The McLaren Group has today unveiled its latest GREAT campaign liveried car, which has been designed to support and inspire British innovation.

The high-tech McLaren 12C is emblazoned with the GREAT campaign’s graphics and the message ‘Innovation is GREAT’. As well as demonstrating McLaren’s ongoing support for the campaign, it is intended to highlight the UK’s world-leading and highly innovative technology sector.

The car was launched at the McLaren Technology Centre with the support of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver, Jenson Button.

The GREAT campaign aims to reaffirm Britain’s international reputation and deliver long-term economic benefits through additional tourism, investment and education.  The McLaren 12C is the ideal vehicle to showcase the UK as a hotbed of innovation – a key theme of the GREAT campaign.

Built entirely in the UK at the McLaren Production Centre, the car incorporates ground-breaking technologies taken directly from McLaren’s 50 years of experience in Formula 1, including a one-piece carbon fibre MonoCell chassis, which forms the core structure of the car and weighs just 75kg. The GREAT 12C is powered by a British made 3.8 litre V8 twin turbo engine, one of the most efficient high-performance engines ever built, and features numerous cutting-edge technologies including Brake Steer and a Proactive Chassis Control System.

The McLaren 12C demonstrates that there is a global market for British innovation; McLaren has established a global sales network and 80% of the cars it makes are exported.

Martin Whitmarsh, CEO of McLaren Group said:“McLaren is proud to be an ambassador for British innovation and to support the GREAT campaign.  The UK has led the world in the development of technologies which have changed people’s lives, from the jet engine to the internet.  I believe that we are now seeing a resurgence of that pioneering spirit and McLaren is playing its part.  The McLaren 12C is a tangible embodiment of technological creativity and I hope with that with its GREAT livery it will help draw international attention to what the UK’s high-tech industry is capable of, and inspire young people at home.”

The ‘Innovation is GREAT’ 12C, whose union-flag livery was designed by McLaren Racing’s graphics team, will be on tour over the coming months. After making its first appearance on 3^rd September at an exclusive ‘McLaren 50’ screening of Formula 1 film ‘RUSH’, it will then lead a procession of rare cars from Buckingham Palace to Marlborough House Gardens in the St James’s Palace Concours d’Elegance.

The tour will be complimented by a social media campaign on McLaren Group’s Twitter page (@McLarenGroup) where we are asking the public to tweet where they have seen the car and upload their photographs using the hashtag #GREAT12C.

This is the second GREAT car that McLaren has produced and follows the 12C GT3 which made its debut at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The McLaren Group strives to be at the forefront of global innovation, whether in Formula 1, producing the world’s most exciting road cars or increasingly applying our expertise to support industries as diverse as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, public transport and energy.

Source: McLaren