2020 Mclaren Spider 720s Mso Performance Dme Stage 2 on 2040-cars

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McLaren Speedtail prototype says you can call it Al(bert)

Automakers so frequently refer to their cars, both in production and in development, by boring old alphanumeric codes. McLaren in particular does this, with such unmemorable names as MP4-12C and 650S. Its new Speedtail, still in development, does have a boring code name of MVY02, but it also has a real name. It's called Albert. According to McLaren, the reason for this is that the test prototypes for the old McLaren F1 supercar were also called Albert. The location where the F1 was designed was on Albert Drive, too. So this is a nice throwback to the last top speed demon from the British car firm. And of course, it's a fun name for a car. Aside from the name, the prototype is distinguished by a nifty vinyl wrap, as well as a unique nose. Instead of the super slick fascia of the Speedtail production car, the nose of the 720S has been grafted on. According to McLaren, underneath those panels are the actual Speedtail components. It actually doesn't look as out of place as we would have imagined. The car is being used to test the production hybrid engine in real-world driving, as well as finalizing suspension brakes, ergonomics and more. Testing will continue over the coming year until production begins at the end of 2019. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren's new F1 car is love at first sight for driver Carlos Sainz

WOKING — Spanish driver Carlos Sainz got into the Valentine's Day spirit by declaring love at first sight on Thursday as McLaren showed off its 2019 Formula One car and lineup. The blue and papaya orange MCL34 car was unveiled by 34 team employees at the former champions' Woking headquarters before Sainz and 19-year-old British rookie teammate Lando Norris stepped up to admire it. "I like the new colors. My teammate, I'll see in a couple of months if I like him," joked Sainz, 24, who has joined from Renault. The pair, replacing Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne, are McLaren's first all-new driver lineup in 12 years, and former reserve Norris, 19, is the Renault-powered team's youngest ever driver. "I've got a lot to live up to," said the teenager. "There is a lot on my shoulders, a lot of people relying on myself and Carlos." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. McLaren, the once-dominant team of champions like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, has not won a race since 2012 or a championship since Lewis Hamilton's first in 2008. It finished sixth overall last year, an improvement on three years with Honda in which McLaren plumbed the depths of disappointment. The overall position was flattered, however, by Force India being stripped of all its points and being replaced by Racing Point, and McLaren still have a long way to go to catch the sport's top manufacturer teams. Team boss Zak Brown, who has brought in new sponsors and presided over a management shakeup that saw Racing Director Eric Boullier leave last year, recognized it would be a long road back from sixth place. "We're in a rebuilding process and it's going to be a journey," said the American, who will have James Key joining as technical head later in the year after a long 'gardening leave' from Toro Rosso. Former Porsche Le Mans team boss Andreas Siedl will join as managing director on May 1.

Watch Ken Block play traffic cop in ’Top Gear’ teaser

BBC is teasing a new series of 'Top Gear' starring the rally racer and Hoonigans honcho Ken Block and promising that series 25 is "coming soon." Block plays a police officer (with a Los Angeles Police Department badge, no less) in an off-road 4x4 vehicle in the 30-second clip, jumping off obstacles and tearing through dirt in an industrial area near snow-capped mountains. He gives chase to show hosts Matt LeBlanc, in a yellow Ford Mustang, Rory Reid and Chris Harris, who steers a McLaren 570S. It looks like they're having more fun that the rest of us. LeBlanc has said the next season of episodes will aim to attract a younger, more diverse audience with more comedy. Series 25 is expected to launch in spring, perhaps after the wrap-up of the second season of 'The Grand Tour.'Related Video: Celebrities TV/Movies Ford McLaren Off-Road Vehicles Performance Top Gear Ken Block