With a debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, McLaren Automotive launched its exciting supercar in North America.

The official ‘reveal’ was at David Gooding’s Friday night auction party, a venue used in the past by Bugatti and Pininfarina for super-luxury car launches.

On Sunday, McLaren showed three cars (a Supernova Silver 12C, a Titanium Silver 12C and the XP13 rolling chassis) to over 1000 guests in both its 18th fairway marquee and in front of the Lodge.

The company’s Managing Director Antony Sheriff and Design Director Frank Stephenson were on hand to personally present the MP4-12C to potential customers in this vital market, as well as the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and American talk show host and collector, Jay Leno. The video shows some of the action from the Pebble Beach weekend.

After Monterey, the McLaren road show moved south to West Hollywood, where McLaren Beverly Hills, located on Wilshire Boulevard, hosted a cocktail party for 300 guests, followed by private viewings of the vehicle throughout the day on Friday and Saturday.

In addition to McLaren Beverly Hills, other dealership so far announced in the USA include:

* McLaren Chicago: Lake Forest Sportscars
* McLaren Dallas: Park Place
* McLaren Greenwich (McLaren’s representative in the New York Tri-State area): Miller Motorcars
* McLaren San Francisco: Price Family Dealerships
* McLaren Tampa Bay: Dew Luxury Motor Cars
* The Collection McLaren (representing the Miami market)

No price for the 592bhp car has yet been released, although a figure of “between $225,000 and $250,000” has been quoted by the Woking company. First deliveries in the USA are scheduled for summer 2011.

Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos/Video: McLaren