MORE than 2,500 customers have expressed a serious interest in buying the much-heralded McLaren MP4-12C sports car.

The model, from the world's newest car company the Woking-based McLaren Automotive, will go on sale next spring, though only 1,000 will be available in 2011.

McLaren says that a full model range of around 4,000 high-performance sports cars will be produced in the UK annually by the middle of the decade.

The home market will be represented by Rybrook in Birmingham, Jardine Motors Group in London and Sytner in Manchester, the dealers joining a global network of 35 partners next year.

Prices have yet to be confirmed, but the 12C sits in the market of ‘core' sports cars that cost between £125,000 and £175,000.

The company is confident it will be the most powerful, most efficient and the lightest car in its class - a combination driven by McLaren developments such as a one-piece carbon fibre chassis and a bespoke twin-turbo V8 engine. 

McLaren also expects to annually launch a new model, or derivative of a model, following the launch of the 12C.