The McLaren MP4-12C, the flagship car in a range under development by the Woking-based manufacturer, will be available in the Kingdom from early summer 2011. Al Ghassan Motors, newly appointed distributors,  will host a fully equipped official service center whose technicians will receive full training at McLaren’s head quarters in the UK.

Ghassan Abdul Al-Rahman Al-Sulaiman, president and CEO of Al Ghassan Motors, said: “It is a particularly rewarding experience to collaborate with such a globally renowned company as McLaren Automotive. Launching the MP4-12C here in Saudi Arabia is just the start — this is the first time that potential customers will have the chance to see the car, with its cutting edge design and technology, up close, prior to its on-sale date next year.”

The MP4-12C really earns the description “all new. ”

Ian Gorsuch, MENA regional director, introducing the car to the press said that because of the requirements of the design, McLaren had to design their own 3.8-liter, V8 twin-turbo engine that produces around 600 bhp. It drives a unique McLaren seven-speed, seamless shift, dual-clutch gearbox (SSG).

Acknowledging the increasingly stringent CO2 emissions requirement being introduced in various markets, per horsepower, the MP4-12C is even more efficient than a hybrid car.

All McLaren’s extensive Formula 1, Le Mans and CanAm experience has been poured into the MP4-12C and with a million kilometers of road testing before it completes the current pre-production stage, the car will be both ultra reliable and very, very fast.

Ian Hession, MENA sales manager, said initially about 1,000 of these rare and extremely desirable cars would be produced a year.