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FIA introduces 'Hypercar Concept' for World Endurance Championship

One of the most common jabs at hypercars is the question, "Where can you drive them to their potential?" Imagine the answer being: to the checkered flag in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We're not there yet, but the FIA World Motor Sport Council took a step closer to the possibility during its second annual meeting in Manila, the Philippines. One of three initiatives the WSMC announced for the 2020 World Endurance Championship was "Freedom of design for brands based on a 'Hypercar' concept." This "Hypercar concept" would replace LMP1 as the premier class in the WEC. The dream, of course, would be seeing racing versions of the AMG Project One, Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, Bugatti Chiron, Koenigsegg Regera, McLaren Senna GTR, Pagani Huara BC, and the rest of the gang trading paint and carbon fiber through Dunlop in a heinously expensive version of "Buy on Sunday, sell on Monday." The reality is that we don't have all the details yet on the set of regulations called "GTP," but the FIA wants race cars more closely tied to road cars, albeit with the performance level of today's LMP1 cars. Exterior design freedom would shelter internals designed to reduce costs, the FIA planning to mandate less complex hybrid systems and allow the purchase of spec systems. One of the FIA's primary goals is lowering LMP1 budgets to a quarter of their present levels. Audi and Porsche budgets exceeded $200 million, while Toyota - the only factory LMP1 entry this year and next - is assumed to have a budget hovering around $100 million. Reports indicated that Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford, McLaren, and Toyota sat in on the development of the proposed class. If the FIA can get costs down to around $25 million, that would compare running a top IndyCar team and have to be hugely appealing to the assembled carmakers. The initiative represents another cycle of the roughly once-a-decade reboot of sports car racing to counter power or cost concerns. The FIA shut down Group 5 Special Production Sports Car class in 1982 to halt worrying power hikes, and introduced Group C. In 1993, Group C came to an ignoble end over costs; manufacturers were spending $15 million on a season, back when that was real money and not one-fifth of a Ferrari 250 GTO. Then came the BPR Global GT Series that morphed into the FIA GT Championship, which would see the last not-really-a-road car take overall Le Mans victory in 1998, the Porsche 911 GT1. That era would be most aligned with a future hypercar class.

F1's Fernando Alonso staying at McLaren in 2018

AUSTIN, Texas — Double world champion Fernando Alonso will stay with McLaren in 2018, the team said on Thursday in a long-expected announcement that finally ended one of the sagas of the Formula One season. McLaren did not say whether the new contract extended beyond next year. The Spaniard has endured a miserable three years with the British-based former world champions and had refused to commit to staying until he felt they could provide him with a competitive car. McLaren have gone some way towards answering those doubts by ending a troubled partnership with Honda and switching to Renault engines in 2018. "It's fantastic to be able to continue my relationship with everybody at McLaren. It was always where my heart was telling me to stay, and I really feel at home here," the Spaniard said in a team statement at the U.S. Grand Prix. "McLaren has the technical resource and financial strength to be able to very quickly win races and world championships in F1," added the 36-year-old, who won his two championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006. "Although the last few years have not been easy, we have never forgotten how to win, and I believe we can achieve that again soon." Alonso has not been on the podium since 2014, when he was with Ferrari. His last win was in Spain in 2013, again with the Italian team. McLaren is currently ninth overall, out of 10 teams, and the season ranks as the worst of Alonso's career with the exception of his debut year with now-defunct tail-enders Minardi. He has six retirements in 16 races so far in 2017, and failed to start in Russia while also missing Monaco to compete at the Indianapolis 500 in May. The Spaniard has scored points only twice. McLaren executive director Zak Brown said continuing with Alonso, as team mate to Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne, had always been the obvious thing to do. "His commitment will allow us to further improve the attractiveness and potential of the wider Group, and will ensure we head into 2018 feeling increasingly confident that we'll be able to take a meaningful step forward," he said. "Fernando fully understands and buys in to the direction we are taking. "Our shareholders have ambitious plans for the whole Group, and success within Formula One is a central pillar of that strategy. With Fernando, there is no doubt that we have a driver who can help us achieve our goal of winning again in F1." Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video:

McLaren Senna $13K model by Amalgam has a remote that operates doors and lights

Headquartered in Bristol, England, Amalgam Collection makes some of the most detailed (and most expensive) automotive scale models on the planet. After releasing a static McLaren Senna in 2018, the company thought it could do the car even better justice. So, Amalgam created a remote specifically for the 1:8 model that controls a variety of features, including the lights and the doors. Amalgam has an incredible lineup of models. We could gush about every car on the site, but some of the most notable recent examples have been a chrome Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, a 1:4 Bugatti Chiron engine, a Ferrari 488 Pista, and a Lamborghini Miura P400 SV. Amalgam is currently working on a McLaren Speedtail, a Porsche 917 Martini, and the Ferrari SP twins. Unlike Hot Wheels, however, these are not the types of models one can pile up. Buying just one requires a separate savings account. Originally, Amalgam's first Senna model cost $8,324. The new-and-improved model is listed at $13,444. This is mainly due to the new remote that comes with the model. About the size of a smartphone, the branded remote has eight different buttons. It can lock and unlock the doors, turn on the hazards, turn on the headilghts, turn on the reverse lights, open the left and right door, or turn on interior lights. The model comes in a black "presentation box" and is mounted on either a carbon fiber or leather base, all covered by a clear acrylic dust cover. Inspect the details in the gallery above and see the doors and lights in action below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.