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McLaren P1 squares off against Porsche 918 in Evo track battle

Evo's side-by-side comparison of the McLaren P1 against the Porsche 918 Spyder isn't the first time we've seen England and Germany's ultimate automotive weapons sized up together; last month, Autocar tested them over the standing mile, with a Ducati 1199 Superleggera playing the joker. Evo throws a few curves at its test, though, taking the supercars to Anglesey Circuit in Wales to see which will lay down the fastest lap time with scribe Jethro Bovington at the wheel. In case the numbers haven't yet been seared into your memory, while both are assisted by electric motors, the 3,069-pound, rear-wheel drive P1 gets on with 903 horsepower and 664 pound-feet from a 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V8. The 3,750-pound, all-wheel-drive 918 Spyder does its job with 795 hp and 575 lb-ft surging out of a naturally aspirated, 4.6-liter V8. We're not told know which circuit layout he uses for the test, but both cars comfortably eclipse the mark set by the fastest coupe Evo's driven around it so far, the Ferrari 458 Speciale. Then, in an epilogue occasioned by a tire change, one of the supercars comfortably eclipses its own time again, before Bovington declares one the master of the track and the other the ruler of the street. Enjoy finding out which is which in the video above.

McLaren 650S replacement spotted at LAX and in Spain

With the McLaren 650S quickly approaching its fourth birthday, the British automaker is hard at work on putting its successor on the road by 2018. The replacement to McLaren's entry in its Super Series lineup wasn't expected to arrive until 2017 with a debut slated for the Geneva Motor Show. The latest spy shots of the new model, which is codenamed P14, testing in Spain reveals that the supercar is well underway. The undisguised prototype displays a radical design change from the rest of McLaren's lineup, which has been criticized for its ubiquity. The front of the spied prototype features McLaren's iconic rounded nose, but has numerous aerodynamic touches. The hood, which is similar to the one found on the McLaren 570S, has two triangular scoops, while slender LED headlights mimic the ones found on the P1. There are two large vents at the bottom of the front end, which will surely aid the supercar in creating a massive amount of downforce. Along the side, the P14 prototype features angular lines with a duct at the front of the door, which is a change from the rest of its supercars that have a large duct towards the rear of the vehicle. The prototype is wearing similar wheels to ones found on the McLaren P1, as well. At the back, the P14 still features centrally-positioned exhaust tips, but are round instead of the square-like ones on the 650S. The engine cover has been redesigned and looks similar to that of the P1's, while the entire rear ditches the 650S' square-like rear end for a more curvy design. The taillights share a similar design to single LED units found on the 570S and P1. The large panel gaps towards the top of the rear end also have us thinking that the supercar will have some sort of active aero. Autoblog reader Nicholas Haggard also sent in a couple of photos of the prototype at Los Angeles International Airport. That prototype, which was heavily camouflaged wore a different set of rims that matched the ones found on the 650S. The sleek front end and profile of the prototype has us believing that it's identical to the one that was testing in Spain. While the P14's design is supposed to be a large deviation from McLaren's lineup, it looks like a lovechild of the 570S, 650S, and P1, which isn't a bad thing. The supercar is expected to utilize the same carbon monocoque architecture and the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 that's found throughout McLaren's lineup.

McLaren says it 'is a sports car brand' and won't make SUVs

You can add McLaren to the list of luxury and sports car companies to say it will not build an SUV, the automaker's CEO Mike Flewitt telling Bloomberg, "We need to remain very focused. McLaren is a sports car brand and that's exactly what we're going to remain." In spite of those words, in order to save his voice, Flewitt should get business cards made printed with that response, since the question will certainly keep being asked. And if the coming Lamborghini and Bentley SUVs do well, observers will expect Flewitt's ideas on the subject to "evolve," no matter what he or Ron Dennis says publicly. The evolution we refer to has taken place at BMW, which was never going to make a M version of its SUVs, and Porsche, which said it wouldn't make an SUV smaller than the Cayenne. Furthermore, there's Rolls-Royce, whose CEO said the company hadn't even considered an SUV because it wouldn't fit the brand's values, meanwhile rumors abounded that the company was gauging customer reaction to a sketch of a concept SUV adorned with the Spirit of Ecstasy. And five months later that same CEO said the company was "intesively thinking" about building one. Those are but few and recent examples. If McLaren doesn't waver, it will join Ferrari as the only pure-sports car company holdouts. Featured Gallery 2015 McLaren P1: First Drive View 39 Photos News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Copyright 2014 AOL McLaren Performance Mike Flewitt