2014 Mclaren Mp4-12c Spider on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Seat is all grown Up! with a Mii of its own [w/video]

After a seemingly endless stream of Up! concept cars rolled out by Volkswagen over the past few years, the production version is finally upon us. But don't think for even a second that this is the end. No, it's just the beginning, with numerous Up-based models to follow, and not all of them will carry a VW badge.
Skoda was the first VW division to get its own version called the Citigo, and now Seat is following suit with a rebadged version of its own dubbed Mii. Launching in Spain next month before rolling out across Europe in the spring, the Mii will be available initially as a three-door before the five-door variant follows next year.
Overseas buyers will be able to choose between three trim levels, two equipment packages (Chic with chrome trim and Sport with firmer suspension and tinted windows) , two engine specs (1.0-liter threes with 59 or 74 horsepower), two transmissions (manual or robotized) and an optional Economotive pack with stop-start engine management and regenerative braking.

McLaren Special Ops cooks up a devilish P1

When you're paying a million bucks for a supercar, you earn the right to get it just the way you want. And this is how one British customer opted to have his (or hers) spec'd out. Outfitted by McLaren Special Operations, this particular McLaren P1 has been done up in a rather devilish black and red livery reminiscent of the scheme that the company's Formula One team is running on its single-seaters this season. The mostly black bodywork, as you can see, is accented by red nostrils, red fading into black along the fenders and doors, a red-framed roof, red aero, and red-accented black wheels. The theme continues on the inside, with glossy red inserts and contrasting red stitching adorning the black leather and bare carbon-fiber trim. It's certainly not for the faint of heart, but then a 900-horsepower hybrid hypercar seldom is.

More than half of new McLarens will be hybrids by 2022

McLaren has an ambitious growth plan. After building just 1,654 cars in 2015, CEO Mike Flewitt expects the Woking, UK,-based company to churn out 3,000 units in 2016, but doubling production is only the start. Flewitt predicts that figure will swell to 4,500 to 5,000 annually, which "is about capacity," for the company's production facility, he told Automotive News Europe. The increase in production is key to a revenue-driven research-and-development effort that will allow the company to create 15 new products and introduce "a completely new powertrain architecture ... specifically designed for a hybridized application," Flewitt said. "In the latter part of this business plan to 2022, more than half our cars will be hybrids," Flewitt told ANE. "This second powertrain will run in parallel to the eight cylinder we have today and will have hybrid technology integrated into it from day one." This new model would arrive near the end of the decade, Flewitt said, but unlike the company's current and only hybrid, the P1, it won't be a plug-in hybrid. Related Video: