Lock up your Yaris, the Ferrari killer is coming

Racing fans will be able to get behind the wheel of their very own US$250,000 (Dh918,250) McLaren supercar by spring next year. The UK car company has signed a deal with Al Habtoor Motors in Dubai to distribute the MP4-12C, its first road car since the McLaren F1, and expects between 10 and 20 per cent of its 1,000 sales this year to be in the region. "People in the [Middle East] market, they like exclusivity," said Ian Gorsuch, the regional director of McLaren Automotive.

The Middle East will be the third market to receive the highly anticipated cars. The first vehicles will be rolled out in McLaren's home market of the UK, followed a few weeks later by Europe. But the US and Asia will have to wait until after the car, which Britain's Top Gear magazine dubbed the "Ferrari killer", makes its regional debut, Mr Gorsuch added. "The McLaren F1 was the greatest road car of all time," the magazine said. "Just look what happened when Hammond and the Stig raced one against the Bugatti Veyron. Now its successor, the MP4-12C, has arrived. You should be excited."

While McLaren had produced the limited edition F1, the MP4-12C marks its first venture as a car company. As such, McLaren Automotive will be establishing dealerships across the region, Mr Gorsuch said. By the end of the year, the company will have appointed dealerships in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, and a service centre in Beirut. A static model will be brought to the UAE for potential buyers to view in autumn, and a working prototype will arrive at the start of next year, Mr Gorsuch said.

McLaren has had more than 2,500 serious inquiries on its website, a large number of which are from the Middle East, he said. "What we are confident about and what seems to be happening is there will not be enough cars to meet demand," Mr Gorsuch said. aligaya@thenational.ae