McLaren is in the final stages of developing a topless variant of the MP4-12C supercar which will be dubbed simply MP4-12C Spyder.
England’s Autocar reports that the MP4-12C Spyder’s roof was designed jointly byMcLaren and Germany’s Webasto. It will be made up of three panels that can be removed individually and stacked on top of each other. If all three of them are removed at the same time the driver will be able to neatly store them behind the seats.
What material the panels will be made out of is not known at this point.
Official images of the convertible are not available quite yet but aside from the roof, the MP4-12C Spyder is expected to be nearly identical to the existing coupe version. That means that the two cars will be powered by the same 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine, a mill that churns out a potent 593 horsepower and 442 foot-pounds of torque.
More to come from McLaren
The MP4-12C Spyder is just the tip of the iceberg at McLaren. An anonymous source at McLaren told Car & Driver that the V8 engine was developed to power “more than just one car.”
The MP4-12C Spyder is just the tip of the iceberg at McLaren. An anonymous source at McLaren told Car & Driver that the V8 engine was developed to power “more than just one car.”
One of the upcoming V8-powered models will likely be a range-topping supercar that McLaren will design as a true heir to the F1. Several modifications will be made to the V8 in order to squeeze as much power out of it as possible and it will be bolted to a dual-clutch transmission.
The yet-unnamed car will be a strict two-seater. This will mark a break from the F1′s rather odd 1+2 seating configuration. It is scheduled to debut as a concept later this year or in early 2013.
McLaren hasn’t ruled out launching other V8-powered sports cars to obtain a more complete lineup with regular model cycles. Don’t expect to see a McLaren-badged SUV or sedan anytime soon; the company wants to remain relatively small and it is not aiming to rival Porsche.
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