2016 Mclaren 570 Lux Pack Carbon Fiber Pack Sport Exhaust W/214k Ms on 2040-cars

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What next for Jenson Button?

With the departure of Mark Webber from the Formula One grid, Jenson Button now ranks as one of the oldest drivers in the series. Turning 34 this month, he's mere months younger than Kimi Raikkonen, but has spent more seasons racing in F1 than the elder Finn. As such, Button is nearing the end of his viable time in the sport – but just when will he retire, and what will he do next? With a season-by-season contract, Button's future is anything but certain. McLaren could opt to re-sign him at the end of the 2014 season or not. Having driven for Honda for several seasons, the Japanese manufacturer that's set to power McLaren from 2015 onwards is said to favor keeping Button on board, but nothing's certain at this point. If and when McLaren shows him the door, Button's likely to try and find a seat with another team – championship contender or otherwise. But Autosport reports that Jenson isn't likely to follow his longtime rival Webber to Le Mans. Even behind the wheel of a front-running LMP1, the prospect of racing on a track with slower vehicles doesn't entice the 2009 World Champion to switch disciplines. Button is keen to keep racing for as long as he can. The only questions are how many good F1 seasons he has left in him – he dropped form second in the 2011 standings to fifth in 2012 and ninth in 2013 – and where he would go after that. News Source: AutosportImage Credit: McLaren Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports McLaren F1

Say goodbye to the McLaren P1

McLaren just built the 375th and final example of the P1. And with it, production of the hybrid hypercar draws to a close, sealing the chapter on one of the most capable performance machines ever to grace the road. Now that all 375 have been completed, the company is retiring the model entirely. It still has a handful of track-bound P1 GTRs to finish, but expects to complete those early in the new year ahead. Speaking with Autoblog recently at the launch of the 570S, spokesman Wayne Bruce confirmed that no further versions of the P1 would follow – no convertibles, no road-going take on the GTR, nothing. So once the P1 GTR is finished, the production line will be shut down and the Ultimate Series will be no more. He also told us that no plans for a successor are on the table at the moment, a notion echoed by his boss, chief executive Mike Flewitt, in the statement below: "The McLaren P1 has already established itself as an icon and any car that is to continue the lineage of the Ultimate Series will need to be a worthy successor - a significant step change in technology or performance is required to ensure this is the case. The future is undecided at this stage." Envisioned as the spiritual successor to the legendary McLaren F1, the P1 debuted in concept form at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, and in production form at the Geneva show the following year. It was designed around the same building blocks – carbon monocoque, 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8, seven-speed DCT – as everything else McLaren produces, but features a hybrid powertrain to boost output up to 903 horsepower. The result is a 0-62 time of 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 217 miles per hour. McLaren limited production to just 375 examples made available for public consumption (on top of factory 21 prototypes), making it more exclusive than either the Porsche 918 Spyder or Ferrari LaFerrari with which it has invariably been compared. Each of those 375 examples took 105 workers 800 man-hours across 17 days to complete, rolling off the dedicated assembly on the side of the McLaren Production Centre at a rate of one each day. The paint process alone could take up to five days, depending on specification, with yellow emerging the most popular color choice. Every last one was made to order and customized by McLaren Special Operations, ensuring that no two were alike. The first example pictured above rolled off the assembly line in September 2013, finished in silver with contrasting carbon-fiber trim.

Pontiac and McLaren once hooked up, and it was rad

Most of us would bend over backwards to have a chance to own a McLaren car, but few can afford such extravagance. That said, there’s a way you can get behind the wheel of a legitimate McLaren without breaking the bank. For 1989 and 1990, the Pontiac Grand Prix was offered in a limited-edition ASC-McLaren variant that featured tuning and updates from the iconic British automaker. Examples of this rare coupe rarely surface for sale, so itÂ’s surprising to see this low-mile 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix ASC-McLaren on eBay. The car is the result of a partnership between American Specialty Cars-McLaren (ASC-McLaren) and Pontiac. WeÂ’re not talking about the McLaren Formula 1 team or even the iconic McLaren road cars here. The McLaren connection comes from an arm of the automakerÂ’s powertrain engineering department. The Grand PrixÂ’s standard 3,1-liter V6 got a massage and a turbocharger, adding 65 horsepower for a total of 205 ponies and 225 pound-feet of torque. A four-speed automatic transmission sends power to the front wheels. That output is modest by todayÂ’s standards, and it wasnÂ’t outrageous even by 1990 standards, but the car returned a decent 0-60 mph time of around 7 seconds. The $5,000 ASC-McLaren package added a load of cool 1980s tech to the Grand PrixÂ’s interior, some of which is surprisingly advanced for the time. The car got a head-up display and a digital display on the dash. The steering wheel should be delightfully familiar to anyone who remembers a top-end Pontiac of the era, with the entire center of the wheel filled with buttons instead of the airbags we see today. The car had insanely padded bucket seats front and rear(!) with a distinctive pear shape.  Many sources peg production numbers between 2,500 and 3,500 units, so the car is relatively rare compared to its mass-produced Pontiac counterparts. This oneÂ’s got just 17,746 miles on the clock, too, and appears to be in excellent condition. ItÂ’s had just two owners and no reported accidents. The seller notes a little surface rust from the car being in storage so long. This era of GM cars tended to deteriorate quickly, so a bit of surface rust shouldnÂ’t be a huge issue. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.