McLaren 650S Spider Widebody, page #5

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The inside story on why McLaren will make an F1 successor

While official details are still few and far between, Flewitt confirmed the BP23 will be the fastest, most powerful car McLaren has ever built. McLaren's car-building division is keeping busy these days. It introduced the brand-new 720S during the Geneva Motor Show and its research and development department is currently working on no less than nine vehicle programs. Company CEO Mike Flewitt reiterated one of them is a long-awaited (and oft-rumored) supercar with three seats. Codenamed BP23 internally, the model will join McLaren's Ultimate Series lineup as an homage to the emblematic F1, the brand's very first road-going model. Flewitt explained the project started out as a one-off model commissioned by a collector and designed by McLaren Special Operations (MSO), a skunkworks team in charge of turning money-no-object customers' wildest dreams into road-going realities. It's difficult to keep a secret in the auto industry, especially when it comes to high-end cars, so news of a modern-day three-seater quickly spread outside of the company's headquarters in Woking, England. McLaren soon received an order for a second, identical car, and MSO agreed to build it. The orders kept pouring in. Production was bumped to 12 examples, up again to 46 to meet considerable demand, and finally capped at 106. The number was chosen because precisely 106 examples of the BMW-powered F1 were built from 1992 to 1998. View 6 Photos While official details are still few and far between, Flewitt confirmed the BP23 will be the fastest, most powerful car McLaren has ever built. It won't feature aggressive-looking spoilers, splitters, and big wings; instead, it will boast a fluid, streamlined design fine-tuned to achieve the lowest possible drag. All 106 examples will be coupes, and a convertible model has been categorically ruled out. The only technical information currently available is that power will come from a V8-electric hybrid drivetrain. However, Flewitt noted the BP23 is not being developed with racing in mind, so McLaren won't offer a track-oriented, GTR-badged version of the car like it did with the F1 and, later, the P1. Expect a luxurious, well-appointed cabin in which the driver sits front and center, and two passengers travel in individual back seats. The extensive use of carbon fiber will keep weight in check. The BP23 – a name that most likely won't be retained on the final model – is scheduled to enter production in 2019.

F1 legend Mika Hakkinen to become McLaren's public face

Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen is back at McLaren. The manufacturer announced Hakkinen is taking up a PR position at McLaren, becoming a Partner Ambassador, and it was at McLaren Mercedes that Hakkinen scored his championships in the late 1990s. For Hakkinen, the ambassador position means joining members of the manufacturer's marketing arm, so it is likely he will be seen in prominent McLaren advertisements and business ventures. In its press release, McLaren mentions executive director Zak Brown and CEO Mike Flewitt as Hakkinen's future collaborators. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. As Hakkinen says: "I've always considered McLaren to be my home in Formula 1, and I still have an enormous place in my heart for everyone in the team. Of course, the past few years for McLaren haven't been easy, but I've always believed that it's only a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' McLaren will come good again – and I want to play my part in helping that happen. "Returning to McLaren was an easy decision for me – I've never really lost contact, and I still know a lot of the hard-working men and women there from my eight-and-a-bit seasons with the team." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Hakkinen also says he drives a McLaren P1 supercar. "I'm looking forward to immersing myself in the exciting world of McLaren Automotive. I have a modern-day McLaren in my fleet of road cars, and it's a truly superb machine." Related Video:

A lighter, faster long-tail version of the McLaren 720S is on the way

The latest and greatest from Woking has barely broken cover, but McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt has confirmed to Car and Driver that there will be an even faster LT version sometime in the future. Flewitt said that the 675LT, a variant of the 650S, was so successful that it makes perfect sense to create a follow up. This will be great news for those McLaren enthusiasts that may be tempted to jump ship for the obscenely fast Lamborghini Huracan Performante that debuted in Geneva alongside the 720S. Flewitt said there was a great deal of both internal and external enthusiasm surrounding the 675LT. Expect the new version to be a lot like the 675LT: lighter, sharper, and more powerful, with some mild styling changes but not a completely overhauled design. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter in the McLaren already makes 710 horsepower and 568 lb-ft of torque. Remember, that's just the baseline. A mild bump in output is assured. No word on when the car may debut, but don't look for it anytime soon. McLaren most likely wants to give the 720S a bit of breathing room before it introduces a new model. Flewitt also suggested that an LT version of the 570S isn't off the table. As long as it's lighter, faster, and more powerful, we won't complain. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Car and Driver McLaren Lightweight Vehicles Performance Supercars mclaren 720s mclaren 675lt

