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McLaren gets a $185 million boost

DUBAI — British supercar manufacturer McLaren Group, which includes its Formula One team, has arranged a 150 million pound ($185.2 million) financing facility with the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), the Gulf bank said on Monday. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the company hard, with sales plunging during a factory shutdown. It announced 1,200 layoffs in May. "Final documentation has been signed and all the necessary approvals have been granted in relation to a ... 150 million (pound) financing facility," NBB said. Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding Co is the majority shareholder in McLaren Group, with a 56% stake. Mumtalakat also holds a 44.06% stake in NBB while the government of Bahrain holds a 10.85% stake. McLaren's Formula One future was never in doubt despite the cash crisis, team principal Andreas Seidl said on Tuesday. "It was a tough period for the team, steering a team through these financial difficulties we were in," Seidl told reporters. "The positive news we had yesterday about the funding which is in place now, is I think an extra boost, an extra motivation for all of us who are fully focused again on what we like to do most and what we do best." McLaren was the first team to furlough staff, with drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz also taking pay cuts, and the team also went through layoffs, a move that also reflects Formula One's 2021 budget cap. "With me and (McLaren Racing Chief Executive) Zak (Brown) having detailed knowledge of what was actually going on ... there was never a doubt of McLaren not being on the grid next year," said Seidl. The financial issues had not affected this season, he added, with regular performance upgrades planned. While some infrastructure projects had been put on hold, Seidl said he was pushing to get them going again although McLaren still had to be cautious due to uncertainty over how many races there would be and the impact on revenues. The German suggested some headlines that triggered alarm, with talk of mortgaging historical cars and the McLaren headquarters building in Woking, England, or selling a minority stake in the team, reflected McLaren's search for the best possible option in terms of funding. "(It was) finding the right funding which would not only get us through this crisis but also put us in the best possible position to be competitive in the future. So I am very happy with the news from yesterday," he said.  

Now there's a McLaren P1 for every member of the family

McLaren is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the P1 in little ways — little, littler and littlest. Touting it as alternative-fueled, McLaren has announced a "foot-to-floor" P1 for the under-3-year-old set. It makes two pounding feet of torque. As McLaren says, "0-200 metres-per-hour acceleration entirely biscuit dependent." This joins the McLaren P1 electric Ride-On, for the slightly older brother or sister. Now, this baby can do up to 3 mph. And that leaves the McLaren P1 Tecnomodel collectible for mom or dad, since all 375 examples of the real P1 were sold. Speaking of which, the "foot-to-floor' McLaren costs GBP35.99, or about $40. It becomes available on England's This Is It website in December and will ship in time for Christmas. The electric Ride-On from Avigo/Huffy costs $199 stateside at Toys R Us. And the tiny Tecnomodel starts at GBP345 (about $388) and is available at the Tecnomodel website. All three of the mini McLarens come in Volcano Yellow. McLaren's got the pedal down on other licensed P1 products as well. You can get die-cast models from AutoArt, TSM, Kyosho, Motormax, Kinsmart and Hot Wheels; resin models from Amalgam, TSM and Tecnomodel; and Scalextric slot cars. An Airfix 'Quick Build' model kit is available. And there are RC models from New Bright, Rastar and Maisto. View 5 Photos Related Video:

Awaiting Chevy Trailblazer, driving Ford Ranger | Autoblog Podcast #580

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Green Editor John Beltz Snyder. First, they discuss the news, including the Chevy Trailblazer, Ferrari to stop providing Maserati with engines, an upcoming Ferrari Hybrid, Elon Musk's sex jokes and the reveal of the McLaren GT. They also talk at length about a couple vehicles they've been driving: the Kia Niro EV and the Ford Ranger. Autoblog Podcast #580 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Chevy Trailblazer could be coming to the U.S. Ferrari to stop supplying engines to Maserati Ferrari to reveal a hybrid supercar Sex on Autopilot McLaren GT revealed Cars we're driving: 2019 Kia Niro EV 2019 Ford Ranger Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Chevrolet Ferrari Ford Kia Maserati McLaren Tesla Truck Coupe Crossover Hatchback Electric Future Vehicles Hybrid Off-Road Vehicles Performance Supercars