All design begins with the driver
At McLaren we believe that to build a true driver’s car, the first lines of a design concept sketch must be of a driver. They are the first and most important consideration. We engineer everything around drivers and for drivers.
Visibility by design
The first and most fundamental part of car control is visibility. After positioning the MP4-12C driver, we then added in forward sight lines, setting stringent visibility benchmarks. The result is a low cowl position that gives a full six degrees downward vision from eye level and, importantly, allows the driver to see much more of the road than is legally required. The driver can also clearly see the top of the 12C’s front wings, which helps perfect placement of the car when cornering. Rear vision is excellent too. The result is a level of visibility that gives the 12C driver ultimate confidence and car control.
A carbon fibre safety cell
As in our Formula 1 cars, the Carbon MonoCell acts as a survival cell in the event of a collision. The unique strength of carbon composites means that energy generated by an impact can be simply resisted by the 12C’s rigid, carbon fibre core structure. The front and rear aluminium crash structures absorb the impact energy through deformation, while the MonoCell has been designed to protect the driver and passenger. We also press-test every single MonoCell to ensure it delivers the level of integrity we demand, before a single component is attached to it.
Optimum driver position
The McLaren F1 broke new ground with its unconventional centreline driving position, which gives its driver ultimate control over a car that can reach speeds of 240.1mph (386.4kph). We took the best principles from our F1 design experience and applied them to the 12C’s driver position.
By simply rotating the touch-screen of the infotainment system from a traditional landscape position to portrait, we were able to significantly reduce the size of the centre console. This allowed us to move the driver’s seat closer to the centre, to give a greater sense of being in control of the car and let the driver place the car with total accuracy.
Simplicity and focus
Moving the driver closer to the centre created space for an additional ‘door console’. This allowed us to move all the controls off the steering wheel to aid driver focus. We were able to create functional, intuitive zones for the controls, all accessible within a hand’s distance from the steering wheel: climate controls are on each door; the telematics are on the upper centre; the Active Dynamics Panel is on the middle centre; transmission controls are on the tunnel console and the trip computer and cruise controls can be found on the steering column.
The instrument cluster has been designed to give the driver all the information they need in the format they need it in, hence the large central tachometer and digital speed readout.
The 12C’s pure, uncluttered cabin design allows the driver to stay focused on the road, and gives them optimum control over the car.