2015 Mclaren 650s Coupe 2d on 2040-cars

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2015 Malaysian F1 GP springs hot, humid surprises [spoilers]

In the two weeks since Australia both Mercedes and Ferrari spoke of the improved performance from their respective cars. In Malaysia, Ferrari showed it. Lewis Hamilton still put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on pole position, but Sebastian Vettel got within two whiskers of the Brit, lining up second just 0.074 behind. Afterward, Vettel said Ferrari could win the race if everything went well. But in qualifying we didn't know how much of Ferrari's performance was truly down to the car and how much was down to the wet weather that struck near the beginning of Q2. The rain didn't hamper Nico Rosberg's run – the German said "I just didn't drive good enough" – and he took third spot in the second Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Showing what the Infiniti Red Bull Racing chassis can do when the power unit is working properly, teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat grabbed fourth and fifth. Whippersnapper Max Verstappen, in his second race, qualified in sixth with an excellent drive through the rain; just 0.030 behind Kvyat, he said he could have got fifth if he hadn't had a running problem with his brakes. Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley said he wouldn't complain about Mercedes' advantage, but Felipe Massa has spent the whole season so far banging the alarm about Ferrari's pace. He says Williams has lost its straight-line advantage, part of the reason the first Grove car is back in seventh, while Valtteri Bottas is in eighth. Between them was Romain Grosjean in the Lotus, but he got dropped two positions for a pit-lane infraction in Q2, so he'll be tenth. Ahead of him is Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber, who would lead the charge to turn in another surprise for the Swiss team. But the real surprise came from the Scuderia Ferrari, who, on a bright, sunny day proved that they don't need to add water for race-winning pace. While Hamilton got made usual awesome start at the lights, Vettel channeled that other famous German Ferrari driver and immediately cut across the track to intimidate Rosberg, maintaining his second place position into the first turn. Arguably the race-winning move came three laps later at that same turn, when Ericsson plunged in too fast and swapped ends, beaching the rear of his Sauber in the gravel trap. The safety car came out when the recovery truck emerged to retrieve the Sauber, and nearly all of the front-runners took to the pits to swap out of the medium tires. Vettel, however, didn't.

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 720S GT3 race car shown off in renderings

Just as McLaren 650S had its racing version, the 650S GT3, its 720S successor will be joined by a 720S GT3. McLaren announced the new race car and provided renderings of the finished product. Compared to the road car, the 720S GT3 will have a much larger front grille along with vents in the top of the hood and front fenders. At the back, the rear grille will also expand, and the dual exhaust outlets will migrate to the car's center. Naturally, the race car will have all manner of canards, wings and diffusers to aid aerodynamics, too. As for the mechanicals, McLaren didn't reveal too much. It will have a race-prepped version of McLaren's twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. It's connected to a six-speed sequential transmission and powers the rear wheels. The body and chassis are made with liberal amounts of carbon fiber, and it has an adjustable suspension. The car will make its racing debut in 2019, and will be available through select McLaren dealers. In North America, those include dealers in Dallas, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto, Newport Beach, Calif., and Scottsdale, Ariz. McLaren also announced some new racing programs, the most interesting of which is the Pure McLaren-GT one-make race series. It will take place at European race tracks and is open to owners of McLarens with International D driving licenses. Those owners don't need race cars, either, as McLaren provides the cars, maintenance and prep work. The series starts in 2018. The other program McLaren announced was a driver development program to help advance young drivers in their racing careers. The company signed on four drivers to race in GT4 events. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Motorsports McLaren Coupe Racing Vehicles mclaren 650s mclaren 720s mclaren 650s gt3