Car Enthusiast was lucky enough to visit the McLaren Technical Centre in Surrey last December for a private viewing of the pre-production MP4-12C (read the story here). Today (March 18), the automotive division was officially launched and more tantalising details of its first product released.

As you'd hope given the level of input from F1 engineers and Ron Dennis's reputation for perfection, the MP4-12C is chock full of innovation and technology. Perhaps just as impressive is that every component on the car has been developed specifically for it. That's true of the new engine in particular. Ricardo has been tasked with development of the twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 and the official numbers (592bhp and 443lb.ft of torque) suggest that the job's been done well.

McLaren hasn't tied down the top speed or 0-62mph time as yet, but reckon on about 205mph and 3.4 seconds, which puts it on a par with the Ferrari 458 Italia. The MP4-12C should be a little lighter though, with a dry weight estimated at 1,300kg.

That'll no doubt contribute to the McLaren's economy. A CO₂ figure of 'less than 300g/km' has been suggested by the company. We estimate combined consumption to be up to 25mpg.

There's plenty of exciting details to pore over in the MP4-12C, including the clever dual-clutch transmission and 'Brake Steer' - both innovations coming directly from F1. Emphasising the link, McLaren's current drivers turned up to diplomatically talk about their first drive in the new car. The video that accompanied this says a lot more than Button and Hamilton did at the conference. Keep an eye out for the impressive drift towards the end... Apparently the F1 drivers had to be reigned in by McLaren's chief test driver, Chris Goodwin.

The press conference today was as much about the company's plans and sustainability as it was about the new car. A new production facility is under way with the first cars due in 2011. Just 1,000 units will be produced in the first 12 months before new derivatives are introduced. Ron Dennis confirmed that two are already in the works. Our money is on an open-top version and something even more hardcore. When asked if McLaren would ever make a SUV he firmly replied that, for the foreseeable future, all of its cars will have just two seats and the engine behind.

Dennis emphasised that the McLaren Automotive company is here to stay for the long term, stating that "it's good for McLaren and good for UK plc." He's referring to the 300 new jobs being created on site, but also to the wider network of suppliers based in Britain.

The final point of note we gleaned from the day was that each MP4-12C will house an advanced infotainment system called 'IRIS'. It's a hard-drive based system with a host of features such as Bluetooth, wi-fi, USB connection and even the option of cameras and data acquisition for serious track day fiends. This system will also feature diagnostics that will allow direct communication with technicians if customers experience a problem.

Given the level of development apparent in the MP4-12C, we'd be surprised if buyers ever need such a thing.