McLaren 12C Spider made its official debut last week at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours in California. This magnificent event provided DRIVE channel an opportunity to secure an exclusive interview with Chief designer for McLaren Automotive, Frank Stephenson. In this interview he reveals some of the secrets of the car’s design, including the story behind that awesome yellow paint job.
The McLaren MP4-12C Spider’s impressive 625 PS output from its bespoke 3.8-litre V8 twin turbo engine is transmitted to the car’s rear driven wheels through a 7 Speed SSG dual-clutch transmission, which itself provides lightning-fast gear changes through rocker-mounted shift paddles affixed to the rear of the steering wheel. Performance-wise, it goes form 0 to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and has a top speed of 204 mph.
Oh, and the retractable roof takes only 17 seconds to go up or down.
