McLaren launches "an F1 car for the road"

A gull-winged 200mph British supercar dubbed 'an F1 car for the road' is launched today by UK racing specialists McLaren.

Stunning design: The McLaren MP4-12C is Britain's answer to Italy's  seductive Ferrari

With dramatic aerodynamic styling designed to keep it on the ground at high speed, the new McLaren two-seater will accelerate from rest to 60mph in just 3.4 seconds.

The new McLaren, which goes on sale in 2011, is being built at the company's hi-tech factory in Woking Surrey, where the workforce is expected to expand from 500 to around 800 as production gets underway.

About 1,000 cars will be built in the first year. But the MP4 is just the first of a new range of sports cars that will see production increased to 4,000 a year within about three years.