After a debut at the Goodwood festival of speed earlier this year, McLaren has revealed prices for the track-focused 12C GT Sprint. Co-developed alongside McLaren’s racing arm McLaren GT, it will cost £195,000.
Based on the 12C road car, the 12C GT Sprint retains numerous of the standard car’s distinct driving systems but McLaren has developed them with a harder edge. The Brake Steer and active McLaren Airbrake systems have been honed for much more extreme track use, while the adaptive chassis has been recalibrated to allow greater chauffeur involvement, creating much more a visceral GT experience.
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The GT Sprint also benefits from the engineering featured on the 12C GT3 racer and is developed to help bridge the gap between the standard 12C and the GT3. The FIA-approved safety roll cage, central cooling radiator and digital read-outs have all been carried over from the competition car and there is even an on-board air jacking system for rapid tyre changes.
Built around the same carbon fibre chassis tub as the road-going 12C, the GT Sprint is also powered by a tuned version of the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 now developing 616bhp, up from 592bhp. Power is provided to the rear wheels through a seven-speed twin grasp gearbox.
Visual alterations include a substantial 40mm drop in ride height and much more aggressively developed aerodynamic bumpers, along with a GT3-inspired bonnet with radiator exit ducts. even more racing derived features such as the carbon fibre rear wing and front splitter are also available as options.
McLaren has also tweaked the active suspension and fitted racing slick tyres, while inside a six-point racing harness and terminate extinguisher complete the race car revamp. Air conditioning has also been fitted to offer some level of comfort during prolonged visits to the track.
Sadly the GT Sprint is not road legal – but buyers who can afford the near £200k price tag ought to probably be able to afford the relatively small price of booking themselves into some of the world’s best racing circuits.
“The 12C GT Sprint takes things to a new level with the addition of numerous race track particular features,” said Chris Goodwin, chief test chauffeur for McLaren, “As a driver, this potent combination just influences confidence all the way round a lap and in the 12C GT Sprint, that lap is now significantly faster.”