JENSON BUTTON & LEWIS HAMILTON DRIVE THE MCLAREN MP4-12C

The last two Formula 1 World Champions now drive for the same team, Woking-based McLaren. McLaren, you may recall, is readying its first road car since the McLaren F1 for production. As you would have guessed, benefits of driving for one of the planet's most famous racing outfits include the opportunity to drive the McLaren MP4-12C early on. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton drive and discuss in the video below.

Here's what you'll learn in the video, apart from the fact that Jenson Button wears expensive sunglasses. Gunmetal grey is a good colour for the McLaren MP4-12C, unless you want to call it matte black. The sound of a McLaren MP4-12C is delicious. Compared with a Formula 1 car, driving a road car on a track is downright boring for a Formula 1 driver.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net

Watch McLaren's Ron Dennis & Antony Sheriff Discuss The New MP4-12C

McLaren MP4-12C Gallery

Bugatti Veyron vs McLaren F1

100 FAVOURITE CARS - PART VIII

What qualities are typically found in the automobiles introduced in GoodCarBadCar.net's 100 Favourite Cars so far? For starters, good looks really help. But Ferrari's Dino isn't here. Good looks aren't enough, then. Phenomenal engines or terrific handling could put a car over the top. Oh, Dodge's V10 didn't pave the way for the Viper, though. Complete dominance in a vehicle's area of expertise should be a boon, as was the case for the Jeep Wrangler. Hummer, however, was left to dry its own tears in absence. How about good looks, great dynamics, the right engine for the job, and a job well done? Surely that's enough to merit a vehicle's admittance into The Good Car Guy's 100 Favourite Cars? Sometimes. Yes, sometimes.

MAZDA MIATA (MK2): As the most handsome modern Japanese answer to old British roadsters, the second-generation Miata matches image with dynamism.
MAZDA RX-7 (FD): There's a certain C3 Corvette feel to the final RX-7. Except here, there's also a wonky rotary engine and delicate balance.
MCLAREN F1: On tracks straight or twisty, in life virtual or real, the McLaren F1 is a supercar's supercar. McLaren got everything right with the F1; just without the whole sales/selling bit.
MERCEDES-BENZ 300SL GULLWING: The doors aren't the only cool-to-look-at part. 300SLs are the most beautiful Benzs ever; the best poster car before Lambo's Countach.
MERCEDES-BENZ CL-CLASS: In profile, it almost seems as though you feel the impact of the CL's roof forming with its trunklid, perfectly arched. Then the windows go down to reveal zero pillars. Glory.
MERCEDES-BENZ G-CLASS (W463): Germany's Jeep is a little, umm... heftier than its American counterpart. Aerodynamically, the G-Wagen is a brick wall. No, really. Supercharged V8s are overcomers.
MERCEDES-BENZ GLK-CLASS: Not overly capacious or capable, the GLK isn't priced right or positioned ideally. Yet every time I see one I want one.
MERCEDES-BENZ SL55 AMG: Who can't appreciate the benefits of 497 horsepower? Make it a coupe and a convertible and a Mercedes. Now everybody appreciates.
MINI COOPER (BMW MK1): Sublime steering, premium pricing, sophisticated styling, and positive progress. BMW got it right the first time around. The image and symbolism weren't let down by the Mini's chassis.
MINI ('59-'00): Truly miniature, the Issigonis-designed BMC Mini was not subject to class distinctions and did not subject its driver to anything but fun.

100 FAVOURITE CARS
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
81-90
91-100

WATCH MCLAREN'S RON DENNIS & ANTONY SHERIFF DISCUSS THE NEW MP4-12C

McLaren Automotive's top guns, the infamous Ron Dennis and managing director Antony Sheriff, are seen in videos below proudly discussing their new McLaren MP4-12C.

The Good Car Guy has already shared early impressions of the new McLaren; both negatives and positives. Dennis, who merged his Project 4 group with Bruce McLaren's team in 1981, has now sacrificed control of the F1 team to focus on this road car. He does a good job - in this clip, at least - of not appearing half as arrogant as "they" say he is.

Sheriff, meanwhile, gets into the nitty-gritty details and defends the whole Formula 1-inspiration claims that I attacked a couple days ago.

GALLERY - MERCEDES-BENZ SLR STIRLING MOSS - 49 PICTURES

Had the car you see in pictures below been the original McLaren-Mercedes SLR, Daimler would likely be able to more rightfully suggest that the SLR was "highly successful". In truth, the McLaren SLR was limited from the get-go by Mercedes management's demands for specific capabilities. The main result was a confused and ugly car. Supercar or grand tourer? Why is the SLR's snout wickedly prodigious?

Imagine the impact a design like this Stirling Moss edition. Stirling Moss's 50s racer won race after race in Europe and abroad. That 300 SLR needn't have possessed excessive power because it wasn't fitted with every luxury known to man.

This McLaren SLR Stirling Moss speedster will be limited to 75 units. Manufacturing will begin this summer. No, it's not pretty. But at least it's delicate, something that could never be said of the regular SLR McLaren. Check out all 49 photos below.

WATCH LEWIS HAMILTON USE BLACKBERRY STORM TO CONTROL MCLAREN F1 CAR

Vodafone, Blackberry, McLaren, and Mercedes-Benz know very well that Lewis Hamilton is a worldwide sports star. Viable as a spokesman or famous face in just about any country on the face of the planet. This attempt at a viral video - over 218,000 views on YouTube as of Wednesday afternoon - shows McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton using (allegedly) a Blackberry Storm to control his Formula 1 McLaren-Mercedes for a lap around a race circuit. Watch and enjoy.

MCLAREN F1 SELLS IN LONDON FOR RECORD HIGH PRICE

Over a decade ago, the silver McLaren F1 you see here left the factory and became part of a fraternity of what many still call the greatest supercar ever. Slightly slower than a Bugatti Veyron, outlived by upper-echelon Porsche 911s, and out-produced by most every other supercar, the McLaren still engenders unique sentiment among all enthusiasts.

Check out other results from the October 29 auction at RMAuctions.com 

and read more about McLaren here

Though 1997 may mean nothing to you, it clearly combined with the McLaren F1 to mean something to some very wealthy individual at the RM Auctions/Sotheby's London event. That certain someone paid more than double what was expected for the McLaren at £2,530,000. Converted to USD (a practice not recommended for new cars if you're looking for exact MSRPs), that sterling price would be $4,008,174.91 as of the moment of writing or €3,155,447.13 or $4,775,649.88 CAD. 

That's expensive. To put in perspective, were Lewis Hamilton to repeat as world champion in the 2009 Formula 1 season, McLaren has promised him the keys to an especially rare McLaren F1 LM. I gotta say, it seems easier to come up with $4,008,174.91 than it does to win two F1 championships. But apparently it's not too dissimilar. The F1 sold at this auction was pretty much a £1,000,000 when new and has never been sold before.