2018 Mclaren 570s Spider on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically "retired" earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.
In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the "Spirit of Le Mans" for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.

Supercar group McLaren to cut 1,200 jobs amid coronavirus pandemic

British supercar manufacturer McLaren Group, which includes the Formula One team, said on Tuesday it would cut 1,200 jobs under a proposed restructuring program as it deals with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The move is expected to impact jobs across the group's applied technology, automotive and racing businesses, the company said in a statement. The cancellation of motorsport events, the suspension of manufacturing and retail activities around the world and reduced demand for technology solutions have hurt the group's revenue generating activities, the company added. "It is a course of action we have worked hard to avoid, having already undertaken dramatic cost-saving measures across all areas of the business. But we have no other choice but to reduce the size of our workforce," Executive Chairman Paul Walsh said. The job cuts represent more than a quarter of the group's workforce of just over 4,000, according to Sky News, which first reported the news. The group is majority owned by Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat. McLaren was the first Formula One team to furlough staff in April because of the pandemic. It has a headcount of just over 800 people, which is expected to be reduced by around 70. Formula One is due to introduce a $145 million budget cap next year as the sport seeks to cut costs and help the 10 teams survive. McLaren is the second most successful team after Ferrari in the sport's history and gave Mercedes' six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton his debut in 2007. It finished fourth in 2019 and has just signed Australian Daniel Ricciardo to partner Britain's Lando Norris in 2021. Sky News reported on May 14 that McLaren was seeking to raise up to 275 million pounds ($339.57 million) by borrowing against its Woking headquarters and collection of historic racing cars. Related Video:    

McLaren 600LT Spider to show its drop top next week

McLaren is adding yet another Longtail variant to its expanding stable of supercars, as teased in the video above. The company doesn't explicitly say it, but it's clearly the McLaren 600LT Spider. The upturned exhaust is the first clue that it's based on the 600LT, and as the camera pans around, we see the car's shadow has a gap where the roof is missing. Since this new McLaren is a derivative of the 600LT coupe, we assume it will make the same 592 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. Those ponies ought to sound much sweeter without a roof in the way. The 600LT Spider will probably weigh about 200 pounds less than the regular 570S Spider, similar to the weight difference between the coupes. And if the 570S Spider is anything to go by, there shouldn't be much, if any, difference in performance between fixed- and removable-roof 600LT models. McLaren will reveal the car on January 16, so we won't have to wait long for all the delectable details. When it launches, it will be the fifth McLaren model to have the Longtail's LT designation. It won't be the first convertible, though, since McLaren made a 675LT Spider a few years ago. Related Video: