Details On McLaren MP4-12C Spyder

The McLaren MP4-12C Roadster is the next super-sports car up on McLaren's expanding roster. The car will debut sometime this year, and judging by the increasing number of spy photos and reports on it, we wouldn't be surprised to see it in Geneva. A few new details surfaced this week.

According to a Car magazine report, the MP4-12C convertible will be more of a targa-roof style car. The car will use a three-piece retractable hard top made of aluminum and plastic. The roof will retract in 17 seconds and operate at speeds up to 5 mph.

The convertible will share the same mid-mounted 592-hp V-8 engine and is expected to come close to the hard-top's performance figures of 3.3 seconds to 62 mph and 205 mph top out.

The MP4-12C will be the first in an expanding family of McLaren sports cars. Next up is the F1-succeeding flagship supercar codenamed P12. That model will debut next year and is expected to pull 800 or so horses out of a bigger 5.0-liter V-8. The car won't be quite as powerful as other top-end, world-class supercars but it should be lighter and, therefore, equally quick on its feet.

After the flagship, McLaren will also launch an entry level sports car targeted at the Porsche 911's turf.