Dubai: In its first commercial venture in the Middle East, McLaren Automotive dazzled Dubai late on Wednesday with the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood premiere as it debuted its newest sports car dubbed the MP4-12C in a sleek, newly christened showroom adjacent Burj Khalifa.
The buzz at the evening gala turned up a notch when McLaren's star driver Lewis Hamilton, 2008 Formula 1 World Driver's champion, made a personal appearance near the volcano orange MP4-12C a few days before he takes on competitors in Sunday's F1 race at Abu Dhabi's Yas Island venue.
Noting he wants "to win, I am as hungry as ever," Hamilton lauded the new showroom and McLaren's new sports car adding that he hopes the vehicle will bring people closer to the brand and help them emulate "being an F1 driver."
McLaren's first foray into the Middle East is already sold out and expects to deliver more than 100 of the cars in 2012 at a price tag of Dh905,000 each to regional buyers, Greg Levine, McLaren global sales and marketing director, told Gulf News at the unveiling.
Next year's inaugural production of the car globally could reach 1,500 units sold through 35 newly opened showrooms around the world.
The first MP4-12C units to take to UAE roadways will be delivered through Al Habtoor Motors, McLaren's Middle East retail partner.
Levine said for some, driving the new MP4-12C will the closest drivers ever get to driving McLaren's Formula One competition cars on top tracks around the world but the experience will also offer an practical side for users with everyday transportation needs.
"This is two cars in one, you can drive it in anger on a racetrack or you can put it in normal comfort mode on the highway," Levine said in an interview. "This car you can drive every day and you won't be tired when you get out."
Sultan Al Habtoor, president of Al Habtoor Motors, said the McLaren partnership fits well with his company's 25-year commitment to bring highest quality motoring to the UAE.
"Partnering with McLaren Automotive is something we are extremely excited by," Habtoor said. "The opening of the McLaren Dubai showroom demonstrates our joint commitment to bring the most innovative and high-quality sports cars in the world to the UAE market. The same passion and innovation that has engineered the first no-compromise sports car will be reflected in the service Al Habtoor Motors offers to their customers."
Sales of the new McLaren sportscar are expected to remain steady in years to come given the car's ability to reach 100 km/h in 3.1 seconds from a standing start thanks to an aluminum block V8 twin turbo engine delivering 600 horsepower and strapped to a single-piece carbon MonoCell chassis.
Ian Gorsuch, McLaren regional director Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, said buying the new MP4-12C is a rare opportunity given that the company only produced 107 McLaren F1 street-enabled sports cars in the 1990s.
Gorsuch also noted that teaming up with Al Habtoor Motors made perfect sense given the company's proven track record for decades in the Emirates.
"We have a dealership here that shares our values and customer service," Gorsuch told Gulf News.
He also noted that opening McLaren's first showroom in the Middle East in the heart of new Dubai next to Burj Khalifa was an fitting location for iconic luxury and synced well with the company's business philosophy.
"We're not just a car brand, we're a luxury brand, we should be in the same place where people demand luxury," Gorsuch said.
The rollout of the new MP4-12C is only a first chapter in the McLaren business plan, he said, to be followed by additional new sports car models as the company gains traction in the years ahead as the world's newest sports car production company.
Following the initial production of 1,500 units for the global market per year of the MP4-12C, Gorsuch said "we will ramp up when we have other models to 4,500 cars" produced every year at the company's newly constructed McLaren factory.
McLaren believes the new showroom will become a destination in and of itself and has placed a winning piece of the company's strong racing pedigree -- one of six winning MP4/22 F1 racing cars -- on permanent display in the centre of the 2,500 square-foot facility situated on Emaar Boulevard.
The car was pushed to its limits by F1 driver Hamilton in his 2007 season when he earned top F1 rookie status by clinching six pole positions and as many as five wins.
McLaren said it will open later this year more showrooms and service centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to be operated by Al Habtoor Motors.
Together the companies will extend the McLaren brand into neighbouring Middle East countries through a regional network that will include Al Ghassan Motors in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive in Kuwait as well as Dana Motors in Qatar. A McLaren service centre is now in the works by Saad & Trad Sal in Lebanon.