UPDATE: McLaren 720S is spotted on the street already

UPDATE: We got an answer late Tuesday about the mystery 720S. McLaren's North American press contact let us know that the car is a prototype undergoing final engineering signoff. It will be here in the US only for a few weeks. Meanwhile, the engineers apparently decided to take in a hockey game. PREVIOUS STORY APPEARS BELOW: The McLaren 720S was just introduced at the Geneva Motor Show last week. Over the weekend, it - or something like it - was spotted in Raleigh, NC, outside a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game. So is it, or isn't it, the 212-mph British supercar? Redditor MyNameIsBUNS posted this image just days after the car's Geneva reveal. It sure looks like a 720S, and Autoblog Editor-in-Chief Mike Austin, who saw the car in Geneva, is certain this is the real deal. So how did it get on the road so fast? And why North Carolina? Though the price of a McLaren 720S is just shy of $300,000, that's within reach of an NHL player - based on salaries, it could belong to anyone on the Hurricanes roster. A bigger pool of potential owners would be tech-industry execs in the Raleigh Durham Triangle. One Redditor who commented on the photo said he recognized it as a press car. We doubt that, but if so, we at Autoblog are going to have to get on McLaren's signup sheet. More likely, the car belongs to the manufacturer. Meanwhile, McLaren is already offering customized versions of the 720S. If you'd like to waste a little time at work, have fun building your own supercar with the McLaren 720S configurator. View 18 Photos Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren already has a special version of the just-out 720S

McLaren hasn't wasted anytime showing a special variant of the 720S. Just a day after the standard model was shown at Geneva, it rolled out a custom version built by McLaren Special Operations. It's the McLaren MSO 720S Velocity, and is one of five custom 720S models built by the company. The Velocity is the only one on display at Geneva, though, and its other models, the GT, Pacific, Track, and Stealth, are just shown on screens at the McLaren booth. According to McLaren, the Velocity and its counterparts are meant to show buyers how the MSO division can customize a 720S to their specific tastes. The Velocity specifically features a paint job consisting of both a light pearl red and a darker shade. The light red covers the tail and sides, while the dark red covers the front and top portions of the car. The two reds fade into each other, and the dark red even fades into a red-tinted hood from MSO. Other MSO carbon fiber parts adorn the exterior, too, and custom-painted bronze wheels contrast with the red. Inside, the interior is swathed in black Alcantara with bright red leather accents and stitching. And of course, more exposed carbon fiber bits from MSO decorate the cabin. If all of this looks good to you, McLaren would be happy to build one just like it, or something completely original, for you. The company estimates the cost of a car like the Velocity at GBP335,000, which is about $407,500 at current exchange rates. The final pricing for the standard 720S hasn't been released yet, but even if it's a bit higher than the 650S, which retailed at $265,500, the MSO version commands a steep price. But for people who absolutely must have a one-off car, it might be worth it. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren 720S: First look at the new hot-blooded Englishman

"Well, they're very committed and passionate," that's how a spokesman described McLaren's engineering team. Trouble is, English passion tends to be marked by a raised eyebrow, Elgar's understated Nimrod, and elegant motorcars finished in m idnight blue. Italy trumps that with arms flung wide, Rossini's operas, and blood-red cars howling down the endless straights of Emilia-Romagna. Perhaps that's the problem for McLaren, which seems to have so far built cars appreciated by race drivers and finicky poindexters, rather than those who like a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or a Maserati because of the shape, the style, the passion, and the operatic exhaust noise. Geography doesn't help (nor do engines that sound like leaf blowers). Woking in Surrey was never going to roll off the tongue quite like Sant' Agata, Bolognese, or Maranello. All this might be about to change this afternoon, however, with the launch of the second-generation of the Super Series car, the 720S, at the Geneva Motor Show. Super Series is the middle of a hierarchy of three similar McLaren car ranges: all mid-engined with carbon-fiber tubs sharing similar hard points for the aluminum, carbon-fiber, and Sheet-Moulded-Composite (SMC) coachwork and sharing the same Ricardo-built V8 bi-turbo and seven-speed twin-clutch transmission driving the rear wheels. Known as 'entry, core and high' by engineers, it starts in the Sports Series, runs through Super and into Ultimate. (Of which there has only been one example, the 2013 P1, although the new "Hyper GT" is promised in 2019.) These cars are largely based on McLaren Automotive's inaugural car, the 2011 MP4-12C. But the 720S marks a new generation and is claimed to be 90 percent all-new. The more it changes, the more it stays the same, wrote novelist Jean-Baptiste Karr, whose 19th-century musing applies to the 21st-century McLaren. Stuff that's essentially the same: The carbon-fiber tub, though it trades the predecessor 650S's aluminum superstructure for carbon fiber. The engine is the familiar Shoreham-made, 90-degree, quad-cam, dry-sump, twin-turbo, but it's been stroked from 3.8 to 4.0 liters, with two Mitsubishi Heavy Industries twin-scroll turbochargers, similar in concept to those used in the P1. These should be capable of providing more boost lower down the rev range, answering criticisms of the old car being too peaky.

