US track-day market with the 12C Can-Am, so if it’s well received at Pebble we should see limited production in 2013.

By Cars UK