2014 Mclaren Mp4-12c Spider on 2040-cars

Auto blog

F1's Daniel Ricciardo a Monaco spoiler? 'I run those streets'

MONACO - Daniel Ricciardo jokes that he has a new strategy for Monaco this year - no pitstops, just keep going all the way to the checkered flag. The rules do not allow him to do that, of course, but the comment underlines the lingering pain of last year when the Australian seized pole position but was robbed of victory by a pitstop bungle. "It sucks. It hurts," said the Red Bull driver, who finished second to Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, at the time. "I got to the pits and everyone's running around like headless chooks (chickens)." The pole position was the only one that escaped champions Mercedes last year, and Ricciardo took some solace when he then won in Malaysia after Hamilton suffered engine failure. Title rivals Hamilton and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, separated by just six points and with two wins apiece, will be the favorites in Sunday's showcase race around the metal-fenced streets. But Ricciardo reckons he can again muscle in on the action, even if his car's Renault engine is down on power. "Regardless of where the car is at come Monaco, I'm certainly confident going there," he said at the previous Spanish Grand Prix, where he finished third. "I certainly feel like I run those streets ... I already get excited thinking about Monaco, I love that place. It's cool," he added. "The memories of last year are still more sweet than bitter so I'm just excited to get another chance this year." MILESTONES IN MIND Both Hamilton and Vettel have their own milestones in mind on what promises to be a sunny week in the Mediterranean principality for the two multiple title winners. Vettel, the championship leader, is aiming to become the first Ferrari driver to win in Monaco since Michael Schumacher in 2001 -- almost ancient history as far as Formula One is concerned. Hamilton meanwhile can equal his late, great idol Ayrton Senna's career tally of 65 pole positions on the 30th anniversary of the Brazilian's first Monaco win. Mercedes are going for their fifth successive Monaco win, with Hamilton triumphant last year after three victories in succession for now-retired champion Nico Rosberg. The title duel, in the sixth and slowest round of the championship, will also be about absent friends and returning heroes. Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion who called it a day last year, will be filling in for Spaniard Fernando Alonso at McLaren while the double champion takes on the Indianapolis 500 on the same weekend.

2018 McLaren 720S Drivers' Notes | Menacing middle child

It's been seven years since McLaren launched the MP4-12C (later simplified to just 12C), the vehicle that kicked off the British brand's three-tiered assault on the supercar market. The Sports Series is currently made up of the 540, 570, and 600 lineups. The 720S is the only member of the Super Series, one rung higher up the ladder from Sport and one below the Ultimate level of the McLaren Senna. The McLaren 720S is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine that spins out 710 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. That's sufficient to push the sinewy supercar from 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 212 miles per hour. We tested two different 720S models. The silver car pictured here boasts a number of options, including a Luxury package that adds exterior trim in Dark Palladium, engine bay ambient lighting, and premium leather for the heated and power-operated seats. Our test car was also fitted with a front splitter, air intakes, and door mirrors in carbon fiber, and a sports exhaust system. Total price came to $342,135. Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: The McLaren 720S is one of the most impressive vehicles available to buy today. It looks incredible, with swoopy good looks that capitalize on air intakes that cut deep into the car's bodywork to create negative space and add drama to the supercar's design. And it drives even better. My test car was a shade of silver that I don't really think does the car any favors, and doesn't stand out like the purple-hued 720S my colleagues in Michigan drove. Still, as I shrieked down highways and byways in and around Seattle, the McLaren had no problem attracting admiring stares and inciting impromptu rolling drag race offers. These, naturally, I declined. I already knew I had the fastest car on the block. The 720S is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine that feels like a major advancement from the company's older 3.8-liter unit. It revs like an F1 car, plowing through first and second gears so fast that its driver is squarely into suspended-license speeds in the blink of an eye. But despite its headline-grabbing spec sheet, the 720S can actually be quite docile out on the road. Comfort mode softens the 720S nicely for bumpy, potholed roads. Sport mode stiffens everything up perfectly, and Track mode loosens up the electronic nannies so far that I wouldn't use it on the street. It is Track mode, after all.

Arrow McLaren teams with streetwear brand Undefeated for new Indy 500 look

McLaren cares so much about appearance that the team missed track time before its bungled 2019 Indianapolis 500 attempt because the car's paint scheme didn't precisely match its signature papaya orange shade. And yet despite such particular tastes, McLaren has opened its design process to outsiders. The team collaborated with high-end streetwear brand Undefeated for the Indianapolis 500 car that Felix Rosenqvist will be driving Tuesday for Arrow McLaren SP when preparations begin at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.   Related: McLaren dresses in Gulf livery, reveals 720S and F1 car in orange and blue   McLaren only returned full-time to IndyCar for the first time since 1979 last season in a piggyback deal with Arrow Schmidt Peterson, an existing team that sometimes challenged for wins but was hardly a consistent contender. This rebranded bunch, with a new lineup and new look, has taken huge leaps since McLaren came aboard. ASMP is legit on the track and has the buzz to reach a wider audience while showing an edgier side. The targeted new audience sits at the intersection of lifestyle and sports. The collaboration with Undefeated, a popular L.A.-based designer in sneaker and streetwear culture, might seem out there for the McLaren of old, but this new team is willing to aim for a younger, hotter demographic. Undefeated co-founder James Bond had little familiarity with motorsports beyond the Netflix “Drive To Survive” docuseries that features the McLaren Formula One team. McLaren gave Undefeated's team almost no guidelines. “We wanted something that made the car while sitting stagnant to look fast, we wanted to feel very much something of movement,” Bond said. Beyond the color palette, though, there were no rules from McLaren, which incorporated Undefeated's signature camo tiger pattern into the car design. “We didn't realize the magnitude. A lot of times when we deal with professional athletes they have superstitions or they have some sort of quirks or they have their own kind of way they want things to be,” Bond said. "This one they really left us to be on our own. We were given someone else's brand, a driver's car... we just wanted to make something that was dope.