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New 'Hobbs & Shaw' trailer speaks — and explodes — for itself

When Dwayne Johnson tweeted that this summer's "Hobbs & Shaw" movie would be the "Biggest showdown the Fast & Furious Universe has ever seen," we didn't realize just how big he meant. Turns out he meant so big that we're going to need a bigger universe. Of course there are all kinds of cars, including enough McLarens to start three dealerships. There are also vintage customs, military APCs, a Rat Rod Optimus Prime, helicopters, and an F-22 Raptor-ish fighter with side-by-side seating. If there's anyone left on the planet who doesn't know, "Hobbs & Shaw" is about two former bad guys taking on a new badder guy. The Rock plays Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham plays Deckard Shaw in a two-hour "SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!" grudge match with the genetically enhanced Idris Elba and a small nation worth of Elba's gun-fodder clown-car henchmen. Elba's character has a real name, but we'll call him by his chosen nickname: Black Superman. It gets so much worse, and so much more explodey, from there. Since this is meant to be the beginning of a new franchise, maybe one day we'll find out how the sequel plans to outdo the first installment. Perhaps by not making one side in the final fight go to battle with 19th-century wooden implements. The date you need to mark on your calendar, whether in anticipation or warning, is August 2. Enjoy.

McLaren MP4-X concept shows innovation won't die in F1's future [w/video]

Despite things like turbocharging and kinetic-energy recovery, today's Formula One cars look more or less like the ones that lapped the world's race tracks 20 years ago. Sure, they're much more aero intensive, but the basic look is the same. McLaren, which probably had some serious free time this season considering its misfortunes, has imagined a futuristic F1 car that adopts many innovative and somewhat controversial additions. It's called the McLaren MP4-X, and the most obvious change is the closed cockpit. The death of Jules Bianchi, the accidents involving Maria De Villota and Felipe Massa, and even the death of Ayrton Senna could have all potentially been avoided by adopting a strong closed-cockpit design, like the one advocated here by McLaren. It's also worth pointing out that this design is a boon for aerodynamics. Inside that cockpit, drivers would enjoy an augmented reality display system, sort of like that used by F-35 Lightning II fighter pilots. There'd also be an independent head-up display that McLaren claims could be used to transmit info about race position and flag status. So basically, the kind of data you'd get playing Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo. Speaking of safety, the MP4-X's entire chassis, beyond the closed roof, would be far safer thanks to the use of "negative-stiffness material structures." Essentially, these materials can soak up the force of an impact and then bounce, for lack of a better term, back into shape. And if you're thinking like we are, this sounds like McLaren wants 900-horsepower bumper cars. Of course, 900 hp is speculation on our end. McLaren is deliberately vague on the powertrain of this concept. Advanced hybrid powertrains aren't surprising, although the team's mention of inductive, wireless charging on tracks sounds like the stuff of Formula E's dreams. In a move that McLaren says "tears up the rulebook," the MP4-X would see a return of ground effects. The underbody would feature enormous venturi tunnels to suck the car to the track. Alongside active aerodynamics that tweak the its shape for turns and straights, this concept McLaren would be both more slippery and offer more downforce than today's cars. There's a lot more on the MP4-X concept than we can talk about here, so head over to McLaren Honda's official website for all the nitty gritty details on this car's advanced systems, including solar cells, advanced tire sensors, and even virtual logos. It all sounds very, very cool.

McLaren P1 throwing down the gauntlet with 6:30 Nurburgring lap time?

The magic mark at the Nurburgring once stood in the sevens. Anything that could lap the vaunted Nordschleife in less than eight minutes was considered biblically fast. But with all manner of vehicles clocking lap times that start with a seven, the goal post has moved below the seven-minute mark and into the sixes. Discounting barely-legal track cars from Radical, whose LMP-style pseudo-racers top the time charts, the Porsche 918 Spyder holds the record as the fastest street-legal production car ever to lap the Ring at 6:57. A blindingly fast lap time, to be sure, but the 918 isn't the only new hybrid hypercar in its class. According to official factory statements, the McLaren P1 has lapped the winding German circuit in under seven minutes. And rumor has it that its actual lap time, though not confirmed, was clocked at 6:47. That would already make it considerably faster than the Porsche, but that's not the end of the story. According to an unnamed inside source cited by Autocar, the P1 has actually lapped the Nurburgring in "six minutes 30 something." That would make it nearly half a minute faster than the Porsche, and a good ten seconds quicker even than the Radical SR8 LM. For its part, McLaren has yet to confirm the time, but we're sure it will in due course. For that matter, though Maranello has tested the new LaFerrari to the track, it has yet to announce any official time. But with the gauntlet thrown down, we wouldn't be surprised to see a scarlet-clad test team heading north to Germany in the near future. The last time they did, they clocked a 6:58 lap time with the 599XX, but while production-based, that car was never meant to drive on public streets. Featured Gallery McLaren P1 N?rburgring Run View 11 Photos News Source: Autocar McLaren Coupe Performance mclaren p1