2012 Mclaren Mp4-12c on 2040-cars

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McLaren uses 20-year-old laptops on its first supercar

You've no doubt heard of organizations clinging to ancient technology to keep their businesses running, but probably nothing like this. A Jalopnik tour has shown that McLaren relies on a roughly 20-year-old laptop, a variant of Compaq's LTE 5280, to maintain its classic F1 supercar. Simply put, the automaker made the mistake of chaining itself to very specific technology: it needs a custom card in the computer to interface with the F1 and find out what's wrong. That's crucial to buyers who may have spent millions and would rather not see their vehicular pride and joy become a giant paperweight. The good news is that McLaren won't have to search auction sites and garage sales for decades-old tech. It's working on an updated interface that will work with PCs released this century, so you should see F1s on the roads for years to come. Let's just hope that the company's newer rides are a little more future-proof – you don't want a beast like the P1 to have a limited shelf life because of its diagnostic tools. Related Video: This article by Jon Fingas originally ran on Engadget, the definitive guide to this connected life. Image Credit: © DBURKE / Alamy Auto News Weird Car News McLaren Auto Repair Maintenance Technology Coupe Performance Supercars F1 supercar transportation gear vehicle laptop

McLaren rolls out new competition-spec 650S GT3

When McLaren rolled out its new 650S, we knew it would only be a matter of time before it would completely replace the 12C altogether. And that would include the racing version – not least because McLaren officials told us as much. And with the Goodwood Festival of Speed now getting underway in the UK, Woking's GT racing division has revealed its new GT3-spec racer. The new McLaren 650S GT3 benefits from several key upgrades over the MP4-12C GT3 that's been competing for the past three seasons in racing series like the Blancpain Endurance Series and GT Asia championship – both of whose standings it currently leads – as well as the Pirelli World Challenge, European Le Mans Series and countless local racing series. For starters, McLaren gave its GT racer a new face that not only more closely resemble the 650S (which, like the previous GT3, is also based on the 12C's chassis) but, along with the rest of the revised bodywork (and some rather intriguing-looking wing mirrors), is also more aerodynamically efficient to provide more downforce, better cooling and less drag. McLaren says the 650S GT3 also has a wider track, revised suspension geometry and will cost privateer teams less to run in whichever series they choose thanks to more robust components and a powertrain that can run longer between rebuilds. The cockpit has also been updated to make it more accommodating for drivers who often have to run it over long distances around the clock. McLaren's familiar 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 provides the motivation, mated to a six-speed competition-spec sequential gearbox. But while the same engine produces 641 horsepower in road-going spec, the FIA's Balance of Power regulations mandate it be limited to 493 hp. That actually makes it the least powerful model McLaren makes, but then, of course, the same regulations apply to all the cars against which it will be competing, so customer teams will be counting on the other revisions to help them stay at out ahead of GT3-spec versions of models like the Porsche 911 GT3, Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Ferrari 458 Italia and Bentley Continental GT. McLaren GT says it plans to build 15 examples in time for the start of next season, each selling for GBP330,000 (before tax, or about $560k). However, teams already running the current 12C GT3 will have the opportunity to upgrade theirs to 650S spec as well. Scope out the full details in the press release below.

McLaren's F1 team will 3D print parts trackside

When McLaren Racing heads to the Bahrain Grand Prix next week, the constructor will take with it something the motorsport has not yet seen trackside: a 3D printer. The Formula One team has confirmed that as an expansion of its partnership with 3D printing specialist Stratasys, it will print "race-ready" parts for the new McLaren MCL32 car in order to quickly integrate design modifications and reduce its weight. The parts include carbon-fiber reinforced nylon material hydraulic line brackets, rubber-like flexible radio cables, brake cooling ducts and rear wing flaps, which help increase the rear downforce on the car during high speeds. In most cases, 3D printing has reduced manufacturing time from weeks to days or even hours, which helps the team during testing and when readying its cars for race days. "We are consistently modifying and improving our Formula 1 car designs, so the ability to test new designs quickly is critical to making the car lighter and more importantly increasing the number of tangible iterations in improved car performance," said Neil Oatley, McLaren Racing's Design and Development Director. "If we can bring new developments to the car one race earlier - going from new idea to new part in only a few days – this will be a key factor in making the McLaren MCL32 more competitive." While the Stratasys uPrint SE Plus will perform important duties on the road, McLaren Racing employs more complex machinery at the McLaren Applied Technologies headquarters in Woking, England. Both fused deposition modelling (FDM) and PolyJet printing technologies are being used for prototyping new car models, production tooling and development of custom parts, which McLaren hopes will translate to faster race times on the track.Matt Brian wrote this article for Engadget.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: EngadgetImage Credit: Mark Thompson / Getty Images Motorsports McLaren Technology Emerging Technologies Racing Vehicles F1