2015 Mclaren 650s on 2040-cars

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McLaren confirms 650S ahead of Geneva reveal

McLaren has a big reveal in store for next month's Geneva Motor Show. It has just announced a new model called the McLaren 650S for the Swiss show, but at the moment, it's not saying much more, releasing just the single teaser image shown above and no real details about its new sports car. McLaren promises that the 650S sits between the MP4-12C and P1 in its lineup and says the new model incorporates the lessons from both of those supercars' development. According to the announcement, the 650S is "designed and developed to offer the enthusiast driver the ultimate in luxury, engagement and excitement, as well as dramatic yet beautiful styling." There have been at least two rumors of upcoming McLaren models in the past month, and either of them could conceivably be the 650S. A high-performance version of the 12C is rumored to boost power to around 650 horsepower, while adding carbon-ceramic brakes and a new front end. The British boutique automaker is also rumored to be working on a dedicated model between the 12C and P1 codenamed 'P15.' "All I can tell you at this stage is that the McLaren 650S being revealed at Geneva is not the much rumoured P13 and that it doesn't replace 12C," said Wayne Bruce, McLaren Global Communications Director, in an email to Autoblog. We shouldn't have to wait long to have our questions answered, because McLaren will have more details about the new model in the coming weeks before its March 4 unveiling. Scroll down to check out the teaser press release, and let us know which you think this new model is in Comments. The McLaren 650S: A New Chapter For McLaren Automotive And The Supercar McLaren Automotive will reveal at the 84th International Geneva Motor Show the latest addition to its range of groundbreaking supercars - the McLaren 650S. Designed and developed to offer the enthusiast driver the ultimate in luxury, engagement and excitement, as well as dramatic yet beautiful styling, the McLaren 650S is the result of 50 years of competing, and winning, at the highest levels of motorsport. It takes learnings from both the 12C as well as the sell-out McLaren P1™ and will be positioned between the two on McLaren Automotive's supercar grid. More details of the McLaren 650S will be announced in the run-up to the car's global reveal which will take place on Stand 1240, Hall 1 at 12.00CET (11.00GMT), Tuesday 4 March 2014 in Geneva.

McLaren releases limited-edition 650S Can-Am

McLaren is bringing one of the greatest periods in its history back to life with a limited run of 650S spiders that salute the formative years of Can-Am racing. Created by McLaren Special Operations, the 650S Can-Am will mark the 50th anniversary of the series in 2016. It tries to recapture the spirit of the era with a choice of red, orange, and onyx black paint schemes reminiscent of past liveries. MSO used carbon-fiber for the hood, front wings, retractable hardtop, tonneau cover, and air brake. There is also a quad stainless steel exhaust system tuned to give these models their own menacing note. The cabin has sport seats with Alcantara leather, carbon-fiber accents, and a plaque on the driver's door. The forged alloy wheel design also harks back to '60s racing, though the wheels are finished in a thoroughly modern gloss-black shade and secured with titanium bolts. The engine is the same mill used by the 650S, a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 making 641 hp. Just 50 examples will be sold globally, and they are due to arrive next spring. They will cost $334,500 in the US market. A spokesman couldn't say how many are coming here. Can-Am launched in 1966 at Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, and McLaren subsequently dominated the series – capturing five straight titles from 1967 to 1971. "Can-Am racing is a major part of McLaren heritage, and this latest model from MSO pays homage to the cars and the racers who played a key role in making the championship such a spectacle during the 1960s and 70s," Paul Mackenzie, executive director of McLaren Special Operations, said in a statement. ? 650S Can-Am celebrates the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Can-Am racing season ? Unique design created by the bespoke division of McLaren, MSO, and inspired by the McLaren Can-Am racers of the 1960s ? Strictly limited to only 50 examples globally, all based on the 650S Spider, and priced from GBP255,850 ? Learn more about the 650S Can-Am, and the racing heritage of McLaren, at cars.mclaren.com/650S-Can-Am McLaren established itself throughout the 1960s and 70s as a world-beating force in one of the most extreme forms of motorsport, Can-Am, winning five consecutive championships between 1967 and 1971. In honour of the 50th anniversary of the 1966 inaugural season, McLaren Special Operations (MSO) has created the limited production 650S Can-Am which takes its inspiration from the race cars of this golden age of motorsport.

2015 Japanese Grand Prix is a little Mercedes, a lot of zen

Just one week on from the issues in Singapore Mercedes-AMG Petronas appeared to have solved its clamp problems and everything else. Daniil Kvyat at Infiniti Red Bull Racing took the two Free Practice scalps on Friday, but when it came time for qualifying the front of the grid looked really familiar: Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took his second pole position of the season, Lewis Hamilton next to him in second. Kvyat had a hand in that, too, the Russian getting into a big accident in Q3 when he put two wheels on the grass heading into the hairpin and veered into the tire wall so hard that he flipped. That ended qualifying before a number of drivers had a chance to improve their times, Hamilton among them. That's how Valtteri Bottas got in third for Willliams ahead of Sebastian Vettel fourth for Ferrari. Felipe Massa had the second Williams in fifth, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo lined up sixth for Infiniti Red Bull Racing, a team we're going to have to enjoy watching for the rest of the season since it might not exist come 2016. Romain Grosjean gave Lotus some good news by getting into eighth, the team so strapped for cash that it couldn't get into its hospitality area, so it held press conferences outside and ate at Bernie Ecclestone's Paddock Club. Sergio Perez took ninth for Sahara Force India, and Kvyat slotted into tenth after not setting a time. The Russsian's race would begin from the pit lane once his mechanics rebuilt his car. It wouldn't be a Formula One start lately without someone at the front having clutch problems. This time it was pole man Rosberg, whose power unit got too hot and put him a few horsepower down on Hamilton through Turns 1 and 2. That's half of how Hamilton took the lead from the lights going out, and the Brit kept it throughout the race. Rosberg, however, said his race was lost when Hamilton pushed him wide through Turn 2, a move Hamilton defended. Rosberg finished almost 19 seconds behind his teammate, a gap that probably isn't fully explained by that opening incident. Hamilton's race was so uneventful that we almost never saw him on camera – that is, we saw him so much less than we usually see him when he's out in front and unpressured that Nikki Lauda said he'd ask Ecclestone why the cameras avoided him. The conspiracy theory holds that FOM was punishing Mercedes for not supplying Red Bull with engines next year.