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Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically "retired" earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.
In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the "Spirit of Le Mans" for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.

McLaren P1 throwing down the gauntlet with 6:30 Nurburgring lap time?

The magic mark at the Nurburgring once stood in the sevens. Anything that could lap the vaunted Nordschleife in less than eight minutes was considered biblically fast. But with all manner of vehicles clocking lap times that start with a seven, the goal post has moved below the seven-minute mark and into the sixes. Discounting barely-legal track cars from Radical, whose LMP-style pseudo-racers top the time charts, the Porsche 918 Spyder holds the record as the fastest street-legal production car ever to lap the Ring at 6:57. A blindingly fast lap time, to be sure, but the 918 isn't the only new hybrid hypercar in its class. According to official factory statements, the McLaren P1 has lapped the winding German circuit in under seven minutes. And rumor has it that its actual lap time, though not confirmed, was clocked at 6:47. That would already make it considerably faster than the Porsche, but that's not the end of the story. According to an unnamed inside source cited by Autocar, the P1 has actually lapped the Nurburgring in "six minutes 30 something." That would make it nearly half a minute faster than the Porsche, and a good ten seconds quicker even than the Radical SR8 LM. For its part, McLaren has yet to confirm the time, but we're sure it will in due course. For that matter, though Maranello has tested the new LaFerrari to the track, it has yet to announce any official time. But with the gauntlet thrown down, we wouldn't be surprised to see a scarlet-clad test team heading north to Germany in the near future. The last time they did, they clocked a 6:58 lap time with the 599XX, but while production-based, that car was never meant to drive on public streets. Featured Gallery McLaren P1 N?rburgring Run View 11 Photos News Source: Autocar McLaren Coupe Performance mclaren p1

McLaren P1 is the new king of flamethrowers [UPDATE]

It may come as no surprise, but the staff of Autoblog is essentially a bunch of kids trapped in grown-up bodies. That means we're fairly easy to please. Give us a fast car or sensational bodywork, and we're pretty happy. Give us a fast car with sensational bodywork that shoots big freaking flames, though, and we'll be utterly mesmerized. Unsurprisingly, then, this video which shows nothing more than the McLaren P1 and its ability to belch bright blue balls of fire while making a truly glorious noises has had a negative effect on our productivity. We've been quite happy to sit and watch the flame-throwing, 903-horsepower P1 zip around the Yas Marina Formula One course in Abu Dhabi over and over. So, join us in this latest batch of time wasting. Scroll down to watch the full video from Shmee150. UPDATE: We've added a second video from Shmee150 showing how to put the McLaren P1 in race mode. Head below to check it out. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Related Gallery McLaren P1: Geneva 2013 View 19 Photos News Source: Shmee150 via YouTube [1], [2]Image Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Auto News McLaren Coupe Racing Vehicles Performance Videos mclaren p1 abu dhabi yas marina