McLaren 12C Spider to hit UAE roads by the end of 2012

It has been a busy year for McLaren. They launched their first production road car, built a global network of dealerships and crowned it this week by unveiling their second model – the 12C Spider.

The wraps were taken off the second member of the MP4-12C family in the UAE on Tuesday at the Armani Hotel in Dubai.

And there has been a lot of expectation about the new car, fed in no small part by clever marketing from McLaren, which had only released tantalising glimpses and snippets of information until yesterday.

Key features of the 12C Spider - which will hit the UAE's roads by the end of the year - include a retractable hard top roof that can be operated at speeds up to 30kph and shared Formula 1 technology in the carbon-fibre chasis that features in both models, which means performance is almost identical.

Mark Harrison, McLaren’s regional director for the Middle East and Africa, said: “If you take a coupe and try to turn it into a convertible you change the feel of the car. You lose a lot of structural strength.

“But you do not get this with the 12C Spider because the strength is in the chasis. The convertible performs exactly the same as the coupe. No car has done this before.”

In fact, the convertible weighs just 40kg more than the coupe, much of which is the motor to lift the roof and the anti-roll system. This is significantly less than many of its rivals.

Meanwhile, the power in the 12C Spider comes from its a lightweight, 3.8l V8 twin-turbo engine that produces 616bhp. And you get a clear view of this power plant through a glass screen positioned behind the tonneau cover.

TO SEE MORE PICTURES OF THE MCLAREN 12C SPIDER, CLICK HERE...

The 12C has been launched in Volcano Red - one of 17 exterior paint finishes currently available for the 12C and 12C Spider.

So what does the future hold for McLaren and the MP4-12C family? Will there be other variants?

Harrison is coy about answering the question, but said: “We are always looking to innovate and develop. I expect there will more to this story.”

And keeping up with the teases, he finishes with: “If this gets your pulse racing then you should see the next car!”

The convertible is available to order at the McLaren dealerships in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. First deliveries to customers are planned for November. It will be priced at just over Dhs1 million.

simon@7days.ae