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McLaren 720S: First look at the new hot-blooded Englishman

"Well, they're very committed and passionate," that's how a spokesman described McLaren's engineering team. Trouble is, English passion tends to be marked by a raised eyebrow, Elgar's understated Nimrod, and elegant motorcars finished in m idnight blue. Italy trumps that with arms flung wide, Rossini's operas, and blood-red cars howling down the endless straights of Emilia-Romagna. Perhaps that's the problem for McLaren, which seems to have so far built cars appreciated by race drivers and finicky poindexters, rather than those who like a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or a Maserati because of the shape, the style, the passion, and the operatic exhaust noise. Geography doesn't help (nor do engines that sound like leaf blowers). Woking in Surrey was never going to roll off the tongue quite like Sant' Agata, Bolognese, or Maranello. All this might be about to change this afternoon, however, with the launch of the second-generation of the Super Series car, the 720S, at the Geneva Motor Show. Super Series is the middle of a hierarchy of three similar McLaren car ranges: all mid-engined with carbon-fiber tubs sharing similar hard points for the aluminum, carbon-fiber, and Sheet-Moulded-Composite (SMC) coachwork and sharing the same Ricardo-built V8 bi-turbo and seven-speed twin-clutch transmission driving the rear wheels. Known as 'entry, core and high' by engineers, it starts in the Sports Series, runs through Super and into Ultimate. (Of which there has only been one example, the 2013 P1, although the new "Hyper GT" is promised in 2019.) These cars are largely based on McLaren Automotive's inaugural car, the 2011 MP4-12C. But the 720S marks a new generation and is claimed to be 90 percent all-new. The more it changes, the more it stays the same, wrote novelist Jean-Baptiste Karr, whose 19th-century musing applies to the 21st-century McLaren. Stuff that's essentially the same: The carbon-fiber tub, though it trades the predecessor 650S's aluminum superstructure for carbon fiber. The engine is the familiar Shoreham-made, 90-degree, quad-cam, dry-sump, twin-turbo, but it's been stroked from 3.8 to 4.0 liters, with two Mitsubishi Heavy Industries twin-scroll turbochargers, similar in concept to those used in the P1. These should be capable of providing more boost lower down the rev range, answering criticisms of the old car being too peaky.

Limited-edition McLaren Elva receives heritage-laced Gulf livery

McLaren tapped into its vast racing heritage to create a Gulf-themed version of the limited-edition Elva. Its partnership with the Pennsylvania-based oil company began in the 1960s, and it continues to this day. Like every Gulf-colored car released over the past few decades, the Elva receives light blue paint with orange accents. It's not the first model to feature this color combination, and it's undoubtedly not the last, but it wears it particularly well. It's not fitted with a windshield — it doesn't need one, according to McLaren — so the separation between the exterior and the interior is blurred, and even the dashboard and the door panels are light blue. Photos of the interior haven't been released, but we spot a pair of white seats separated by a Gulf-colored panel. Oddly, the car is not equipped with a rear-view mirror. McLaren Special Operations (MSO) has already applied heritage-inspired paint colors to two examples of the Elva, and both wore a dashboard-mounted mirror. McLaren announced plans to make 399 units of the Elva, but it dropped that number to 249 after analyzing feedback from its customers. Pricing starts at $1.7 million, and the Gulf-themed model displayed at the SpeedWeek event held on England's Goodwood track illustrates one way to customize the roadster. MSO's earlier creations paid homage to Bruce McLaren's 1964 M1A race car and his 1967 M6A racer, respectively. Ansar Ali, MSO's managing director, explained the Gulf-colored Elva celebrates the renewed partnership between McLaren and Gulf. Customers are now able to order the historic blue and orange combination directly from the factory regardless of whether they're buying an Elva, a 765LT, or another one of the British company's models. SpeedWeek starts today and runs through October 18. Spectators are exceptionally banned from the event due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but you can catch all of the action online. We're expecting to see a handful of new car launches, timed supercar laps, a huge auction, and, of course, dozens of race cars going flat-out. Related Video:

McLaren Senna revealed as company's 'most extreme' road car yet

UPDATE: All the leaked figures and specifications are accurate: 789 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque from a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, delivered through a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox; 2,641-pound curb weight; 500 units total for sale (all already allocated) at a million-dollar-plus price tag. Active suspension and aerodynamics promise to keep the McLaren Senna glued to the road or track. The company says it's designed "to deliver the most intense circuit experience of any road McLaren." The long-awaited and recently-teased McLaren P15 hypercar has finally been revealed, but a little sooner than McLaren expected. It appears that the company hosted an early reveal party today and maybe wasn't clear enough about how and when people could share photos from the event, since there are a whole bunch on Twitter. Or maybe McLaren's fine with this, we're not entirely sure. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. One thing we are sure of is its name, and it's not P15. McLaren ditched its usual alphanumeric naming scheme and simply called this car Senna, which you should know as the last name of McLaren-Honda F1 ace Ayrton Senna. Another thing we know for sure is that this car is extremely... distinct. We're not sure whether we like it or not, but you won't mistake its extremely long overhang, flying saucer-looking greenhouse, or the massive wing sitting far forward at the back. Other interesting design cues include the neat glass panels in the doors, and headlights that look extremely similar to those on the 720S. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The car will of course be limited production, and be extremely fast. One Twitter user noted that just 500 will be built. Each will also have 789 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, and will weigh just 2,641 pounds. Additionally, it will cost just over $1,000,000. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Another user posted a press release that shows the very last one will be auctioned off to benefit the Ayrton Senna Institute charity. That car can be customized however the winning bidder likes with any standard options, while custom McLaren Special Operations (MSO) additions will be extra cost. The winning bidder will also get a replica of Ayrton Senna's helmet signed by Bruno and Viviane Senna.