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140 Posts
I was very lucky that I got to spend a day with Pistonheads in the 12C on the way to wilton house supercar day and also got to photograph it in my lunch break the next day for a feature.
I couldn't drive the car (I'm 19) but had a pretty good passenger ride. My first thought is the doors. Very cool and look great, but when wanting to use the car everyday they could get really annoying when you couldn't get out when having to park close to stuff. Next thing is also about the doors - the swipe is annoying. When you've got the technique it's fine, but it is too much of a gimmick.. I've heard that the new key will have extra buttons to open the doors though which is a big positive I think.
On to the actual experience of being in the car. When I turned up at Regents Park to meet the car there was another 12C in front in the gloss orange. The car I was going to be in in Volcano Orange was drawing a lot of attention while the other was being ignored a bit. The gloss orange one in front looked cheap in that colour compared to the lovely Volcano orange. When we set off I was amazed how smooth it rides compared to other supercars (or even normal cars!) I've been in. It was also fairly quiet. Flick it into track mode though and it starts to sound a lot better. People have criticised the way it sounds, but I thought it was about right. The 458 is too loud in my opinion and would annoy neighbours. The 12C you could use like a normal car, but when you decide to press on it gives you feedback with a lovely sound. It's a drivers car sound as opposed to a car for the showoffs I think.
The performance is something you could never reach on the roads, but does it matter? I don't think so. It's still fun when you're going way within the cars limits. When you do have a few seconds at full throttle I couldn't help but actually burst out laughing, it's that quick. I've only been in a few cars which have that sort of pace before. One is a Veyron and another is a 750hp XJ220. It's very very quick. I did notice that it is a bit of a hooligans car and that it just makes the driver want to go quicker and quicker the whole time. A licence looser even?
A few criticisms of the car:
- satnav/radio not working as it's a prototype car
- looks a bit rubbish with a square numberplate on the back
Not many criticisms!
My last thoughts are on the looks and as a pro car photographer I feel I can comment (although of course it's all subjective). I photographed a 458 when it first came out and you really had to look at it from the right angle for it to look good. With the 12C it actually looks good from every angle I think. There's been some discussion in the pistonheads office about how well it will date, but I think it will date very well indeed. One of those reasons for me thinking that is the fact it looks better every time I see it.
I can't wait to photograph a few properly when customers start to get them. The photos below were all taken in a London park near pistonheads HQ in about 15 minutes during my lunch break
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The spec of this car came out at £220,840.
RRP £168,500
+
Volcano paint 3,820
CF engine covers 2,130
CF mirror casings 2,130
CF engine bay panels 2,980
CF diffuser 2,980
CF splitter 2,130
CF turning vanes 2,130
Sports exhaust 4,040
Stealth pack 770
Carbon ceramic brakes 9,770
Calliper paint 850
Wheels 2,980
Leccy memory seats 2,550
CF interior upgrade 2,980
Leather sport interior 3,400
CF seat backs 2,980
Contrast stitching on dash 260
Tyre pressure monitor 640
Parking sensors 1,530
Tracking system 600
Alarm upgrade 260
Car cover 430
Hope you've enjoyed the pics and little writeup
George
I couldn't drive the car (I'm 19) but had a pretty good passenger ride. My first thought is the doors. Very cool and look great, but when wanting to use the car everyday they could get really annoying when you couldn't get out when having to park close to stuff. Next thing is also about the doors - the swipe is annoying. When you've got the technique it's fine, but it is too much of a gimmick.. I've heard that the new key will have extra buttons to open the doors though which is a big positive I think.
On to the actual experience of being in the car. When I turned up at Regents Park to meet the car there was another 12C in front in the gloss orange. The car I was going to be in in Volcano Orange was drawing a lot of attention while the other was being ignored a bit. The gloss orange one in front looked cheap in that colour compared to the lovely Volcano orange. When we set off I was amazed how smooth it rides compared to other supercars (or even normal cars!) I've been in. It was also fairly quiet. Flick it into track mode though and it starts to sound a lot better. People have criticised the way it sounds, but I thought it was about right. The 458 is too loud in my opinion and would annoy neighbours. The 12C you could use like a normal car, but when you decide to press on it gives you feedback with a lovely sound. It's a drivers car sound as opposed to a car for the showoffs I think.
The performance is something you could never reach on the roads, but does it matter? I don't think so. It's still fun when you're going way within the cars limits. When you do have a few seconds at full throttle I couldn't help but actually burst out laughing, it's that quick. I've only been in a few cars which have that sort of pace before. One is a Veyron and another is a 750hp XJ220. It's very very quick. I did notice that it is a bit of a hooligans car and that it just makes the driver want to go quicker and quicker the whole time. A licence looser even?
A few criticisms of the car:
- satnav/radio not working as it's a prototype car
- looks a bit rubbish with a square numberplate on the back
Not many criticisms!
My last thoughts are on the looks and as a pro car photographer I feel I can comment (although of course it's all subjective). I photographed a 458 when it first came out and you really had to look at it from the right angle for it to look good. With the 12C it actually looks good from every angle I think. There's been some discussion in the pistonheads office about how well it will date, but I think it will date very well indeed. One of those reasons for me thinking that is the fact it looks better every time I see it.
I can't wait to photograph a few properly when customers start to get them. The photos below were all taken in a London park near pistonheads HQ in about 15 minutes during my lunch break
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
The spec of this car came out at £220,840.
RRP £168,500
+
Volcano paint 3,820
CF engine covers 2,130
CF mirror casings 2,130
CF engine bay panels 2,980
CF diffuser 2,980
CF splitter 2,130
CF turning vanes 2,130
Sports exhaust 4,040
Stealth pack 770
Carbon ceramic brakes 9,770
Calliper paint 850
Wheels 2,980
Leccy memory seats 2,550
CF interior upgrade 2,980
Leather sport interior 3,400
CF seat backs 2,980
Contrast stitching on dash 260
Tyre pressure monitor 640
Parking sensors 1,530
Tracking system 600
Alarm upgrade 260
Car cover 430
Hope you've enjoyed the pics and little writeup
George
