2022 Mclaren 720s Spider Performance on 2040-cars

Auto blog

McLaren trying to raise millions by putting its HQ, historic cars up for collateral

The McLaren 765LT in its debut at the company's Woking, England, headquarters. / AP   LONDON — McLaren is looking into various funding options to help the sports car maker and Formula One team owner negotiate the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesman said on Thursday. Sky News reported that British-based McLaren was seeking to raise up to 275 million pounds ($335.61 million) by borrowing against its Woking headquarters and extensive collection of historic racing cars. It quoted sources as saying McLaren, advised by JP Morgan, could raise the money in the form of new bonds with funding secured from existing or new bondholders. A request for a 150 million-pound loan from the government was recently rejected, according to media reports. "Like many other British businesses McLaren has been severely affected by the current pandemic and we are therefore exploring a variety of different funding options to help navigate these short-term business interruptions," the spokesman said, without giving details. McLaren were the first Formula One team to furlough staff in April because of the new coronavirus, with drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz joining senior management in taking a pay cut. The company said then that the temporary three-month wage reduction was part of wider cost-cutting measures due to the impact of the pandemic on its business. The Formula One season has yet to start, a blow for teams who rely on sponsorship and a share of the sport's revenues for much of their budgets. The team announced on Thursday that Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo would be joining in 2021, with Sainz heading to Ferrari. The McLaren Group, including the luxury carmaker and applied technology arm, employs some 3,700 people with around 850 working for the F1 team. McLaren has a collection of cars driven by the likes of the late founder Bruce McLaren and Brazilian triple champion Ayrton Senna. The Formula One team are the second most successful in the sport's history, after Ferrari in terms of race wins and championships, and gave Mercedes' six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton his debut in 2007. The company is majority owned by Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat. Related Video:       (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)

U.S. issues new tariff threat, this time against British-built cars

WASHINGTON — Britain is the United States' closest ally but their long friendship may be sorely tested as the two countries try to forge a new trade agreement after Britain's exit from the European Union. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday in London that he was optimistic that a bilateral deal with Britain could be reached as soon as this year. But Mnuchin gave up no ground after a second meeting with his UK counterpart, Sajid Javid. Javid has insisted that Britain will proceed with a unilateral digital services tax, despite a U.S. threat to levy retaliatory tariffs on British-made autos. Mnuchin told reporters after Saturday's meeting that such taxes would discriminate against big U.S. tech companies like Alphabet Inc's Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. The UK Treasury declined to comment on the private meeting. The divide highlights the challenges ahead as the Trump administration seeks a new bilateral agreement with Britain, part of a broader push to rebalance relations with nearly all its major trading partners. The stakes are high — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pegged the trade deal with United States as a way to ease the pain of breaking with Europe, Britain's largest trade partner. U.S. President Donald Trump, has promised a "massive" trade deal to support Brexit, the product of a populist movement similar to his "America First" agenda. The goodwill and special relationship the two countries have enjoyed for decades may not count for much, experts say. "Trump is not going to be doing Johnson any favors," said Amanda Sloat, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington. "He's not going to give him a trade deal without major concessions." Even before the digital tax issue arose, the Trump administration threatened to tax foreign car imports, which could hit British-made Jaguar, Land Rover, Mini, and Honda Civic hatchback cars. Stiff U.S. trade demands include increased access for U.S. farm goods, concessions that will be difficult for Britain's entrenched natural food culture to swallow. The United States also wants Britain to change the way its National Health Service prices drugs and allow in more U.S. pharmaceuticals, which could prove politically unpopular for Johnson's government. Washington's demand that London block Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd for national security reasons could also cloud talks.

McLaren bringing unique P1 MSO to Pebble Beach

With only 375 examples to be made (170 of which have already been completed), you can bet that few of the McLaren P1s to leave the factory in Woking will be the same. But for those looking to further distinguish their supercar, McLaren Special Operations is glad to meet the customer's individual requests, and will be bringing two examples of its latest work to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this year, the same place where MSO was launched three years ago. The most noteworthy is a P1 commissioned by a North American customer who had MSO outfit his hybrid hypercar to unique specifications. It's done up in Stirling Grey metallic with a satin nickel Stealth Pack, gloss carbon fiber and McLaren's trademark shade of orange detailing everything from the brake calipers to the rear wing brackets. The buyer also had MSO install 24-carat gold heat shielding around the engine bay and inconel exhaust, just like the original McLaren F1, a custom aluminum grille and an interior decked out in carbon fiber, Alcantara, a custom steering wheel and more orange and satin nickel detailing. Alongside this unique P1, MSO will also be showcasing a unique 650S Spider commissioned by the Newport Beach dealership in Cerulean Blue metallic flake and satin carbon trim. See the press release below for all the details on both these bespoke takes on already-exclusive supercars. Of course the bigger news, however, is the P1 GTR track car that will be unveiled at Pebble this year as well. McLAREN SPECIAL OPERATIONS RETURNS TO PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE TO SHOWCASE THE LATEST MODELS Three years after launching at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, McLaren Special Operations (MSO) will return to the fairway of the 18th hole at the famous Pebble Beach automotive weekend with unique examples of the McLaren P1™ and the recently launched MSO 650S Spider. The bespoke McLaren Special Operations division was launched in 2011, and offers a full personalisation service for McLaren owners. The dedicated division grew out of McLaren's Customer Care programme, which goes back more than 20 years to the days of the McLaren F1 roadcar, and continues to look after servicing and maintaining cherished F1s for owners, as well as undertaking personalisation work for all McLaren models. Commissioned by a North American customer, the McLaren P1™ to be shown features a host of bespoke options which subtly mark this car out, and is on display publicly for the first time.