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McLaren Senna GTR Concept gets racy in Geneva

The McLaren Senna GTR Concept storms its way into the Geneva Motor Show with one very bold claim attached to it: Outside of the British company's Formula One cars, this $1.4-million-dollar supercar is the fastest way around a racetrack in a car with the McLaren badge on it. This is especially big news from a manufacturer that targets the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Bugatti; not to mention that McLaren already has legendary exotic cars like the F1 and P1 on its automotive resume. Based on the recently introduced Senna road car, the Senna GTR delivers more horsepower, more aerodynamic grip, and even more exclusivity. McLaren has promised that the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 will produce a minimum of 813 horsepower in the Senna GTR, versus the 789 hp found in the road-going variant. The enormous rear diffuser, towering spoiler, and snow-plow-like front splitter aren't just there for show, either. The highly sculpted carbon fiber bodywork delivers upward of 2,200 pounds of downforce at speed. Much of the body is fitted with quick-release catches, making it easier to replace fenders and other exterior pieces during the heat of competition. The Senna GTR also rides on a special set of lightweight, 11-spoke alloy wheels. Combined with a revised double wishbone suspension, Pirelli racing slick tires, and a race-style transmission, the Senna GTR will "post the quickest McLaren circuit lap times outside Formula 1," according to McLaren's press release. That headline-grabbing claim probably won't stand for much longer, however. It's an open secret that McLaren is hard at work on road and race versions of the cryptically-named BP23, the firm's "hyper-GT" that pays homage to the original F1 supercar, produced from 1992-1998. "The track-only McLaren Senna GTR will have more power, more grip and more downforce – up to 1,000 kilograms – than the McLaren Senna and post even faster lap times," said Mike Flewitt, McLaren Automotive CEO. "The very limited number of customers who secure this car will be buying the closest experience you can get to a race car without actually lining up on a circuit grid." Interestingly, about the only thing this race-focused McLaren doesn't offer is the means to drive it on public roads – this is a track-only speed machine. Then again, if you can afford the roughly $1.4-million price and manage to snag one of the 75 scheduled to be built, commissioning the build of your own private racetrack probably isn't out of the question.

'World's Fastest Gamer' competition winner lands McLaren F1 simulator job

LONDON — A Dutch sales manager whose teenage hopes of a motorsport career ended when the money ran out won an eSports competition on Tuesday to become a McLaren Formula One simulator driver. Rudy van Buren, 25, a once-promising junior go-karter, came out on top at the end of a "World's Fastest Gamer" competition that started in May and drew more than 30,000 entrants. In the all-Dutch two-man showdown, after a week of tests and virtual races that started with 12 finalists at McLaren's headquarters in Woking, England, Van Buren beat 20-year-old Amsterdam student Freek Schothorst. Van Buren had started karting at age 8, winning a Dutch junior championship in 2003, but he quit at 16 due to a lack of money. "Every boy that starts karting dreams about F1, and at a certain point that dream just vanishes," Van Buren said in a McLaren statement. "Now by winning World's Fastest Gamer, I can relive that dream." McLaren, the team of double world champion Fernando Alonso and past greats like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, were seeking to tap talent from virtual racing to help them develop their real car. Finalists were subjected to fitness and mental assessments as well as racing virtually on a variety of tracks, from Indianapolis to Interlagos. The 12, whittled down over the course of the week, included a Danish doctor, a 41-year-old French father of two, and a 23-year-old Briton who had yet to pass his real-world driving test. Van Buren was one of those with a strong resume from the world of eSports. "To think that I came to the McLaren Technology Centre for the very first time last week but am leaving here today as McLaren's newest employee is mind-blowing," he said. The competition is the brainchild of Darren Cox, whose Nissan GT Academy initiative took gamers out from behind a console and on to the real racetrack with professional works drives. "Rudy is a worthy winner and his story of being lost to racing, then rediscovering his passion though gaming and having his talent recognized by an F1 team is almost a fairytale," said Cox. McLaren, who have had a troubled three years with Honda in the real world and are hoping to rejoin the frontrunners with Renault power next season, see virtual racing as a growth area commercially. "With more than 10 million people viewing the competition, we've demonstrated the real value of eSports within F1," said McLaren's newly-appointed director of eSports Ben Payne.

McLaren prices new 650S from $265,500

Just whisper the name "McLaren" and you know you're talking about something expensive. Just how expensive depends on which model you're talking about. McLaren sold all 375 examples of the P1 at $1.15 million. The 12C coupe starts just under $240k and the 12C Spider at $265k. The upcoming P13 should come in around $160k, and the P15 around $500k. But how much will the new 650S set you back? With the 650S set to make its US debut at the New York Auto Show next week, McLaren Automotive has released official pricing and performance figures for our market. The 650S coupe will set you back $265,500, while the 650S Spider starts at $280,225. That makes the new model about $15k more expensive than the less powerful 12C on which it's based. Or to put it another way, it falls right in the middle of the Ferrari 458 range: the Italia starts at $233k, the Spider at $257k and the Speciale (the version with which you could really compare the 650S most directly) approaches $300k. Along with the pricing info, McLaren (having quoted the 0-62 time at three seconds flat) has also revealed the official 0-60 time at 2.9 seconds. Couple that with a quarter-mile time of 10.5 seconds and a 207-mph top speed (for the coupe) and you're looking at an eminently capable supercar. Scope out all the details (including Canadian pricing for those bent on driving their McLaren in the snow) in the press release below. McLAREN AUTOMOTIVE ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN PRICING AHEAD OF NEW YORK AUTO SHOW DEBUT - New McLaren 650S Coupe and Spider now available in North America - US pricing for 650S Coupe starts at USD $265,500 and USD $280,225 for the 650S Spider - Canadian pricing for 650S Coupe and Spider is CAD $287,000 and CAD $305,500 respectively - McLaren 650S to make US debut during the 2014 New York Auto Show Following the global debut at the Geneva Auto Show, the McLaren 650S Coupe and 650S Spider are now on sale in the US and Canada across all 15 retail locations (13 in the US, two in Canada). Of these 15, McLaren Atlanta, McLaren Scottsdale, McLaren Washington DC and McLaren Vancouver were opened in the past six months and reflect the tremendous growth and success of McLaren in North America. As the first example of the McLaren 650S rolled off the line at the state-of-the-art McLaren Production Centre in Woking, McLaren Automotive has released performance numbers and confirmed pricing as part of the global debut at the 84th International Geneva Motor Show.