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McLaren granted trademark for ‘McLaren GT,’ but is it even a car?

Last year McLaren Automotive Limited applied to trademark the name "McLaren GT" in the U.S. and the UK. Last week the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the request. It's tempting to wonder if we're looking at the name of the new McLaren monster car, the three-seat road-going Ultimate Series offering so far known as BP23. McLaren has, after all, called the coupe a "Hyper-GT" in an official press release. There are two hitches to making that connection, though. The first and weakest hitch is that last month, Autocar reported that McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt said he wanted proper names for the company's Ultimate Series cars, "rather than an alphanumeric designation." The Senna was the first under that regime. Yes, we could consider "GT" a name, and there are no numbers involved. Yet that would be a pretty bland follow-up to the Senna, especially a follow-up that's meant to be the new capstone on what McLaren can do, faster than the 243-mile-per-hour F1 and more powerful than the P1. The second, more compelling hitch comes in the line describing what the trademark is for: "Retail store services featuring motor land vehicles." That pinpoints a different use than a road car trademark. McLaren's P1, 650S, 12C Spider, Spider, and Longtail trademark applications are all for "Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, and structural parts therefor." McLaren GT, on the other hand, appears to be some kind of storefront that will sell those cars. The trademark for "Jaguar Racing" is also for stores selling cars, among other things, and the trademark for McLaren Qualified applies to "Retail store services featuring pre-owned vehicles." Perhaps this is part of a future dealer initiative or rebranding effort. Or maybe it's nothing, you know how trademarks go. Does this mean the new hypercar won't be called "McLaren GT?" No. But we'll need more clues and a stronger case to make the call either way.

Help build the Lego McLaren 720S at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

This year's Goodwood Festival of Speed will be host to some extraordinary automobiles, but a contender for coolest vehicle will be a full-size replica of a McLaren 720S made from Lego bricks. And part of what will make it so cool, is that it won't just be a display. It will arrive at the event unfinished, and guests will be able to help finish the build with the final 12,700 pieces. This doesn't mean plenty of work hasn't already been done. According to McLaren, six Lego builders have spent 2,000 hours putting together over 267,000 pieces to the get the car to its current form. That comes to 83 days of non-stop work, which is much longer than the 12 work days the company takes to build an actual McLaren 720S. In fact, the lengthy assembly time is just one of a few ways the Lego McLaren is actually inferior to the real thing. Instead of carbon fiber and aluminum, the Lego model uses humble steel and plastic. The Lego car is heavier than a dry 720S, too. And this is all without considering the fact that you can't actually drive the Lego car. Still, Lego cars are awesome, and we're looking forward to seeing the finished vehicle. And if you happen to be fortunate enough to be at the Festival of Speed, snap on a few bricks for us. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: McLaren Toys/Games McLaren Coupe Supercars Lego mclaren 720s

Is Seat getting its own version of the VW Up?

Could this be Seat's version of the Volkswagen Up!? Skoda recently showed off its take on the Up! runabout, the Citigo, and it's plausible that VW wants to make the biggest statement possible with the little car. The diminutive hatchback could also be employed to help reverse Seat's fortunes - remember, in May of 2010, the Spanish brand was put on notice about its financial performance. An innovative and inexpensive city car could help round out the planned portfolio expansion.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show, our sister UK site reported that Seat was working on a sporty version of the Up! that would be "good to drive." However, there wasn't any additional information at the source site, so we aren't sure how much of the image above is an actual photo and how much is rendering. We expect it would still come, as the rest, with either the 59- or 74-horsepower, 1.0-liter three-clinder engines.