2018 570s Spider Base on 2040-cars

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2015 Chinese Grand Prix shines bright sun on the dark days of racing

Yes, we tuned into the Formula One Grand Prix in Shanghai China to see a race. But we all know we really tuned in to see if Ferrari, or any other team, could make it a competitive race with Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Based on qualifying, things didn't get off the best of starts: Lewis Hamilton made it four-out-of-four at the front, leading all three Free Practice sessions and then taking pole position in his Mercedes. Nico Rosberg is making the most of his time in the simulator, getting closer to Hamilton as the months go by. This time he lined up in second, just 0.042 in arrears. Ferrari did its best to temper expectations after Malaysia. Even though Sebastian Vettel qualified in third, almost a second behind Hamilton, the Scuderia's race pace is still considered a danger. Kimi Raikkonen's final hot lap went sour in Turn 3 and dropped the Finn to sixth place on the grid. In between the Ferraris, Williams is another team desperately working to maintain its advantage, and both of its drivers capitalized on Raikkonen's misfortune. Felipe Massa took fourth, Valtteri Bottas was in fifth. Daniel Ricciardo led the Infiniti Red Bull Racing charge in seventh, ahead of Romain Grosjean in the Lotus earning a spirits-lifting eighth. The two Saubers continue to show how good the Ferrari engine is, with Felipe Nasr taking ninth position and teammate Marcus Ericsson in tenth. Yet when the lights went out, so did the racing, for the most part. At the end of the first lap, because of some excellent moves by Raikkonen on both Williams' and a terrible start by Ricciardo that dropped him to seventeenth, the order was Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen, Massa, Bottas, Grosjean, Nasr, Ericsson, and Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus rounding out the top ten. At the end of the race, the only positions that had changed were the final two: Ricciardo had a laps-long battle with Ericsson, passing, getting repassed, then passing again to take ninth for good, with Ericsson finishing tenth. Maldonado suffered the worst in a battle with Jenson Button in the McLaren, when Button misjudged the entry into Turn 1 for a pass and clouted the back of the Lotus. Button was able to finish but Maldonado had to retire. Yes, there were some decent moments in between, like Bottas getting by Massa at the start, then Raikkonen getting past Massa in the first few corners and the Finn's move on Bottas also letting Massa through.

2016 McLaren 570S Coupe First Drive

The difference between a sports car and a supercar is lost on the Portuguese gentleman standing on the roadside. I've stopped in my attempts to flood the country air with V8 ruckus for the moment, and am parked on the shoulder, taking a breather when he approaches. My Portuguese is limited to bom dia and obrigado, and he's not saying anything in English, but his wide smile, rotating pointer finger, and ready iPhone are symbols that transcend language: "Please gun it." Fresh off some 75 miles of strappy pavement between hot laps at the Portimao circuit and my hotel, behind the wheel of McLaren's bouncing new baby, the 570S Coupe, I'm more than happy to oblige. The British company has hammered home that the 570S, the first of its Sports Series cars and the most accessible driving tool in its new range, is a sports car. That is; not a member of the unearthly Ultimate Series a la the P1, or a meat-and-potatoes supercar like the 650S from the Super Series. The guy with the phone held aloft couldn't care less about those delineations. I pull out into the street, offer my friend a few red-blooded throttle blips, and then give the cobblestones a footful of hell. The 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 makes a symphony's worth of sucking, blowing, whistling, and exploding noises behind my head, and the world again makes a blurry kind of sense. It's a stunner, even before the trick dihedral doors float up and drive the crowd wild. If you're McLaren, whose best-known current model may be the $1-million-plus, 900-plus-horsepower P1 everythingcar, it makes sense that you might want to sandbag a bit when it comes to your entry-level model. But for all that it may compete with the almost-commonplace Porsche 911 Turbo S and the Audi R8 – in terms of performance and price – the 570S reads as "supercar" to most of the world. Even stripped of the McLaren Orange or Mantis Green the brand's vehicles are so often photographed in, my Vermillion Red test car looks like the proverbial million bucks. The elliptical roofline, wheels at extreme corners, and short sloping front end telegraphs the mid-engine orientation. And anyone that's halfway familiar with the brand won't miss the signature-shape of the headlamps, and charismatic vent work on the sides of the body. It's a stunner, even before the trick dihedral doors float up and drive the crowd wild. Inside things are equally well conceived, and still subtler.

McLaren confirms limited production for 675LT [w/video]

McLaren confirmed it will build a limited run of the 675LT supercar that was revealed this week at the Geneva Motor Show. McLaren will produce 500 copies priced at 259,500 British pounds, or about $400,000. The 675LT, which brings back McLaren's long tail heritage, will be the lightest, fastest and most powerful in the company's Super Series. The cars in the series will share a common carbon-fiber chassis, but the powertrains will be tuned differently. The LT will have a wider track and stiffer suspension settings. The 675LT weighs 2,712 pounds, and it will be available for order in July. It pumps out 666 horsepower from a 3.8-liter V8 and can sprint to 62 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds. A McLaren Club Sport pack, offering a titanium roll hoop, four-point harnesses and a fire extinguisher is optional equipment. LIMITED PRODUCTION CONFIRMED FOR McLAREN 675LT 675LT re-establishes the McLaren 'Longtail' heritage, focusing on light weight, optimised aerodynamics, increased power, track-focused dynamics and driver engagement Priced at GBP259,500 and production strictly limited to 500 units globally Chassis changes confirmed including wider track and stiffer rated springs front and rear Optional Club Sport pack adds titanium roll hoop and harness The McLaren 675LT was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. View the full press conference at: www.youtube.com/McLarenAutomotiveTV The McLaren 675LT, which made its global debut today at the 85th International Geneva Motor Show, will be the lightest, most powerful and fastest model in the McLaren Super Series, and also the most exclusive: production will be strictly limited to just 500 examples worldwide. The limited production model has a clear focus on light weight, optimised aerodynamics, increased power, track-focused dynamics and driver engagement. At its core is the lightweight carbon fibre MonoCell chassis, shared with each model in the Super Series, but the chassis set up and powertrain are bespoke, with a third of overall parts and components modified. A more aggressive set up gives the 675LT a unique track-focused feel, while still retaining the adjustable ProActive Chassis Control to ensure drivability and comfort levels are maintained. One of the many updates featured on the 1997 McLaren F1 GTR 'Longtail' was a wider track, front and rear. This approach is echoed in the 675LT, with the front and rear track widened by 20mm, ensuring optimised stability and handling performance.