When McLaren’s engineers set out to develop the McLaren 12C Spider and its distinctive retractable roof, they set aggressive performance targets: benchmarks that, at the time, seemed unachievable. 

Through tireless innovation, the team shaved 10 kg (22 lbs) off their original target weight for the roof, reduced the drag caused by top-down driving, and even ensured that the spectacular engine was still visible with the roof down. 

Like its coupé sibling, the McLaren 12C Spider was inspired by Grand Prix engineering.

McLaren pioneered the use of carbon fibre in the world of racing, and the McLaren 12C was the first of our supercars to use a one-piece MonoCell chassis. The construction delivers greater strength and a lower weight than previous designs – perfect for getting maximum performance from the Spider’s 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine. 

BODYWORK
BODY TYPE 2 seater convertible/cabriolet
NUMBER OF DOORS 2
DESIGNER Frank Stephenson

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS
WHEELBASE 2670 mm 105.1 inches
TRACK/TREAD (FRONT) 1656 mm 65.2 inches
TRACK/TREAD (REAR) 1583 mm 62.3 inches
LENGTH 4509 mm 177.5 inches
WIDTH 1908 mm 75.1 inches
HEIGHT 1203 mm 47.4 inches
GROUND CLEARANCE
LENGTH:WHEELBASE RATIO 1.69
KERB WEIGHT 1474 kg 3250 lb
WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION 42% front
FUEL TANK CAPACITY
AERODYNAMICS
DRAG COEFFICIENT
FRONTAL AREA
CDA
POWERTRAIN
ENGINE TYPE turbocharged petrol
ENGINE MANUFACTURER McLaren
ENGINE CODE M838T

CYLINDERS V 8 in 90° vee
CAPACITY 3.8 litre
3799 cc
(231.829 cu in)
BORE × STROKE
93 × 69.9 mm
3.66 × 2.75 in
BORE/STROKE RATIO 1.33

VALVE GEAR double overhead camshaft(DOHC)
4 valves per cylinder
32 valves in total
MAXIMUM POWER OUTPUT 625 PS (616 bhp) (459 kW)
at 7500 rpm
MAXIMUM TORQUE 600 Nm (443 ft·lb) (61.2 kgm)
at 3000-7000 rpm
SPECIFIC OUTPUT 120.9 kW/litre
164.4 ps/litre
162.1 bhp/litre
2.66 bhp/cu in
SPECIFIC TORQUE 157.94 Nm/litre
1.91 ft·lb/cu3
ENGINE CONSTRUCTION aluminium block & head
SUMP dry sumped
COMPRESSION RATIO 8.7:1
FUEL SYSTEM EFI
BMEP (BRAKE MEAN EFFECTIVE PRESSURE) 1984.7 kPa (287.9 psi)
MAXIMUM RPM 8500 rpm
CRANKSHAFT BEARINGS
ENGINE COOLANT Water
UNITARY CAPACITY 474.88 cc
ASPIRATION Turbo
COMPRESSOR 2 turbochargers
INTERCOOLER
CATALYTIC CONVERTER Y
PERFORMANCE
ACCELERATION 0-80KM/H (50MPH)
ACCELERATION 0-60MPH
ACCELERATION 0-100KM/H 3.1 s
ACCELERATION 0-160KM/H (100MPH) 6.1 s
STANDING QUARTER-MILE 10.8 s
@ 134 mph
STANDING KILOMETRE
MAXIMUM SPEED 328 km/h (204 mph)
POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO Higher is better
423.72 PS/tonne (1000 kg)
0.42 PS/kg
311.64 kW/tonne (1000 kg)
0.31 kW/kg
417.91 bhp/tonne (1000 kg)
0.42 bhp/kg
0.19 bhp/lb
WEIGHT-TO-POWER RATIO Lower is better
3.21 kg/kW
5.36 lb/bhp
FUEL CONSUMPTION
FUEL CONSUMPTION
UNIVERSAL FUEL CONSUMPTION (CALCULATED FROM THE ABOVE)
LITRES/100KM
KM/LITRE
UK MPG
US MPG
CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS 279.0 g/km NEDC

CARFOLIO CALCULATED CO2 ?

VED BAND (UK) M
CO2 EFFIZIENZ (DE) G
CHASSIS
ENGINE POSITION mid
ENGINE LAYOUT longitudinal
DRIVE WHEELS rear wheel drive
TORQUE SPLIT N/A
STEERING
TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK
TURNING CIRCLE
FRONT SUSPENSION
REAR SUSPENSION
WHEEL SIZE FRONT 8½J x 19
WHEEL SIZE REAR 11J x 20
TYRES FRONT Pirelli P Zero 235/35 R 19
TYRES REAR Pirelli P Zero 305/30 R 20
BRAKES F/R VeDi/VeDi-S-ABS
FRONT BRAKE DIAMETER 370 mm
REAR BRAKE DIAMETER 350 mm
BRAKED AREA
GEARBOX 7 speed sequential