Take a look at the British supercar that’s got the Audi R8 and Porsche 911 in its sights! This striking machine is an all-new entry-level ‘baby’ model from Formula One racing team McLaren – and it will take the company into uncharted territory, rivalling established brands with a price tag of around £80,000.

The sports car is a key part of McLaren boss Ron Dennis’ plans to expand McLaren Automotive – the division responsible for the Mercedes SLR McLaren and original F1 road car – into a volume producer.

Already in the pipeline is the P11, a Ferrari F430 rival that we’ve scooped undergoing final testing. A hi-tech, expensive flagship that would revive the spirit of the original F1 supercar is on the horizon, too.

However, McLaren has ambitious plans to produce several thousand units from its factory in Woking, Surrey, over the next five years. So, it needs to enter an entirely new sector – and that’s where this ‘baby’ model comes in.

Compact
Based on the same rear-wheel-drive chassis as the P11, it will boast a composite body and be very compact – slightly smaller than the Audi R8.

Ex-Fiat and Ferrari designer Frank Stephenson has been installed as styling director at McLaren Automotive, and is working on a range of projects – including this car. These artist’s impressions give you the best idea yet of how the newcomer could look – and as you can see, there are clear influences from the P11, as well as cues from the original Peter Stevens-designed F1.

To keep costs down and prevent the small McLaren from stepping on the toes of the turbocharged P11, power is likely to come from a normally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 sourced from Mercedes’ AMG division.

With 450bhp in a car that weighs around 1,300kg, performance will still be scintillating. A 0-60mph time of 4.5 seconds and top speed of 195mph will more than match the V8-powered R8.

A semi-automatic gearbox with steering wheel-mounted paddles and carbon ceramic brakes will be standard.

The baby McLaren is still some way off, though – it’s unlikely to appear before 2012.

By AutoExpress

The third generation Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster has been spied testing in Germany. As far as we know the car is from the first batch of prototypes being driven around and as such the camouflage is quite heavy and hardly anything can be made out. Even the front end is hidden deep under the clutches of black panels. As far as size is concerned the spied vehicle looks to keep the same dimensions as the current SLK in as much as the naked eye can attest.

It appears a number of design elements have been carried over from the current SLK which is internally codenamed the R171 and was launched in 2004. The 2004 SLK took some of its styling direction from the previous Mercedes-Benz halo car the McLaren SLR especially on the nose cone and rear. Now it looks like the SLC Gullwing will be the styling hero for the 2012 SLK. This would make sense since the dissolution of McLaren and Mercedes’ agreement with regard to building the SLR range of supercars.

Although it is still very early in the SLK’s development life, possible engines are something to think about. A WCF source has stated that Mercedes is working on a new twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 engine. It is said to be capable of about 350kW (476hp). This could be the one used in the SLK AMG version.

The SLK was the pioneer in the application of a folding hard top roof for this segment and this one seems to have kept to this philosophy. Also, the side mirrors have been placed on the doors instead of the A pillar.

This SLK is three years away from production and therefore plenty of spy action involving the car will be taking place between now and then.

By WCF