The McLaren 720S's gauge display folds away so you can concentrate on the road

Information is a good thing, but sometimes too much information can be overwhelming. One of those situations might be when trying to wring the most out of a high-horsepower mid-engine supercar like the new McLaren Super Series model, the 720S. We're guessing here. So at the press of a button, the driver can hide most of the gauge screen and clear some of the view out the windshield. This Slim Display Mode ought to come in handy when the car's new Variable Drift Control is put to the test. When drifting, visual cues outside the car are a little more important than what song is playing at the time or your fuel economy. When the large gauge screen is folded down, a smaller display strip shows the gear, tachometer, and speed. Simple enough. When the big screen is in place, the full trip computer, a round tach, and helpful gauges like fuel and temp show up. This foldy screen (McLaren calls it the Folding Driver Display) is one part of the new McLaren Driver Interface, which also includes a new 8.0-inch center screen with a revised interface to control audio, navigation, and settings. There are some hard buttons as well, although we're not sure what they control and McLaren didn't release photos of the touch screen or center stack. And yes, we've already seen the new McLaren 720S thanks to an Instagram leak, but full details on the car won't be revealed until next week at the Geneva show. Related Video: Geneva Motor Show McLaren Technology Infotainment Coupe Performance Supercars Videos Original Video 2017 Geneva Motor Show mclaren 720s

Relive Bruce McLaren's amazing story in new documentary

In the past few years, we've been privy to some excellent racing films, including the Senna documentary, and Ron Howard's Rush. It looks like the streak will continue with an upcoming documentary about Bruce McLaren, the man whose team still competes in F1 to this day. The film is directed by Roger Donaldson, who also directed The World's Fastest Indian. Based on the trailer for the film, we'll learn the story of McLaren's motorsports career from his humble beginnings to his fatal crash from the people he worked with. Woven among the period footage are words from his crew members, and, presumably, his family. Not only that, but famed racecar drivers Mario Andretti and Jackie Stewart have words about the man. It looks like the film will have more than just interview and period footage, as well. In the trailer are much more recent clips of a McLaren Can-Am racer, painted in the company's official orange color. The teaser is definitely worth a watch, and we eagerly await the release of the full documentary, whenever that may be. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Watch McLaren's 650S successor drift around a racetrack

Performing big, smoky drifts is more than just hooning around, or so McLaren says. The follow-up to the 12C and 650S is set to debut next month in Geneva, and a new video from McLaren explains that the wonderful dance that is intentionally induced oversteer actually teaches you a lot about car control. Oh, and there are plenty of clips of McLaren's new supercar to boot. Chief Test Driver Chris Goodwin gives a brief overview of the what makes a McLaren so wonderful to drive. Goodwin says that all of the high-speed track development that McLaren performs during the development stage actually makes the car better to drive at low speeds as well. Watch the video for the full brief and listen to the sounds of the new Macca's 4.0-liter twin turbocharged V8. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: McLaren Geneva Motor Show McLaren Coupe Performance Videos mclaren 650s mclaren 12c mclaren super series

McLaren's new supercar hits 124 mph in 7.8 seconds with an all-new 4.0-liter V8

McLaren is set to debut its follow-up to the 650S next month in Geneva, and the yet-to-be named second-gen Super Series model gets an all new heart to match it's new skin and bones. The 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-plane crank V8 promises to be more powerful and more efficient than the 3.8-liter mill it replaces. Expect more superlatives once we get a chance to get behind the wheel. Like the carbon-fiber "Monocage II," the new engine will provide the basis for every McLaren model over the next few years. All cars will share the engine, with tuning varying for each variant. It's a cost-effective way to provide some variety to the automaker's lineup. For McLaren's second round of cars (or third if you count the F1), expect more models to adopt a V8-based hybrid system. Currently, only the million-dollar P1 makes use of hybrid components. Along with some brief info on the new engine, McLaren revealed some performance metrics on what we assume is the new car. Frankly, the numbers are astounding. Zero to 200 km/h (124 mph) takes 7.8 seconds, a shorter time than it takes many cars to reach 60 mph. The new car will blast through the standing quarter mile 10.3 seconds. While 0-60 times aren't the best measure of performance, it does provide a good basis for comparison. McLaren also promises improved throttle response with better power and torque delivery. No word on who will be manufacturing the engine and engine components for the new V8, dubbed the M840T. The current engine, the M838T, is manufactured by Ricardo and uses Mitsubishi turbochargers, though not the one from the Lancer Evolution. McLaren recently announced some new technical partnerships, including one with BMW. It's not clear if the German automaker has had any input on this new engine. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.