McLaren 625C unveiled for Asian markets
Manufacturer’s have long begun the trend of producing made-to-market cars by incorporating local flavours to woo the customers. The purpose, of course, is to make a car that’ll offer some sort of advantage to the manufacturer, whther it be a tax exemption or a specific desrious trait that’ll bring consumers running. In the Asian arena, markets like China, India, and South East Asia are lucrative developing markets and made-to-market cars can make or break a manufacturer’s country strategy. However, if you were to assume that this practice is only carried out by ‘people car makers’, you would be wrong as this time, it is McLaren with the 625C, that has been made specifically for Asian markets. It is the first model from the British manufacturer made specifically to meet market demand.
The McLaren 625C is powered by the same 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 powerplant that powers the 650S. However, compared to the 641bhp and 678Nm that it makes in the 650S, the 625C gets 616bhp (625PS, implied by the name) at 7250rpm and 610Nm torque between 3000 and 7000rpm. McLaren has tuned the 625C with an increased focus on day-to-day usability and comfort. The ‘C’ stands for ‘Club’, highlighting a more accessible and less extreme model in terms of character. McLaren further explains, through revisions to the ProActive Chassis Control and the suspension hardware, the driving dynamics and ride quality are optimized in 625C. The super car sprints from 0–100kmph in 3.1 seconds while top speed remains 333kmph for Coupe and 329kmph for Spider, similar to 650S despite having a detuned engine.
Both the Coupe and Spider versions of the Asia-specific supercar will initially be launched in Hong Kong with immediate delivery. McLaren states the Asian market has seen the biggest area of growth for the company over the past two years. The entry into China in September 2013 boosted expectations and sales are set to grow from 20 per cent in 2013 to more than a third in 2014. Currently the British marque has a presence in China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan apart from Hong Kong. Will McLaren come to India? They have to respond.
