McLaren MP4-12C hits Australia

It's not as sharp or fast as their F1 racers, but it has two seats, air-con and a sound system.

And anyone in Australia with about $500,000 to splash on something special can join them, as the 12C is now officially on sale Down Under.

The supercar brand introduced its MP4-12C to Australia this week, celebrating the appointment of Trivett as its Down Under representative.

The MP4-12C the first of a range of machines from the world's most successful racing car company, is a carbon-cored, Formula One-inspired bespoke design that is not only rapid but boasts one of the lowest CO2 emissions in its class.

The mid-engined MP4 doesn't share any components with other cars — even the engine is in-house — and is built in England at McLaren's factory.

The car is built with a carbon MonoCell — a carbon-composite construction pioneered by McLaren in the 1981 Formula One MP4/1 model — but to reduce costs, is moulded as one piece. It is the first time a chassis has been made this way. McLaren claims that this design allows a much narrower structure overall which creates a more compact car that is easier to position on the road and more rewarding to drive.

The engine is a bespoke McLaren 1M838T2 3.8-litre, V8 bi-turbo that produces about 450kW/600Nm and drives through a McLaren seven-speed Seamless Shift dual clutch gearbox (SSG). Sheriff says the engine delivers the highest horsepower to CO2 ratio of any car on the market with an internal combustion engine "and that includes petrol and diesel hybrids".

There has been a very strong response to the car in Australia. Trivett was holding about 20 deposits before the unveiling this week – and five more when the launch night finished, Trivett executive chairman Greg Duncan says.

“That doesn’t normally happen at the launch of a car,” Duncan points out. “People are usually more inclined to drive it first, touch and feel it.

“But here’s a car where we can’t even tell them the firm price, they haven’t driven it, yet five more deposits were on the table at the end of the night.”

Duncan happily acknowledges the demand is enough to outstrip the first quota of 12 to 15 cars, which will start arriving in November.

So some will have to wait until next year, when the quota will be raised to 40.

“I think by then we will be in a situation where it will be well-managed allocation and delivery process.”

Duncan says the arrival of McLaren is an indication of the Australian economy’s strength.

“We certainly didn’t escape the global financial crisis, but Australia didn’t feel the full impact other countries did,” he says.

“In terms of people buying super-luxury cars, I think the reaction to the crisis is now largely past. Those people reacted by moving to consolidate and protect their situation, and now the economy is more stable and predictable they are turning to giving themselves some attention.

“We’re finding that across all (Trivett) super-luxury brands, not just McLaren.”