2019 Mclaren 720s Performance on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2015 McLaren 650S Spider [w/video]

It seems like only yesterday that we enjoyed a mad dash in McLaren's wild P1 hybrid wallet-breaker. Now here we are, already back with the Brits, this time in on the great roads of southern Spain and at Ascari Race Resort as McLaren launches what has already become its most important seller, the 650S. Available as both a $265,500 coupe and as a $280,225 roadster, we will focus hard here on the Spider since it's the greater conversation piece and will account for nearly ninety percent of North American deliveries. The car's very first US customers are taking delivery as you read this. Though the 650S essentially takes what was offered in the original MP4-12C, pumps it all up and refines it nicely, this new member of the McLaren clan looks more like a P1, albeit one costing over three-quarters of a million dollars less than the real deal. Truth be told, 12C production ceased in January to allow 650S production to ramp up, and the new car will therefore serve as McLaren's entry-level model until its rumored Porsche 911- and Aston Martin V8 Vantage-rival comes along. There were a handful of key things we hoped for in this new 650S: more power and torque than the 12C, a more finely tuned ride and handling balance no matter the H (handling) and P (powertrain) setting selected, more character from the bi-turbo V8's exhaust and a flashier, less banal design. We're pleased to report that all of these issues have been addressed. The 650S' chassis and powertrain are nearly identical to the 12C, but variations do exist. The 650S' naked chassis and powertrain are nearly identical to those of the 12C at first glance, but variations do exist. The entire top portion of the dry-sump M838T 3.8-liter V8, built up by engine kings Ricardo in the UK, has been reengineered for more urgency and less friction between moving parts. These developments lead to microscopically improved fuel efficiency and lower CO2 numbers. Similarly, the seven-speed Seamless Shift Gearbox (SSG) from Graziano is the same unit, but its software has been reprogrammed for better shift behavior both in-town and at full chat come track days. Whereas on the 12C, Pirelli PZeros have been standard-issue tires with Corsa versions as an option, the 650S jumps straight to the latter's higher-performance asymmetric treads. As to braking, there is a similar change, with the optional Akebono carbon-ceramic brakes of the 12C coming standard on the 650S.

McLaren confirms Alonso, keeps Button

Every year a big game of musical chairs breaks out in the Formula One paddock, as some drivers try to hold on to their seats, some try to grab new ones and others are left without a seat for the following season. McLaren has been extremely reluctant to announce who would be sitting in its carbon-fiber seats next season, but it's finally spilled the beans. McLaren was strongly rumored to have hired Fernando Alonso for next season, speculation over which was all but confirmed when the two-time world champion announced his departure from Ferrari. He's now been officially confirmed to be returning to Woking for next season. But the bigger question over who would be his wingman has now been answered as well, as the team has decided to keep Jenson Button on board for at least one more season. Long regarded as a top driver, Button started out with Williams back in 2000, then spent a couple of seasons in Enstone with Renault before switching to Honda in 2003, finally winning the championship in 2009 when the team went out on its own as Brawn GP (now Mercedes). He switched to McLaren in 2010 to form a dream team with Lewis Hamilton (who in turn left for Mercedes last year), but though Jenson has been unable to rack up another world title, he's remained a favorite especially of Honda's, which returns to F1 next season to rekindle its once-dominant engine-supply partnership with McLaren. Alonso, meanwhile, made his grand prix debut with Minardi (now Toro Rosso) just one year after Button, then switched to Renault first as a test driver and then got the race seat, winning back-to-back world championships in 2005 and 2006. He subsequently spent one tumultuous season alongside Hamilton at McLaren before going back to Renault and then to Ferrari, which which he spent five years, scoring eleven checkered flags to finish in second place in the standings, three times. Alonso's signing and Button's retention spell bad news for Kevin Magnussen, the young Danish driver who got his start with McLaren earlier this season after winning the Formula Renault 3.5 Series title last year. With all the other seats already spoken for, Magnussen was left with no choice but to accept a test-driver role with McLaren in the hope that he might be promoted back again in the future. McLaren-Honda prepares for 2015: laying the foundations for future domination McLaren-Honda is delighted to announce its new driver line-up for 2015: Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

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