2022 Mclaren 765lt Spider on 2040-cars

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McLaren sold out of the 675LT Spider in two weeks

We've come to expect a McLaren to be fast, but this latest development is measured on an entirely different scale. Just over two weeks after revealing the new 675LT Spider, the British supercar manufacturer has sold out the entire production run of 500 examples. The vehicle in question is the convertible version of the 675LT coupe introduced earlier this year and based, in turn, on the 650S in the company's Super Series. Like the coupe, the 675LT Spider packs an upgraded version of Woking's now-signature 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8, rated at a suitably devilish 666 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. The track-tuned roadster also features the extended long-tail bodywork first seen on the coupe and which gives the LT its name, but with a retractable hardtop to let in the extra-raspy exhaust note and the rapidly passing wind through the fortunate occupants' hair. And by rapid, we do mean rapid: 0-62 is quoted at 2.9 seconds and the top speed at 203 miles per hour. The commensurately quick uptake of the Spider, confirmed by company spokesman Wayne Bruce to Autoblog, is even faster than the rate at which it sold the preceding coupe. It took McLaren two months to sell out the 675LT following its introduction at the Geneva Motor Show this past March. Speaking to the prospect of another extreme take on the Super Series to follow, Bruce said the company has "No more announcements planned this year. Let's see what our customers ask of us in 2016." To coincide with the filling of its order books, McLaren released this video of Bruno Senna wringing the spider's neck out. The minute-and-a-half-long clip was shot on and around the same Portimao circuit in Portugal where we recently drove the 570S. Since you won't be able to get your hands on one yourself (unless you got your order in early), this may be the closest you'll ever get to the long-tail roadster, so check out the action in the video above. Related Video:

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.

2015 Japanese Grand Prix is a little Mercedes, a lot of zen

Just one week on from the issues in Singapore Mercedes-AMG Petronas appeared to have solved its clamp problems and everything else. Daniil Kvyat at Infiniti Red Bull Racing took the two Free Practice scalps on Friday, but when it came time for qualifying the front of the grid looked really familiar: Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took his second pole position of the season, Lewis Hamilton next to him in second. Kvyat had a hand in that, too, the Russian getting into a big accident in Q3 when he put two wheels on the grass heading into the hairpin and veered into the tire wall so hard that he flipped. That ended qualifying before a number of drivers had a chance to improve their times, Hamilton among them. That's how Valtteri Bottas got in third for Willliams ahead of Sebastian Vettel fourth for Ferrari. Felipe Massa had the second Williams in fifth, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo lined up sixth for Infiniti Red Bull Racing, a team we're going to have to enjoy watching for the rest of the season since it might not exist come 2016. Romain Grosjean gave Lotus some good news by getting into eighth, the team so strapped for cash that it couldn't get into its hospitality area, so it held press conferences outside and ate at Bernie Ecclestone's Paddock Club. Sergio Perez took ninth for Sahara Force India, and Kvyat slotted into tenth after not setting a time. The Russsian's race would begin from the pit lane once his mechanics rebuilt his car. It wouldn't be a Formula One start lately without someone at the front having clutch problems. This time it was pole man Rosberg, whose power unit got too hot and put him a few horsepower down on Hamilton through Turns 1 and 2. That's half of how Hamilton took the lead from the lights going out, and the Brit kept it throughout the race. Rosberg, however, said his race was lost when Hamilton pushed him wide through Turn 2, a move Hamilton defended. Rosberg finished almost 19 seconds behind his teammate, a gap that probably isn't fully explained by that opening incident. Hamilton's race was so uneventful that we almost never saw him on camera – that is, we saw him so much less than we usually see him when he's out in front and unpressured that Nikki Lauda said he'd ask Ecclestone why the cameras avoided him. The conspiracy theory holds that FOM was punishing Mercedes for not supplying Red Bull with engines next year.