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New Forza Horizon 2 pack features Chevy Monte Carlo SS, Audi RS6 Avant [w/video]

The latest car pack for Forza Horizon 2 is hitting Xbox Live today, giving Xbox One owners a shot at six new vehicles that date back to 1970. Leading the charge in the hearts and minds of the Autoblog staff is, of course, the 1988 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, one of the most 80s-tastic performance coupes of its time. Chevy's 80s-era NASCAR representative is joined by another General Motors performance two-door, in the form of the 1970 Buick GSX. Complete with a 455-cubic-inch V8, the GSX could best be thought of as the grandpappy to the iconic GNX of the late 1980s. Crossing the pond, we have a trio of offerings from the United Kingdom, with the 2002 Lotus Esprit V8, the redesigned, aluminum-intensive 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged and finally, the 2015 McLaren 650S. The mid-engined offerings should be a riot on the winding roads of Forza Horizon 2's European locales, while the Range Rover should make cross-country efforts an absolute breeze. Finally, virtual wagon lovers will be able to enjoy the 2015 Audi RS6 Avant and its combination of Quattro all-wheel drive and a twin-turbocharged V8. As per usual, this latest car pack will be available to gamers for $5 while season pass owners will score the sextet of vehicles for free. Scroll down for a video of the new offerings in action, as well as the official press release from Turn 10 Studios. "Forza Horizon 2" NAPA® Chassis Car Pack Now Available The roads and countryside of "Forza Horizon 2" beg for you to leave your mark on them. The NAPA® Chassis Car Pack for "Forza Horizon 2" on Xbox One has arrived, bringing five amazing new cars to blaze trails, break records, or just enjoy a casual cruise in. First off, the new McLaren 650S Coupe's uncanny acceleration and preposterous top speed will satisfy the elitist in you. If you want get away from it all, there's no better way than in the Supercharged Land Rover. Need muscle? Take the classic form of the Buick GSX or the later model Monte Carlo SS for a spin. We all need more wagon in our lives and the Audi RS6 is ready to run around town or serve up surprises at the track. The NAPA® Chassis Car Pack for "Forza Horizon 2" on Xbox One is available today for $5 in the Xbox Live store. Starting today, also available this month for free for all Xbox One players is the 2002 Lotus Esprit V8.

Ron Dennis departs McLaren, ending a golden era in Formula One

LONDON - The departure of Ron Dennis from McLaren, announced on Friday, marks the end of an era for the Formula One team and a farewell to another of the sport's towering figures of yesteryear. News that would once have reverberated like a seismic shock through the grand prix paddock now sounds more like an echo from the past, however. Formula One has undergone a major shift since Dennis commanded the heights as an uncompromising hands-on leader, forging the team in his own image and achieving both unprecedented success and scandal. The sport's 86-year-old commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone went last January, sidelined by new US-based owners Liberty Media, who have since set about transforming the landscape. Before him, long-serving Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo had been ousted from the most glamorous team on the grid, and Max Mosley was replaced at the helm of the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA). Of the big beasts of old, only Frank Williams, the 75-year-old founder of his eponymous team, remains. He is in poor health, and daughter Claire is calling the shots as his deputy. McLaren, the second-most successful team after Ferrari, has meanwhile plumbed the depths - winless since 2012 and last in the current championship. The Honda partnership championed by Dennis, hoping to revive the glory years of the 1980s, has been a dismal failure and is now close to divorce. Dennis, who turned 70 on June 1, had already been relieved of his role at the team last November when fellow shareholders - Bahrain's Mumtalakat Holding Co. and Saudi-born businessman Mansour Ojjeh - brought in American marketing expert Zak Brown. On Friday, McLaren announced Dennis was selling his stake in both McLaren Automotive, the profitable sports car company that was his brainchild, and also in McLaren Technology Group. "It represents a fitting end to my time at McLaren, and will enable me to focus on my other interests," he said in a statement. "I have always said that my 37 years at Woking should be considered as a chapter in the McLaren book, and I wish McLaren every success as it takes the story forward." OBSESSIVE PERFECTIONISM Dennis, who started out as a mechanic with Cooper in 1966, joined McLaren in 1980 when he took over the team founded by the late New Zealander Bruce McLaren.

Lewis Hamilton has Vettel in crosshairs at Canadian Grand Prix

MONTREAL - The Canadian Grand Prix has been a happy hunting ground for Lewis Hamilton, and he will look to bag a sixth career win on the island circuit on Sunday to refuel his hopes of another Formula One drivers title. With 14 races remaining on the calendar, it is far from do-or-die for Hamilton, but the pressure is mounting on the Briton and Mercedes with arch rival Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari threatening to widen the gap at the top of the championship standings. Only Michael Schumacher has won the Canadian Grand Prix more times (seven), and Hamilton intends to close the gap further in Montreal as the race marks its 50th anniversary. Hamilton needs to do so, at the scene of his first ever Formula One victory a decade ago, to reel in Vettel after the German led a Ferrari one-two in Monaco and powered 25 points clear. "Montreal has been a great hunting ground for me in the past, and I plan for it to continue," the triple world champion told reporters. With five wins and five poles from previous visits to Quebec, Hamilton would normally be the favorite, but champions Mercedes are no longer the dominant team. "The Ferrari seems to work everywhere. The next 14 races are going to be very, very difficult," he said after struggling to seventh place in Monaco. "They have had arguably the strongest car all year. They look like our car which just worked everywhere last year." The race will also mark the return of twice world champion Fernando Alonso to the Formula One grid after the Spaniard skipped the Monaco Grand Prix last month to chase IndyCar glory at Indianapolis 500. Alonso turned in an impressive performance at the famed Brickyard, qualifying fifth fastest and running at the front but late in the race suffered a familiar fate with his Honda engine giving up. Little has changed at struggling McLaren during Alonso's brief sabbatical with the team still hampered by an uncompetitive Honda engine. There is plenty of reason to party around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this week with the city celebrating its 375th anniversary, Canada its 150th birthday and the Canadian Grand Prix its 50th. Williams driver Lance Stroll will be hoping to contribute to the party atmosphere. For the first time since the days of 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, the Canadian Grand Prix will have some true home interest with teenager Stroll on the starting grid for Williams.