BRITAIN'S home-grown supercar, the McLaren MP4-12C, will cost from £168,500 when it goes on sale next year.

The 600bhp two seater, which has its roots in the company's celebrated F1 racing history, is priced to compete directly with the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini.

With a carbon chassis and powered by a 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 it can accelerate from 0 to 60 in less than four seconds.

It is due on sale in the spring with construction taking place at a purpose-built £40 million factory near the company's headquarters in Woking, Surrey.

Dealerships in Hockley Heath, near Warwick, at Knutsford in Cheshire and others near Hyde Park in London and Welwyn Garden City have already been appointed to handle the 250 cars which will be available in the UK.

Around 1,000 models are to be built in the first 12 months to be sold across the world.

Despite its power, the lightweight construction - the car weighs less than 1.4 tonnes - makes the McLaren the only car in this league to have emissions below 300g/km.

The 12C is the first pure road car to be built by McLaren which pioneered the use of carbon in its F1 cars in the 1980s.

Of the 17 paint finishes which will be available one will be McLaren Orange which was used on its racing cars during the 1960s and 70s.

At £168,500 the car is £1,000 cheaper than a Ferrari 458 although at £150,000 the Lamborghini Gallardo undercuts it by almost £20,000.