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McLaren 650S to start at $265,500 in US?

As the McLaren 650S inches towards US dealerships, one of the big questions on our mind is how much the mid-engined supercar will cost. We previously reported that European customers would be shelling out 232,500 Euros, which at the time was the equivalent of $318,000 (today, it's about $320,200). In that piece, we claimed US pricing would probably be well below that number, and thanks to some supposedly leaked intel, it looks like we were correct. DragTimes claims the hardtop 650S will start at $265,500, which actually strikes us as a bit of a bargain for a 641-horsepower, mid-engined super car. It should be noted that the list of optional extras, which is what will really drive up the price of the 650S, doesn't differ from the European options sheet we showed you back in February. That means there's a load of carbon-fiber trim pieces as well as plenty of performance options, like "super-lightweight" forged wheels, a carbon-fiber racing seat and a sport exhaust. Now, all this being said, we'd suggest taking these prices with a grain of salt. The European price leaks were accompanied by a physical price sheet that lent an air of credibility to the initial report - there's no such proof for these prices. We've reached out to McLaren to try and get confirmation on these, and we'll be sure to update this post as soon as we hear anything. Until then, head over to DragTimes for the full rundown, and let us know what you think in Comments. Is $265K a reasonable start price for a 650S? Which options from the price list would be must-haves? Have your say below. Featured Gallery McLaren 650S: Geneva 2014 View 18 Photos News Source: DragTimesImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL McLaren Coupe Performance pricing mclaren 650s

Time to configure your McLaren 650S

If you're like us, Friday afternoons are the bane of your existence - the freedom of the weekend is so close you can taste the beer and see the red of your TV's Netflix logo, but the minutes that stand in your way slip by with all the speed of a retreating glacier. You need a way of burning that time, and as it turns out, online supercar configurators are just the answer. Lucky for you, this Friday brings a new one, with the McLaren 650S coupe and convertible available for building. As high-end configurators go, this is a good one. There's a big picture of the car and a wealth of customization options to play with. Like a lot of configurators this one doesn't display prices, although with the hardtop McLaren middle child rumored to crest $318,000, does it really matter? Hop over to McLaren's page and get cracking – those minutes aren't moving any faster. Related Gallery McLaren 650S View 10 Photos Related Gallery McLaren 650S Spider View 10 Photos News Source: McLarenTip: Sean McLaren Car Buying Convertible Coupe Performance configurator mclaren 650s build your own mclaren 650s spider

Race Recap: Abu Dhabi GP is reversals, luck, leanness and last dances

We weren't sure if Alter Ego Nico Rosberg, the one who flew into Brazil and showed Mercedes AMG Petronas teammate Lewis Hamilton that he knew also knew how to grab an entire race weekend by the scruff of the neck, arrived in Abu Dhabi. In both Friday practice sessions Hamilton showed Rosberg the way. Then on Saturday, Alter Ego Rosberg took over, taking the last Free Practice session and then pole position by a whopping four-tenths of a second over Hamilton. Thanks to the gimmicky and soon-to-be-obliterated spectre of double points, if Rosberg won the race and Hamilton finished lower than second, the World Championship would remain in German hands. Behind Hamilton came the Williams duo, again, with Valtteri Bottas ahead of Felipe Massa. Daniil Kvyat did swell to put his Toro Rosso in fifth, Jenson Button was just as swell getting his McLaren into sixth. Kimi Raikkonen outqualified his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso for the third time this year, the pair taking seventh and eighth on the grid. Kevin Magnussen lined the second McLaren up in ninth, Jean-Eric Vergne making the top ten for Toro Rosso in his last race for the team. To be clear, that was the final grid for race: Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel had both qualified in the top ten but were sent to the back of the grid when their Infiniti Red Bull Racing front wings were deemed illegal. They'd start from the pit lane, which was still ahead of Romain Grosjean in the Lotus, who took so many penalties for new engine components that he started the race in Turkey. At lights-out on Sunday, well, it was pretty much lights out. That's when Hamilton got the start of the year, bolting off the line so quickly it didn't take him 100 meters to get in front of Rosberg. The Brit took Turn 1 in the lead, then laid more than a second into the German on the first lap. Rosberg kept close, about 2.5 seconds back, but it was Hamilton's race to lose and everyone knew it; barring a reliability issue or the kind of driving mistake Hamilton hasn't made all year, Britain would have its fourth double world champion. Rosberg was left asking his engineer what kind of strategy they might use to claim first place. That reliability issue did come, but it struck Rosberg on Lap 26 when his entire Energy Recovery System failed, robbing him of 160 horsepower and taxing his brakes.