2023 Mclaren Artura on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Oregonians use supercar collection to make sick children smile

Portland, Oregon couple Eric Peterson and his wife Amity own ten exotic cars and, said Amity, they "didn't want the cars to sit." Instead of the random track day or regular trips to Cars 'n' Coffee, they started a project called Dream Drives for Kids, which brings ill youngsters to the Peterson garage and takes them for a ride in the car of their choice. The couple aims to take a new kid for a ride every week. Portland's KGW news covered the project while a four-year-old named Gideon, who has a rare childhood melanoma, stopped by for a jaunt in a McLaren MP4-12C. And Gideon's a champ in his own right: the kid likes cars so much he would take Hot Wheels to other sick children in the ward, and he gave the Petersons a box of Hot Wheels gift sets to give to other children when they come for rides. You can watch the heartwarming segment in the video above. News Source: Eric Peterson via YouTube, Motor Authority McLaren Coupe Luxury Performance charity portland

McLaren F1 poaches Jost Capito from VW WRC

The executive shuffle continues at the McLaren Formula 1 team with news that Ron Dennis has lured Jost Capito away from his position as head of Volkswagen Motorsport. Capito will become the CEO of McLaren Racing, replacing Jonathan Neale who took the position on an interim basis at the beginning of 2014 to replace Martin Whitmarsh. Whitmarsh, who had been with McLaren for 24 years and spent five of them as F1 team principal, left the company after being moved out of the CEO position. Neale, on the other hand, who has been with McLaren Racing since 2001, is moving over to the newly created position of COO of the McLaren Technology Group. Capito left the Ford SVT division in 2012 to run VW Motorsport, and has spent the past three years shepherding the brand's World Rally Championship to three consecutive driver's and manufacturer's titles. Before that, his lengthy racing resume includes developing high-performance BMW engines, winning the Dakar Rally as a co-pilot, executive positions with Sauber in the early nineties, and managing Ford's WRC team. Dennis, who first approached Capito last summer, called him, "extremely impressive, competitive, and ambitious." The Woking team has some great parts, but it hasn't been able to make the most of them comprehensively since the end 2012 season. Autosport says that Capito has the ability to make the best pieces work together, which will probably be his biggest challenge at McLaren. Capito will remain at VW until a successor is found. News Source: The GuardianImage Credit: AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau Motorsports McLaren Volkswagen Racing Vehicles F1 jost capito

McLaren flanks upcoming new Sports Series

If you think major automakers like Volkswagen and General Motors have been making the most of their technologies, just look at McLaren. The British supercar constructor developed a carbon-monocoque chassis, 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission for the MP4-12C with which it launched in 2011, and has used those basic building blocks as the backbone for everything it's done since. Next up will be the new Sports Series, and what we're looking at here is our first glimpse at a completely undisguised body panel for that new model line. Granted there's not a whole lot to see from the teaser images above, but it does show us a substantial section of the vehicle's flank. Central to its profile is the side intake, which to our eye would seem to pay homage to its earlier logo – a streamline form of its original kiwi bird mascot – it used throughout the 1970s, much as the headlamps and other elements on the 650S and P1 take their inspiration from the company's current boomerang-shaped logo. The carbon accent flows from the front wheel well into the airtake aft of the door. Like the P1 but unlike the company's other supercars to date, the wing mirrors are fixed to the door rather than the window frame, and of course the whole thing is decked out in Woking's signature shade of orange. Beyond that, we'll have to wait... but not for much longer as McLaren is set to take the wraps off its new entry-level model in a few weeks' time at the New York Auto Show. That's when and where it will join the company's existing Super Series and Ultimate Series as McLaren's most accessible and highest-volume model line yet – what the company is referring as a defining or "Black Swan" moment. It'll be built around those same building blocks but with a detuned engine to take on the likes of the Audi R8 and Porsche 911 Turbo and GT3, coming in a variety of body-styles and states of tune. News Source: McLaren via Facebook McLaren Coupe Supercars 2015 ny auto show mclaren sports series