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Alonso and Button try out Honda's Uni-Cub mobility scooter

As two of the best racing drivers in the world, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have some pretty serious wheels at their disposal. They'll both be driving the latest McLaren-Honda MP4-30 on the track this year, will likely have access to supercars like the new Acura NSX or McLaren 650S for toying around with when they're not working, and probably each have an enviable motor pool of their own at home. This, then, must have been quite a change of pace for them both. As you can see from this video tweeted by McLaren, the two highly accomplished F1 drivers hopped on a very different set of wheels recently: namely, Honda's Uni-Cub "personal mobility device." The experimental electric motorized bar stool is controlled by shifting your weight to and fro (like a Segway), but stands just two feet tall and tops out at less than four miles per hour. At that rate, it would take them almost an hour to take one lap around the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX, where the 2015 United States Grand Prix will be held in October. In that same time span, for perspective's sake, they'd be lapped more than 30 times by their rivals... so they'd better stick to the racing machinery once the championship gets under way. What happened when @alo_oficial and @JensonButton got hold of a UNI-CUBAcA?A¦ https://t.co/YP8r9z1OsG - McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 10, 2015

McLaren P1 GTR Senna tribute car built by MSO as the ultimate P1

McLaren just finished what looks to be one of its most incredible MSO ( McLaren Special Operations) projects ever with a P1 GTR. As is obvious in the photos, this P1 GTR is meant to celebrate the McLaren MP4/4 F1 car Ayrton Senna raced to complete dominance in the 1988 championship season. There is no shortage of Senna projects going on over at McLaren, clearly. This car has been in the works for three years running, along with McLaren's actual car, the Senna. Don't be confused, however, this is a one-off P1 GTR that a McLaren collector/Ayrton fan commissioned to be built. The livery isn't the only thing that sets it apart from other P1 GTRs either. McLaren says this car has a unique engine specification. Its heat shield is made out of 24 carat gold; the rear cover is made out of Lexan (type of plastic) and it has modified engine bay shrouds. We're not told how much more power it makes, but apparently it's more than the 986 horses in your standard P1 GTR. This Senna fan managed to wrangle the McLaren engineers into designing him a bespoke aero package for the car too. It has new front dive planes, a wider front splitter, Gurney flap, new barge boards and bigger endplates on the rear wing. Even more downforce is generated by inboard secondary wing elements. A "normal" P1 GTR produces 1,433 pounds of downforce, but this car brings that up to a whopping 1,763 pounds. Yeah, it's going to stick just fine. The design and customization on this car is pretty next-level. McLaren Rocket red and Anniversary white are the same color codes used on the F1 car. Both doors have the Marlboro barcode that was used in lieu of Marlboro script when regulations changed to bar that sort of advertising. Senna branding is all over the thing, everywhere you look. The seats are actually the same ones McLaren used in the Senna (actual car) itself. Yeah, there's a whole lot of Senna going on here. With the unbelievable attention to detail and expense that went into this car, we wonder what the owner's plans are for it. Will it live at the track (we hope) as the extra power and aero suggests? Or is this something to be put away in a collection because it's just too freaking special? Call it a good problem to have. This thing is awesome. Related video:

McLaren promotes new chief designer

Though the racing team has been around for decades, McLaren Automotive as a modern carmaker is one of the youngest around, and continues to fine-tune its senior personnel. In the latest announcement, the Woking, UK-based outfit has named Robert Melville to the role of Chief Designer. At just 37 years old, Melville has been with McLaren as a senior designer since 2009, lending his pen to the lines of the P1, 650S and the upcoming entry-level Sports Series that's confirmed to debut "in the second quarter of 2015," with an anticipated reveal expected at the New York Auto Show in April. Though the title of Chief Designer would seem to suggest that Melville will be the top authority in McLaren's design department, he'll still be reporting to Frank Stephenson, whose role as Design Director remains unchanged. News Source: McLaren Design/Style Hirings/Firings/Layoffs McLaren mclaren automotive chief designer