2015 Mclaren 650s on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Alonso and Button try out Honda's Uni-Cub mobility scooter

As two of the best racing drivers in the world, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have some pretty serious wheels at their disposal. They'll both be driving the latest McLaren-Honda MP4-30 on the track this year, will likely have access to supercars like the new Acura NSX or McLaren 650S for toying around with when they're not working, and probably each have an enviable motor pool of their own at home. This, then, must have been quite a change of pace for them both. As you can see from this video tweeted by McLaren, the two highly accomplished F1 drivers hopped on a very different set of wheels recently: namely, Honda's Uni-Cub "personal mobility device." The experimental electric motorized bar stool is controlled by shifting your weight to and fro (like a Segway), but stands just two feet tall and tops out at less than four miles per hour. At that rate, it would take them almost an hour to take one lap around the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX, where the 2015 United States Grand Prix will be held in October. In that same time span, for perspective's sake, they'd be lapped more than 30 times by their rivals... so they'd better stick to the racing machinery once the championship gets under way. What happened when @alo_oficial and @JensonButton got hold of a UNI-CUBAcA?A¦ https://t.co/YP8r9z1OsG - McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 10, 2015

Chris Harris pits Aston GT12 vs 911 GT3 RS vs McLaren 650S

The Geneva Motor Show is never lacking in exciting performance machinery. And this year was no exception. Our eyes, like those of Chris Harris, were drawn by two hardcore, track-focused versions of existing sports cars. Both wore the name GT3, and now Harris has brought them together for a supercar shootout. And he's thrown one more in for good measure. Those natural rivals are the Aston Martin Vantage GT12 and Porsche 911 GT3 RS, the latter manufacturer having pressed the former to drop the GT3 name to which it claims exclusive domain. There's a great deal that separates them, of course: one's got a V12 up front, the other a flat-six way in the back. But what binds them together is a common approach of taking an existing model, stripping it down, and tightening everything up to make it more of a weapon than a grand tourer. What that means in the Aston's case is a rather high price tag, much higher than that of the Porsche. But scarce demand and speculation on the open market have left British customers, at least, paying as much for the GT3 RS as for the limited-edition Aston. And that takes both into proper supercar territory. So to show what else that kind of money can get you, Monkey has brought along a McLaren. Not the similarly track-focused 675LT, but the standard 650S... Spider, no less, and with worn hard rubber. So which one performs best on the road? Which clocks the fastest lap time on the track? And which gets Harris' vote? You'll have to watch the video for yourself to find out, but it's well worth the 25 minutes of your lunch break. News Source: Chris Harris on Cars via YouTube Aston Martin McLaren Porsche Videos porsche 911 gt3 chris harris mclaren 650s

McLaren 675LT aims at the track with more power, less weight

Rumor had it as the McLaren 650S GTR, but it's actually the 675LT – "LT" being for Long Tail – that will come to the Geneva Motor Show. This will be the track-honed, road-legal version coupe in the Super Series, getting 666 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque from its 3.8-liter V8. Combined with a weight loss of 220 pounds for a 2,711-pound dry weight, the hard-charger gets from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds, and reaches a top speed of 205 mph. Changes outside include a large carbon fiber front splitter at the base of a new front bumper, end plates ahead of the front wheels, an extra cooling intake nested in a larger door blade, and twin titanium exhaust pipes in back below a longtail airbrake that's larger yet 50 percent larger than the one on the 650S. Inside will come carbon fiber buckets inspired by those in the P1, and a "stripped out" interior. In addition to McLaren Orange, five brand new exterior hues will be available: Silica White, Delta Red, Napier Green and Chicane Grey. If the 650S had you on the fence, this might be the not-so-gentle nudge you've been waiting for. The press release below has more details. McLAREN 675LT: POWER, WITH MINIMAL WEIGHT, IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL THING - 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds; 0-124 mph in 7.9 seconds - 220 lbs weight savings makes the 675LT the lightest in its class, and gives a power-to-weight ratio of 4 lbs per bhp (549PS per ton) - 33 percent of parts are different from the 650S, which it sits alongside in the McLaren Super Series - Five unique 'By McLaren' hero specifications to be offered - Global premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2015 on stand 1240, at 12.15 CET (11.15 GMT / 6:15AM EST) The McLaren 675LT will make its world debut at the 85th Geneva Motor Show, with a clear focus on outright performance, weight reduction and ultimate levels of driver engagement – all key attributes of a 'Longtail' McLaren. Offered as a Coupe only, the 675LT will be the most track-focused, yet road legal, model in the McLaren Super Series, with a power to weight ratio that eclipses established rivals. The sprint from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) takes just 2.9 seconds, with controlled torque delivery ensuring optimized traction off the line. Acceleration continues at a relentless pace with the 124 mph (200 km/h) barrier broken in 7.9 seconds, on to a top speed of 205 mph (330 km/h). The first images of the car show a darker side of the McLaren brand than has been seen before.