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Alonso consults Andretti at first day of Indy 500 practice

Fernando Alonso's first official day of practice on Monday for this year's Indianapolis 500, where he will chase the second leg of racing's 'Triple Crown,' included a chat with famed driver Mario Andretti. Alonso completed the rookie orientation session in his orange McLaren Honda Andretti car as the fastest rookie with a top average speed of 221.634 mph. Alonso's fastest lap of the day in the No. 29 McLaren-Honda-Andretti was 223.025 mph, ranking him 19th among 32 drivers who practiced Monday. That was a half-second off Andretti teammate Marco Andretti, whose fastest lap was 226.338 mph. Alonso then said he soaked up every bit of advice he received from the 77-year-old. "Yeah, well, he went to the pit lane just to say hello, but he was -- he knew that we were testing at that point, so it was just a formal hello," the 35-year-old Spaniard told reporters. "But later in the garage, lunchtime, we were talking for more than one hour and a half, so we went through many, many things, from Formula One to talk about the tires here, how they perform, to talk about the tires in Formula One." Alonso, who only settled into the cockpit of an IndyCar for the first time less than two weeks ago, will be eyeing a victory on May 28 that would put him a step closer to emulating Graham Hill in winning motor racing's Triple Crown. The Triple Crown is completed with wins in the world's pre-eminent races: F1's Monaco Grand Prix, IndyCar's Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans endurance race. Alonso, a twice F1 world champion, already has two Monaco Grand Prix wins, while Andretti stands alone as the only driver to win a F1 world championship, an Indy 500 and Daytona 500. While Andretti never won the Triple Crown, Alonso hung on the revered racer's every word. "He's an amazing person and a true legend in motorsports, so every comment, every word that he says is obviously very, very important for all of us, and inside the team we are extremely proud and happy to work with him," said Alonso. By Frank PingueRelated Video: Motorsports McLaren Racing Vehicles F1 IndyCar indy

2012 Seat Exeo is Audi with the old, in with the new-ish

We know what you're thinking: This car looks an awful lot like an Audi A4. But it isn't. And it is.
Regular readers may be aware that Audi's Spanish sister-company Seat inherited the previous-generation A4 some time after it was replaced. They put some new badges on it and presto! A new flagship model for Seat.
Called the Exeo, it has now undergone a minor facelift that did nothing if not make it look even more like an Audi, if that were possible, and we got up close and personal with the new model here in Frankfurt. Check it out in our high-res gallery of live images from the show floor.

McLaren rolls out more accessible 625C in Asia

When McLaren first introduced the 650S, the initial idea was to keep the 12C it effectively replaced around as a more accessible option – particularly in certain Asian markets where buying a new car, much less an exotic supercar, is an even costlier endeavor than it is in other markets. Woking soon changed track and discontinued the 12C, but has now addressed that "entry-level" demand with the introduction of the new 625C. Based closely on the 650S, the 625C is being launched in Hong Kong and will be available exclusively in the Asia Pacific region, making this McLaren's first "regionally tailored" model. It's powered by McLaren's signature 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8, but carries the same 616-horsepower output as the 12C touted before it's demise. It also gets a softer rear suspension to make the Club model both "more refined and more accessible" than the 650S. As a result of the decrease in power, 0-62 is quoted at one tenth slower than the 650S at 3.1 seconds, while top speed and emissions figures remain the same. Asian buyers will be able to opt for coupe and convertible body-styles, but what's particularly interesting for those in other regions is that the 625C paves the way for other variants tailored to specific markets (say, like the North American one, for example) and that the nameplate ostensibly sets the precedent for a new naming scheme to usher McLaren away from its previous disparate nomenclature (12C, 650S, P1) and into a more clearly defined hierarchy. THE McLAREN 625C: THE FIRST REGIONALLY TAILORED McLAREN MODEL Sep 26, 2014 - New more refined and more accessible McLaren 625C created for the increasingly important Asian market - Based on the globally available 650S - Coupe and Spider models available from launch As McLaren continues to grow its presence globally, the British sportscar maker has announced plans for its first regionally tailored model aimed at the Asian market. The new McLaren 625C offers the greatest level of refinement of any McLaren model to date, combined with the optimised driving dynamics all McLarens are famous for. The Asian market has seen the biggest area of growth for McLaren Automotive over the past two years, not least with the entry into China in September 2013. Sales are set to grow from 20 percent in 2013 to more than a third in 2014.