McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Top Gear Track Test Video And Racing Debut

McLaren just announced that it has 25 new MP4-12C GT3 cars ready to race in Europe and in the FIA GT1 World Championship 2012, and the company brought out a whole video lineup to boost excitement.

The McLaren MP4-12C GT3, the racing version of the $229,000 MP4-12C, is finally ready to set the track on fire in 2012, following a year of race prepping in which it covered over 35,000 miles of real and simulated track. The race season will open for the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 on March 31 with the first rounds of VLN and ADAC GT Masters championships at the Nürburgring Nordschlefe and Oschersleben.

Outside of the races in Germany, ten McLaren MP4-12C GT3s are on the grid for the opening of the Blancpain Endurance Series in Monza, Italy, come April.

In one year, McLaren GT has taken the 12C GT3 from concept to race readiness. We will learn more about the car in the early part of the season -- and expectations will naturally be high for a car full of Formula 1 technology -- but our objective is to make the 12C GT3 as much a pleasure to own and run as it is to race, said Andrew Kirkaldy, McLaren GT Project Manager.

The McLaren GT driver roster includes Rob Bell, Alexander Sims and Alvaro Parente, who got to take their first laps in the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 on the McLaren Automotive's track in Dunsfold Park, better known to most as the Top Gear test track. And, because McLaren loves a good driving video, it's online for the eager eyes of the world.

In addition to the Top Gear test track video, McLaren also put together a dramatic promotional video for the McLaren MP4-12C starring Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton driving around New York, Los Angeles and Texas. Very cool.