2022 Mclaren 720s Spider Performance on 2040-cars

Auto blog

This never-registered 1997 McLaren F1 is for sale, if you have the cash

As many of you readers may know, when it comes to Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, they're always worth more over time if they remain in their protective packaging – especially rare or unusual models. Clearly the person that ordered this 1997 McLaren F1 had that mindset, and we wouldn't be surprised if the same principle will apply to this car. This 1997 McLaren F1, previously reported on by Autoweek and being sold by U.K. dealer Tom Hartley Jnr, is remarkable because it has just 148 miles on the odometer, which the dealer claims is the lowest of any F1 in the world. Apparently the owner didn't even register the car for driving on the road. Not only that, but the car is basically in the condition it was in when it left from the factory. Everything on it is well-preserved because nothing has really been used, and everything is still carefully wrapped up in its protective packaging. The dashboard, floors and seats are all lovingly (obsessively?) taped up in foam and plastic. The floor mats are still in their plastic wrap, never having been used. The same goes for the car's fitted luggage and specially ordered F1 LM-style exhaust and F1 GTR-style suede removable steering wheel. Of course other trinkets remain with the car, too, but have since lost their protective trappings. The car comes with the matching Tag Heuer watch with the car's serial number on it, the complete tool cabinet, on-board tool roll and build book. The car was built for a buyer in Japan. Amusingly, this car is listed as a "right-hand drive" model for that market, which is irrelevant considering the car's center driver's seat. One other custom touch to the car besides the exhaust and steering wheel is the carbon fiber seat with yellow center accents. Tom Hartley Jnr does not have a price listed for this F1. We're willing to bet that the dealer will be expecting some extraordinary offers, though. Recently, the first McLaren F1 imported to the U.S. went for the whopping cost of over $15 million. That car was likely boosted by provenance and the inclusion of unique U.S. homologation parts, but it also had seen plenty of use with an odometer that had clicked over 9,600 miles. Though this yellow model doesn't have special history like that one, the fact that it's effectively a new car as delivered from the factory should make it extremely valuable. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren and Fernando Alonso will enter the Indianapolis 500 next year

SAO PAULO – McLaren and two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso will enter next year's Indianapolis 500, the team announced on Saturday. It will be the second time the Spaniard has taken part in the race, which he led in 2017 before retiring with an engine problem. The 37-year-old, who is also competing for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship, is leaving Formula One at the end of this season and the May 26 date in Indianapolis will not clash with any commitments. Alonso is a double Monaco Grand Prix winner and also won the Le Mans 24 Hours this year, leaving only Indianapolis between him and becoming only the second driver to achieve the 'Triple Crown of Motorsport'. The late Briton Graham Hill, also a two-times Formula One champion and who died in 1975, is the only one to have done it, completing the triple in 1972. "I've made clear for some time my desire to achieve the Triple Crown. I had an incredible experience at Indianapolis in 2017 and I knew in my heart of hearts I had to go back if the opportunity was there," Alonso said in a statement at the Brazilian Grand Prix. "I'm especially glad to be returning with McLaren. This was always my first choice if the team decided to do it, so I'm delighted they've decided to go ahead. "It's a tough race and we'll be up against the best, so it will be a huge challenge. But we're racers and that's why we race." Alonso missed the Monaco Grand Prix last year to compete at Indianapolis, no great loss for him given McLaren's then woes with an uncompetitive Formula One car and unreliable Honda engine. Former F1 champions McLaren are three-time Indy 500 winners – in 1972 providing a car for Mark Donohue as a private entry and in 1974 and 1976 as a works entry with Johnny Rutherford. They will compete at The Brickyard next year as McLaren Racing. "McLaren has a long and fond relationship with the Indianapolis 500 and it's a case of unfinished business for us with Fernando," said team principal Zak Brown, who had already ruled out a full IndyCar season. "No Indy 500 is a cakewalk, it's a massive challenge. We have the utmost respect for the race and our competitors. So, we are under no illusions. But McLaren are racers first and foremost, as is Fernando. We're going for it." (Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Fallon)Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Motorsports McLaren Racing Vehicles IndyCar

Race recap: 2016 Monaco Grand Prix gets very wet, a little wild

More than at any other race, the Monaco Grand Prix question is: which combination of demolition derby, Safety Cars, and bad pit strategy will decide the podium? Last year Lewis Hamilton's late, confounding pit stop cost him victory. The year before, Nico Rosberg's qualifying "mistake" put him on pole and Mercedes-AMG Petronas' pit strategy sealed his win – good for Nico, bad for Hamilton and the rest of the field. In 2013 Hamilton dropped from second to fourth when he lollygagged in the pits. In all three years, Rosberg won. The new X factor for 2016: a Red Bull resurgence that helped Daniel Ricciardo clinch his first career pole. Nevertheless, bad pit strategy had its say in the results. Ricciardo built up a 13-second lead by Lap 15 in spite of heavy rains that forced the Safety Car to lead the first eight laps of the race. Ricciardo stopped on Lap 23 to switch to intermediate tires for the drying track, ceding the lead to Hamilton. Hamilton pitted from the lead on Lap 31 for softs, then Red Bull pulled Ricciardo in again on Lap 32 and made a snap decision to put him on ultra softs, but the tires weren't ready when Ricciardo reached his pit box. What should have been a three-second pit stop turned into a 13.6-second pit stop. Ricciardo left the pits as Hamilton came down the straight and the Aussie lost the lead into the first corner. Despite two attempts to pass later in the race, Hamilton finished first, the Aussie second. It's the second race in a row where pit strategy cost Ricciardo a near-certain win. Conversely, Force India nailed both tire strategy and pit timing with Sergio Perez. The Mexican started in eighth but got into third before half the race was done, passing four cars in the pits, and finished on the podium's final step. Otherwise the order barely changed from about half distance, with Ferrari driver Sebatian Vettel in fourth, followed by Fernando Alonso in the McLaren, Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India, Rosberg in the second Mercedes, Carlos Sainz for Toro Rosso, Jenson Button in the second McLaren, and Felipe Massa taking the final point for tenth for Williams. Storms didn't only hover over the area, though – dark clouds hung around several teams and drivers. Mercedes' reliability is no longer so reliable. The Silver Arrows suffered engine issues on both cars in qualifying, and Hamilton's problem almost kept him from setting a time in Q3.