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It's no more than you'd expect from a Formula One team that also makes supercars: scarcely had the first few McLaren MP4-12C sports cars been delivered to customers than the company announced a competition version, the MP4-12C GT3.

The prototype will be developed - in competition, of course, this is a McLaren we're talking about - during 2011, with the aim of delivering 20 "customer cars" to privateer GT3 racing teams with deep pockets in time for the start of the 2012 World championship series.

The MP4-12C GT3 will be the first McLaren built for GT racing since the F1 GTR went out of production in 1997 and the carbon-fibre chassis-based 12C will be adapted to racing specification by a team of engineers, designers and test drivers with vast experience in Formula One and GT racing.

CEO Martin Whitmarsh said: "McLaren has racing in its blood and it was a natural step to take our MP4-12C road car and turn it into a reliable, efficient and easy-to-drive GT3 racer. The class rules mean that every car on the grid will have identical performance, so we have to build a car in which any competent driver can use all that performance.

"We have worked with CRS Racing to make the 12C's design and development programme as close as possible to what McLaren would do in developing a Formula One car - and we've brought new levels of technology to GT3 racing.

"The 12C GT3 will have the 12C's carbon-fibre monocoque chassis and the same steering-wheel layout as in Lewis Hamilton's MP4-24 F1 car.

The MP4-12C GT3 prototype will debut in the Blancpain Endurance Series race at the Circuito de Navarra in Spain, followed by Magny-Cours in France and Silverstone in England; it will also be entered in the 24 Hours of Spa and it'll howl up the famous Hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from July 1-3.

CRS Racing team principal Andrew Kirkaldy will be joined by 2010 McLaren test driver Oliver Turvey and Portuguese racing driver Álvaro Parente for the 2011 development programme.

McLaren GT chief engineer Marcus Waite was a senior test team engineer at McLaren F1 for many years before becoming the test team leader for the MP4-12C sports car. His combination of practical experience in Formula One development and deep understanding of the 12C road car is invaluable to McLaren GT.

He said: "We have defined the technical requirements for the 12C GT3 in the McLaren simulator and I am pleased to say that feedback from the three new drivers in the team means we can immediately focus on fine-tuning the set-up of the car, rather than address any fundamental issues.

"But there's still no substitute for pounding round the European circuits on which we plan to race, so that's exactly what we're doing. The Circuito de Navarra in Spain is a great track, a mixture of slow and fast corners and long straights, meaning the new engine calibration has to stand up to constant acceleration from low speed. Our successful shakedown there means we’re now confident of powertrain durability.

"We followed Navarra with a test session at Portimao, with its long, fast sweepers that really tested the new oil tank we developed for the GT3. The oil is constantly moving and yet the new tank proved robust in that environment.

"These are just two examples of how we plan to test every component of the 12C GT3 before delivering cars to race teams in 2012. I won't be satisfied until we have we've done test runs that significantly exceed the requirements of three-hour and 24-hour endurance racing.

"We're going to deal with the teething problems race teams usually face in their first season with a new GT3 car so we can deliver a reliable race car to our first customers next season."

Those track tests followed months of virtual testing in the McLaren F1 simulator where engine calibration, power steering, spring rates, weight distribution, gear ratios and differential settings were fine-tuned before the car ever turned a wheel in anger .

Mark Williams, head of vehicle engineering, explained: "We were able to explore the parameters in the simulator before defining the power, weight and downforce targets. We used computational fluid dynamics to develop the aerodynamic configuration and then tested the various shapes to define the set-up and resultant driveability.

"Being able to review our aero package and car set-up using a simulator developed for Formula 1 prior to first track running is unique. No other GT3 car has been designed using this level of technology."

After the Spanish shakedown session, Kirkaldy agreed: "The performance of the car in Navarra was practical proof of the set-up work we did in the simulator - the virtual and real-world versions felt almost identical."

McLaren Automotive programme director Mark Vinnels revealed that the decision to go racing with the MP4-12C was made early in the car's development.

"Almost from the beginning we were integrating key members of McLaren Racing into the 12C development team,” he said. "This blend of experience and skill, combined with a 'can-do' attitude and desire to push what’s technically possible, has led to both a great road car and a unique racing car.

"At the McLaren Technology Centre we walk past the McLaren F1 GTR that won Le Mans in 1995 every day. Racing has changed since then, and we have no plans to develop a McLaren to win Le Mans outright again, but car number 59 is truly inspirational for us all."

The 12C GT3 has the same 75kg carbon-fibre "MonoCell" chassis as the road car.

As Kirkaldy put it: "A rigid chassis is hugely important to a racing driver. We've had to engineer certain aspects of our GT3 car to race specification, but I can't think of a better place to start than the 12C.

"When Martin Whitmarsh first approached CRS Racing he insisted his first priority was the needs of customers and drivers - and that's paramount in everything we're doing.

"The development programme will be rigorous to ensure reliability, the technical specification of the 12C GT3 will surpass rival cars due to our links with Formula One and build quality will reflect the high standard of the 12C road car.

"It's become accepted that GT cars are unreliable straight out of the box because manufacturers deliver cars before the technology is proven for racing - but at McLaren expectations are higher.

"Our combined experience means we can identify problems encountered previously by race teams or drivers and address them. In the cockpit of the 12C GT3, for example, we made sure the pedal position is in line with the seat and steering wheel, not offset as in many GT3 cars."

The 12C GT3 has the same 3.8-litre, twin-turbo M838T V8 as the road car, but detuned from 442kW to 369kW to conform with GT3 regulations, with special engine calibration, a new racing transmission developed with Ricardo and suspension arrangement tuned for racing.

Williams explained: "With the tyre grip balance moving forward on the GT3 racing tyres we had to move the centre of gravity forward; the only way to do this was to reduce weight at the rear. We chose a six-speed, sequential-shift gearbox from Ricardo because it was 80kg lighter than the seven-speed, semi-auto transmission of the road car and all its internal components had been proved in other racing series.”

“Then we challenged Ricardo to make it even lighter with a specially-designed casing.”

Initial demand for the first 20 race cars is high and McLaren plans to build another 20 during 2013 and 2014.

Kirkaldy summed up: "I've spent time now at McLaren's amazing headquarters, and seen first-hand their aspiration to launch a new type of sports-car company, whether through race support, parts supply, or even the simple fact that the car's list price is its price - there are no hidden extras.

“If we can celebrate race wins together in 2012 - so much the better!"