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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.

'World's Fastest Gamer' competition winner lands McLaren F1 simulator job

LONDON — A Dutch sales manager whose teenage hopes of a motorsport career ended when the money ran out won an eSports competition on Tuesday to become a McLaren Formula One simulator driver. Rudy van Buren, 25, a once-promising junior go-karter, came out on top at the end of a "World's Fastest Gamer" competition that started in May and drew more than 30,000 entrants. In the all-Dutch two-man showdown, after a week of tests and virtual races that started with 12 finalists at McLaren's headquarters in Woking, England, Van Buren beat 20-year-old Amsterdam student Freek Schothorst. Van Buren had started karting at age 8, winning a Dutch junior championship in 2003, but he quit at 16 due to a lack of money. "Every boy that starts karting dreams about F1, and at a certain point that dream just vanishes," Van Buren said in a McLaren statement. "Now by winning World's Fastest Gamer, I can relive that dream." McLaren, the team of double world champion Fernando Alonso and past greats like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, were seeking to tap talent from virtual racing to help them develop their real car. Finalists were subjected to fitness and mental assessments as well as racing virtually on a variety of tracks, from Indianapolis to Interlagos. The 12, whittled down over the course of the week, included a Danish doctor, a 41-year-old French father of two, and a 23-year-old Briton who had yet to pass his real-world driving test. Van Buren was one of those with a strong resume from the world of eSports. "To think that I came to the McLaren Technology Centre for the very first time last week but am leaving here today as McLaren's newest employee is mind-blowing," he said. The competition is the brainchild of Darren Cox, whose Nissan GT Academy initiative took gamers out from behind a console and on to the real racetrack with professional works drives. "Rudy is a worthy winner and his story of being lost to racing, then rediscovering his passion though gaming and having his talent recognized by an F1 team is almost a fairytale," said Cox. McLaren, who have had a troubled three years with Honda in the real world and are hoping to rejoin the frontrunners with Renault power next season, see virtual racing as a growth area commercially. "With more than 10 million people viewing the competition, we've demonstrated the real value of eSports within F1," said McLaren's newly-appointed director of eSports Ben Payne.

This McLaren 570S Spider is great for the budding enthusiast

The new McLaren 570S Spider is a wonderful car, but it's far out of the price range for most enthusiasts. The car starts at $208,800 before any options. Still, there is an alternative. McLaren and U.S. toymaker Step2 have just announced a new version of the 570S Spider that's both far more affordable and far easier to park. Unfortunately, the audience for this car is still quite limited, though this time the barrier of entry isn't the price. Additionally, you're missing out on that sweet twin-turbo V8. The 570S Step2 Push Sports Car is aimed at the entry-level car enthusiast. Very entry level. The small push cart looks like a slightly caricaturish version of the 570S Spider. The proportions are slightly off and the wheels are a little too big, like an oversized Hot Wheel. Still, it's mostly right and looks pretty damn cool, at least for a child. Under the center-mounted seat (think McLaren F1), you'll find a small storage bin and a few cupholders. Like the bigger 570S Spider, the 570S Step2 Push Sports Car ditches anti-roll bars. This car uses Step2's Whisper Wheels to give the car a quiet and smooth ride. The car goes on sale this fall for $79.99. The car will initially launch in Ventura Orange, but more colors will be available down the line. Related Video: News Source: McLaren/Step2 Toys/Games McLaren mclaren 570s mclaren 570s spider