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McLaren offers some more detail about its hyper-GT F1 successor

We do know the BP23 will have a hybrid powertrain and the title of most powerful and aerodynamic road-going McLaren ever. What the hell does BP23 mean? McLaren dribbled out a little more info Wednesday on its upcoming "hyper-GT" car that's due in 2019. BP2 actually means this is McLaren Special Operations' second "bespoke project" and the 3 denotes that it has three seats. Pretty simple, eh? The company will not likely use the BP23 name in production. All of these future supercars are pre-sold, McLaren says. The owners will get to personalize their cars down to the color, trim, and materials. The new sketch, released as part of the naming explainer, shows swoopy lines and big wheels. It sure looks cool, but it's a sketch. It does look to be a bit of a departure from McLaren's current design language. Perhaps the fenders are a bit more dramatic? It's clearly too early to tell. We do know the BP23 will have a hybrid powertrain and the title of most powerful and aerodynamic road-going McLaren ever. As we reported last week, the BP23 is being pitched as a successor to the three-seat McLaren F1. McLaren made 106 F1s, and the same number of BP23s will be produced. Symmetry is worth something. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren 720S MSO Apex Collection celebrates high-speed grip

McLaren continues to toy with the 720S while we wait for the supercar's next major revision. A little too late for Fashion Week but just in time for the fall/winter season, the MSO division has released the Apex Collection for the coupe. The collection name refers to apexes at five famous European grand prix circuits, the same tracks McLaren has used to test and reaffirm its brand values for more than 50 years. A crowning touch is that each car is identified with the high speed that a McLaren performance driver achieved through a particular apex. The speeds, corners, and tracks are: 103 miles per hour through Eau Rouge at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps, 85 mph through Mobil 1 Kurve at Germany's Hockenheim, 110 mph through Abbey at Great Britain's Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit, 104 mph through Signes at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, and 90 mph jinking through the Ascari Chicane at Monza in Italy. The Apex Collection builds on the 720S Track Pack, which sheds about 50 pounds and adds carbon fiber exterior trim, a sports exhaust, and the McLaren Telemetry System. Further customization involves MSO extended side sills, extended shift paddles behind an MSO steering wheel marked at the 12 o'clock position with a dual-color Alcantara, and an MSO throttle pedal and key shell. Visual identifiers outside are limited to MSO Apex logos on the rear fenders. McLaren will make three of each theme, for 15 cars total, six of them in right-hand drive, all reserved for the European market. They'll each command GBP288,813 in the U.K. ($355,641 U.S.) to take home, before options. That's a GBP36,000 ($44,200 or so) premium over the standard 720S Track Pack, but MSO throws in a few extras beyond the exclusivity. Every buyer gets a Formula 1 Paddock Pass to a grand prix, and a shotgun ride in a 720S for a Pirelli Hot Lap during the weekend.  And as a sly way to goose participation in the Pure McLaren track driving events, the English carmaker invites Apex Collection buyers to learn how to increase their skill at apex speeds at one of the courses held across Europe. Of course, a Paddock Pass and Pure McLaren combined cost a whole heap less than GBP36,000, but exclusive clubs cost exclusive money.

Alonso wants an NSX, but did Honda block him from Le Mans?

One of the biggest changes in store for the 2015 Formula One World Championship will see Fernando Alonso moving back to McLaren. That means he'll be driving under Honda power for the first time, after spending the bulk of his career driving for Renault and Ferrari. And being Honda's new poster child, as the two-time World Champion is fast discovering, has its advantages and its drawbacks. According to the latest reports, Alonso had been negotiating a clause in his contract with McLaren that could have seen him driving a Porsche 919 Hybrid at Le Mans this year, but Honda reportedly stepped in at the last minute and scuttled the plan. The drive would have been Alonso's first in the famous 24-hour race, after having had the honor of waving the flag at La Sarthe last summer. In one of the wilder rumors that emerged during the prolonged silence over his move for this season, the Spaniard was also linked to a potential return for Ferrari to Le Mans. That prospect came to naught, and now the Porsche deal has been wheeled into the garage, as well. The upcoming F1 season is expected to be one of transition, adjustment and development for McLaren and Honda, but the Japanese automaker's involvement in his hiring may not be all bad news for Alonso. Following the reveal of the new Acura NSX, Alonso tweeted "You still don't know, but one day we will be together..." followed by a series of heart-eyed smiley-face emoticons and accompanies by images of Honda's new supercar. The implication is that the two-time World Champion is expecting to get his talented hands on an NSX of his own, and we can certainly see how Honda would appreciate the imagery of Fernando driving around in its flagship. Even if it doesn't, though, we're sure McLaren would be glad to hook him up with a company car of its own – though Lewis Hamilton encountered some trouble securing (a very specific) one for himself. Even discounting the front-running F1 machinery he's been tasked with piloting on track to an impressive 32 career wins, Alonso has had some lustworthy company cars at his disposal over the years. At Renault, he had a Megane RS to drive, and during his last stint at McLaren, he had an SLR 722. But since signing with Ferrari, he's been given the keys to FCA models as varied as a Ferrari FF, a special 599 GTO, a Maserati GranCabrio, a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and an Abarth 695... and those are just the ones we know about.