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McLaren evaluating an EV hypercar for the P1 family

McLaren is evaluating a fully electric powertrain for a future Ultimate Series of model – a family that currently includes the P1 and P1 GTR (pictured above). The possible hypercar could give wealthy customers an ideal combination of insane performance and zero emissions. Look out for significantly more hybrids from the British sports car maker, too. McLaren doesn't have any specific details about the EV yet because the development is still in the early stages. "Our engineers have even started work on a one-off prototype to evaluate the possible benefits of a fully-electric powertrain in an Ultimate Series car," McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt said. The P1 already sports a hybrid powertrain, but the company wants to bring electrification to its less expensive Sports and Super Series models, too. "Our next hybrid vehicle will launch towards the latter part of our six-year plan, and we will see at least 50 percent featuring hybrid technology by 2022," Flewitt said. To fund so much powertrain development, McLaren's latest business plan includes investing a billion pounds ($1.4 billion at current exchange rates) over the next six years into research and development. Beyond electrification, the other fruits of that labor will be launching 15 cars or derivatives over that period and a new engine architecture around the end of that time. The company will have to deliver on plans to double output this year to continue putting so much money into vehicle development. Related Video: McLAREN AUTOMOTIVE LAUNCHES SIX-YEAR INVESTMENT PROGRAMME IN FUTURE PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGY Six-year 'Track22' Business Plan announced GBP1 billion investment in Research and Development over six-years of plan 15 all-new cars or derivatives under development At least 50 percent of McLaren cars to feature hybrid technology by 2022 Fully-electric prototype in the Ultimate Series under evaluation Just over six years after the company was formed, McLaren Automotive has announced details of its Track22 Business Plan, taking it through the next six years through to 2022. Maintaining a spotlight on the development of the world best drivers' cars, McLaren Automotive will continue to focus purely on the development of two-seater sports and supercars. At the heart of the Business Plan is a commitment to its industry-leading 20-25 percent of turnover invested in Research and Development for future products and technology.

One of only two McLaren F1s in LM-Specification headed for auction in Monterey

Of all the McLaren F1s out there (106 of them, including racecars and other variants), this 1994 F1 in LM-Specification is about as special as they get. Incredibly, it’s going up for auction in Monterey at the RM SothebyÂ’s auction house during Monterey Car Week. Why a McLaren F1 owner would ever want to sell their car is beyond us, but weÂ’re sure the millions of dollars on the other side of the gavel look pretty alright. This F1 happens to be one of two in existence in LM-Specification. In case you werenÂ’t familiar with the model, McLaren upgraded two standard F1 road cars to this particular specification at the factory after the production run had finished. That means the engine was upgraded to the unrestricted 680-horsepower GTR spec. An extra-high downforce kit was also added, consisting of a huge rear wing, revised nose and different front fender vents. Other differences between this and a normal F1 include race-spec dampers and springs adjusted to their softest settings, 17-inch wheels, a transmission cooler, two more radiators and a modified exhaust system. What it doesnÂ’t have is the barren interior from the hardcore LM. Instead, McLaren gave it an upgraded air conditioning system, radio, new headlights and a different steering wheel. That means you have the more aggressive performance with a slightly more comfortable living space, a combination we like. McLaren says it made all these changes over two rounds of modifications in 2000 and 2001. The car was also repainted from its original blue to the silver you see now in that timeframe.  This particular F1 has 13,352 miles on the odometer, and it has been given a full written history and evaluation by MSO. WeÂ’re sure itÂ’s going to nab many millions of dollars. To whoever ends up purchasing this fine McLaren, we envy you greatly.

McLaren and Red Bull refused to accept elimination qualifying compromise

Formula 1's failure to change its under-fire elimination qualifying format was sealed when McLaren and Red Bull refused to accept anything other than ditching the shoot-out idea completely, Motorsport.com has learned. In another dramatic twist to the saga surrounding F1's qualifying system, sources have confirmed that the two outfits were unwilling to play ball with an alternative solution that had been put on the table by the FIA this week. And without their support - and the need for unanimous backing for any change to go through - the idea to tweak elimination qualifying was left dead in the water, with no time left to do anything other than keep the system that proved so unpopular in Australia. FIA plan After the shambolic end to Q3 in Australia, teams had unanimously agreed in Melbourne to ditch elimination qualifying and go back to last year's system for the next race in Bahrain. However, a decision was made by the FIA to not go that far and abandon the positive aspects of the change. Instead it wanted to give the shoot-out system another try, albeit in an improved format. This week therefore, teams on the Strategy Group and F1 Commission found themselves only able to vote on a revised format to elimination qualifying proposed by the FIA, where the new-style Q1 and Q2 would be extended, and Q3 would revert to how it was last year. One theory as to why teams were only given this option to vote on was that it would effectively force their hands to accept it, as they would be highly unlikely to reject it and keep the Australian system that was so universally criticised. However, if that was a motivation for not giving teams the option of going back to last year's system, then it failed entirely because McLaren and Red Bull refused to support it and did not vote in favour. Without their support, the vote did not go through, meaning that F1 is heading to Bahrain with the same under-fire elimination qualifying format that was run in Australia – and little prospect of it delivering a better show in Q3 this time. F1 criticism In a week when the GPDA spoke out about F1's 'obsolete' rules structure, and the sport making a bold move away from free-to-air TV in Britain, the inability of F1 to get rid of a hated qualifying format has left it facing further criticism.