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McLaren MP4-12C Can-Am Edition: racing concept set for Pebble Beach

McLaren is set to make Californians drool when the latest track-only McLaren MP4-12C Can-Am Edition concept car makes its first appearance outside of Europe at this weekend's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.


The one-off design study is a hardcore version of the British supercar based on the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 racecar and shares the same carbonfibre chassis as the street-legal road car.

The McLaren 12C Can-Am Edition concept weighs in at 1200kg (100kg less than the standard car) and sports not only a custom aerodynamic package that provides 30 per cent more downforce but a tweaked version of the existing twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 now reaching 470kW - 10kW more than the recently announced no-cost power upgrade.

Weight has been cut from the car through the extensive use of carbonfibre, with the material featuring on the badges, wing mirrors, side radiator vanes, engine cover, front spoiler, front canards, rear diffuser and the significant wing taking pride of place on the rear of the car.

Finished in McLaren’s historic Orange hue, the car’s roof and parts of the doors and bumpers are contrasted in satin black. More satin black covers the lightweight forged alloy wheels wrapped in super sticky racing Pirelli slick tyres.

The racing theme is continued inside the Can-Am Edition concept with carbonfibre smattered throughout the cabin including across the dashboard and sills.

Despite its racing bias, the concept maintains a touch of the norm about it with an integrated air conditioning system - now mandatory in many racing series.

The Pebble Beach event takes place on August 19, 2012 in California.

Click on the Gallery for more images.

Read CarAdvice’s 2012 McLaren MP4-12C Review.

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