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McLaren’s MP4-12C may still be new to the sports car market place but that hasn’t stopped the aftermarket tuners from setting their sights on making their own “Big Mac” versions with even more horsepower and styling mods.
With this in mind, step forward Texas based Hennessey Performance (HPE), the firm that will quite happily provide you with a 1200hp Lotus Elise on steroids called the Venom GT or should you need to get the kids to school quicker in the morning, an 800hp twin-turbo Jeep SRT8!
Hennessey have clearly identified that McLaren’s MP4-12C is underpowered sporting a mere 600hp in factory spec and have set their sights on “taking the new McLaren MP4-12C to a higher level of performance.”
Everything is bigger in Texas as the saying goes so Hennessey’s answer for Woking’s undernourished supercar is to add more than 200 horses, their version being called the HPE800 and no, it’s not a 1980’s Lancia Estate/Wagon with a couple of turbo’s lashed onto the engine!
So, what exactly does Hennessey’s HPE800 give you that Ron Dennis won’t offer? Let’s start with new powertrain upgrades designed to “reliably” increase power to “over” 800 bhp. HPE will also add a more aggressive aero package to increase downforce.
CarbonAero bodywork will feature a new, center-positioned frontal air inlet with hood extractor, this new design allowing room for larger heat exchangers for better engine intercooling as well as transmission cooling.
"We've been taking fast cars and have been making them faster for over twenty years," said company founder and President John Hennessey. "I spent a lot of time around the new 12C at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed and was very impressed. We're excited to have the opportunity to take a great car and give it our own special performance touch while giving 12C owners a uniquely aggressive appearance".
HPE800 Twin Turbo Upgrades Include:
- Upgraded intercooler system
- Upgraded air intake system
- Upgraded ball-bearing turbochargers
- Hennessey titanium exhaust system
- External wastegates
- External blow-off valves
- Upgraded fuel and engine management system
- Upgraded transmission cooler
- Upgraded transmission clutch system
- Custom dyno-tuned engine calibration
- Hennessey Warranty
Other Upgrades Include:
- Hennessey CarbonAero body upgrade
- Hennessey Monoblock wheels
- Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
- Hennessey custom interior upgrades including carbon fiber, Alcantara and leathers
The HPE will not include any kind of a suspension or brake system upgrade as Hennessey state “the factory systems will be difficult to improve upon.”
The company will offer the upgrades noted above as an entire package as well as some individual parts. Pricing for the HPE800 has yet to be confirmed.
By James Foreman
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