2017 Mclaren 570 Coupe on 2040-cars

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Alonso pins McLaren's woes squarely on Honda's shoulders

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Fernando Alonso spent more time on the tennis court than driving his ailing McLaren on Friday, with his tilt at the Indy 500 looking ever more inviting after another dark day on the Formula One racetrack. Alonso's home fans had barely settled in their seats for practice at the Spanish Grand Prix before his car's Honda engine blew in a mess of smoke and oil. Liquid then poured out of the car as it was tipped up by a recovery crane. Having failed to start in Russia two weeks ago due to an engine failure on the formation lap, Alonso departed the Barcelona circuit after a few choice words and later posted a picture on Instagram of himself playing tennis. "The engine was not good enough. We came out of the pitlane and there was a hole in the engine, and the oil was streaming out. It blew up after 400 meters," Alonso told reporters after returning for the second 90-minute practice session. He was last on the timesheets and reported that the engine was even slower. If the tennis photo looked like a dig at Honda, accompanied with the seemingly sarcastic comment "keeping the body active", he said that had not been his intention. "I have very little time in these weeks, with traveling, with planes," said the 35-year-old, who will go straight from Barcelona to Indianapolis on Sunday night to prepare for his debut in the 500 on May 28. "So when I discovered that I had two hours free, instead of being on the sofa and watching television, I went for some training. My dedication is still 100 percent to my fitness and my preparation. "It wasn't humor to go outside the circuit to play tennis, it was preparation. People got it wrong. I went out to have some fun and escape the circuit." McLaren, the second most successful team in Formula One history in terms of race wins, have yet to score a point in four rounds of this year's championship and are last in the standings. Honda's Formula One reputation, after two seasons of unreliability and poor performance, is meanwhile being dragged deeper into the mud. Alonso is out of contract at the end of the season and has said his future whereabouts would depend on who could offer him a winning car. "It's not my reputation, it's theirs (Honda's) – and it's their money, and their image," he said. "I try to drive as fast as I can but it's a much bigger problem for them." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by John Stonestreet) Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.

Rare Ford Mustang ASC McLaren is a piece of '80s history

You can't blame the dealer for advertising this oddball convertible as a "Ford Mustang McLaren." The name certainly rolls off the tongue better than "Ford Mustang ASC McLaren," and it makes the car sound a whole lot more appealing. However, without the 'ASC' in there, you don't get the full picture. And when it comes to the world of strange automotive collaborations—particularly those of the 80s—you most definitely want the full picture. ASC McLaren Mustangs were the result of fortuitous timing, and a project that was already underway between the American Sunroof Company and McLaren (no, not that McLaren). Detroit custom car builder Peter Muscat brought the idea of a Mustang with a tonneau cover to ASC after chopping the top off a Fox body on his own, and in turn ASC founder Heinz Pretcher brought the concept to Ford. Big blue was already in the midst of relaunching a Mustang convertible, which had been absent from the lineup for 10 years, so initially it was the Mercury Capri that got the ASC/McLaren treatment. The result was a car that was more expensive than a Mustang GT, and coupled with declining sales of the Capri overall, the car was discontinued in 1986, paving the way for the ASC McLaren Mustang you see here on eBay. With the change over to the Mustang as their platform for modification in 1987, ASC McLaren were given the opportunity to create something notable. Customizing the Capri was one thing, but the Mustang name carries with it iconic status. So what did ASC McLaren do with their chance to leave their mark on automotive history? They gave the car some visual modifications, both inside and out, but like the Capri, left the powertrain untouched. Also like the Capri, the cars still ended up costing more than $20,000. Between the high price, the economic woes of the late 80s, and disputes between Muscat and Pretcher, the ASC McLaren Mustangs were no more by 1990. During the three year run, 1,806 ASC McLaren conversions were completed, making them quite rare, especially low mileage examples like this one. The 5.0 V8s are known for being stout engines, capable of handling serious modification, and logging lots of miles, so there are no concerns there. The 5-speed Borg-Warner transmission that came in all Mustang GTs is also known for being a durable unit, the '87-'90 versions especially so. The main concern here would be the life the car has lived, and more importantly where it has lived.

McLaren to enter Extreme E electric SUV series in 2022

LONDON — McLaren will add an Extreme E team to their Formula 1 and Indycar operations next year in a major boost for the newly launched electric off-road series (another team's car is pictured above). McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown told reporters he expected the involvement to be "commercially positive" from the start. McLaren would mostly use existing personnel for the team, but not from Formula 1. "What we will never do is distract or detract from our Formula 1 efforts," added Brown. "Indycar, Extreme E are there to be complementary and accelerate our Formula 1 efforts." McLaren will be the 10th team signed up to the five-race series launched by Spaniard Alejandro Agag, who also founded the city-based Formula E championship, with two more slots still available. Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, and 2009 and 2016 world champions Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, also have Extreme E teams. "The McLaren news is a major, major boost for Extreme E," Agag told reporters in a video call. "We know that there are many manufacturers looking at Extreme E. The news of McLaren entering is for sure going to help other manufacturers look at Extreme E with interest. Today is the biggest news in our short history." The team will be entered by McLaren Racing, rather than the automotive side whose current model range focuses heavily on petrol-engined supercars. Other manufacturers involved in Extreme E - Seat's Cupra brand, Hummer and Lotus - have an electric model or product range to promote but McLaren have in the past ruled out making an electric SUV. "I wouldn't want to speak on their behalf," Brown said when asked whether that approach might change. "This is a McLaren Racing effort solely. "Of course electrification is very important to the automotive group ... (but) it's not an indication one way or the other as to Automotive's position on SUVs." Brown said a possible involvement in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Formula E remained under review until later in the year. Extreme E aims to raise awareness about climate change and promote sustainability by racing electric SUVs in remote and harsh environments, with a former mail ship used to transport cars between locations. Brown already has an involvement through his United Autosports, which co-owns a team with Andretti Autosports, but the American said he was a "silent partner" in that. He said McLaren's move would give the Bahraini-owned company a broader offering for sponsors.