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McLaren Remembers its Founder at its 50th Anniversary, Launches New Film Series

Friday, February 1, 2013

Bruce McLaren was a man of many talents. Born in 1937 in New Zealand, he was not only a racing driver but also a racecar designer and engineer.

His racing career started when he was 14 years old. He won the 1959 U.S. Grand Prix at the age of 22 years and 80 days, becoming the youngest driver at the time to win a Formula 1 race. In 1963, he founded his own team, named Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd., but continued to race for Cooper.

He quit in 1965 and announced that he would enter F1 next year with his own team. In 1966 he won the 24 Hour of Le Mans along with Chris Amon in a Ford GT40 and, two years later, gave his team its maiden F1 win at Spa.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

We can safely say that McLaren is showing off its upcoming P1 hypercar quite a lot lately – not that we’re complaining, of course. Barely a week after releasing a new video and a set of images of an “XP” (for “experimental”) test car with a black and white camouflage that did nothing to hide its lines, the company chose its 2013 Formula 1 contender’s launch to flaunt the P1 again. Read more »

McLaren Continues Development of P1 Hypercar, Shares New Track Video

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Since its unveiling at last year’s Paris Auto Show, McLaren’s new hypercar, the P1, has generated quite a lot of interest. If that’s natural with any such car, in the case of the P1 it has been amplified by a.) the fact that the company is keeping its cards very close to its chest concerning a lot of the details and b.) that it will be launched in the same year as its direct rivals, i.e. the Ferrari “F150” and the Porsche 918 Spyder.

Now the Woking outfit has issued a press release informing us that the development of the P1 continues “ahead of its next global appearance”. Well, that will probably be Geneva in March then.

Monday, January 21, 2013

For its next project, German sports car tuner DMC has selected the McLaren MP4-12C coupe, which it is teasing through a single photograph and preliminary details.

The package being prepared by DMC is named the "Velocita" and it will include an assortment of aerodynamic and styling components such as a redesigned front grille and lower lip spoiler made from carbon fiber, along with side skirts, rear diffuser and an "aggressive" wing.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Non-motorsport fans may overlook racing versions of sports cars but the fact is, they make for a very lucrative business for automakers that, naturally, are very happy to put some effort into them.

Like Ferrari, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, McLaren has developed a GT3-spec variant of its MP4-12C supercar that was supplied to 13 customer teams last year. In its inaugural season, the 12C GT3 took part in 98 separate events, mostly in Europe, and claimed 19 victories and a further 19 podium finishes.

Friday, December 21, 2012

When McLaren presented the P1 Concept at this year's Paris Motor Show, it told us that its new supercar was 97 percent production ready in terms of its exterior design.

If you have been wondering what kind of changes that 3 percent represents, then you'll be happy to know that the British carmaker answered that question during a private event in New York City that was attended and filmed by Jason Thorgalsen.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Like most high-end carmakers these days, McLaren Automotive is also venturing into the retail business with a range of products that are sold from its recently launched McLaren eStore.

Just before Christmas, the British carmaker released a new line inspired by its MP4-12C sports car series that includes a variety of accessories, clothing and luggage with a price to match its name…

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Sure, most of you have seen the McLaren P1 concept that was revealed at the recent Paris Motor Show and have checked out spy shots of taped-up pre-production prototypes, but how about watching it drive on the road?

Well, if you haven't, here's your chance to do so thanks to a new spy video, courtesy of French publication L'Automobile.

We've already established the fact that the exterior appearance of McLaren's P1 hypercar won't change much from study, but this video also affords us our first look at the interior that was hidden behind blacked out windows on the concept.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

As evidenced by the spy pictures of the P1 prototype that we showed you earlier this week and which reveal that the production model will stay if not 100, 99 percent true to the concept, McLaren has long decided upon the looks of its F1 successor that is slated for a world premiere at next year's Geneva Salon.

McLaren's team of designers and aerodynamic engineers may be sure about the P1's looks, but an old acquaintance of CarScoop, designer David Cardoso from Belgium, kindly disagrees.

McLaren has made no secret that it wants each of its models to outgun Ferrari. The MP4-12C coupe, capable as it is, was deemed too clinical and lost out to the 458, forcing McLaren to make some changes that will be retrofitted to cars already sold. Read more »

Spy Shots: McLaren Suits Up New P1 Hypercar and Takes it Out for Testing

Monday, December 3, 2012

The most eagerly anticipated hypercar to be born in the land of Kings, Queens and Knights since…well, since McLaren's almighty F1 from the 1990s, the new P1, has been dressed up appropriately for some final stage testing before we see it in its final production costume next spring.

McLaren gave us our first look at the mid-engined P1 at the 2012 Paris Motor Show with a concept car, and from the looks of it, there won't be any notable changes made to the styling of the production model which keeps everything, from the centrally mounted air scoop on the roof to the wavy retractable rear spoiler.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Right before the U.S. Formula 1 Grand Prix held during this weekend at Austin, Texas, McLaren announced that the Can-Am concept, which was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance last summer as a design study for a more extreme, track-focused version of the MP4-12C, will enter a limited production run.

The track-only Can-Am model was developed by McLaren GT, the Woking-based automaker’s racing division. It is inspired by the GT3 racing version and, according to the company, “pays tribute to Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme who successfully raced a series of McLaren models in the Can-Am series”.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

According to Hamann Motorsports, if "grass-green Porsches, neon yellow Lamborghinis and luminous red Ferraris" captivate your attention on the road, then you're most certainly going to fall in love with its most colorful creation yet.

What we have here is a more artistic take on Hamann's McLaren MP4-12C "memoR" tune that we first laid eyes on at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Monday, October 29, 2012

You lose some, you win some. Even McLaren with its Honda-powered MP4/4 driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, who completely dominated the 1988 season, failed to win all 16 races.

After 11 straight wins, it lost to Ferrari. It then continued its streak, claiming a startling 15 wins out of 16 starts but by a strange twist of fate, the one it lost was on Scuderia’s home ground and, at the same time, the first Italian GP after Enzo Ferrari’s death…

Monday, October 22, 2012

Motoring journalists are not an easy crowd to please; at least the pros. Supercars get their fair share of criticism if they deserve it, even if it means that the “offending” editor or publication is subsequently considered a persona non gratta for the manufacturer.

All motoring hacks agreed that McLaren’s MP4-12C was something of a mixed bag. An impressive piece of engineering, it got top marks for its technology, interior, performance, handling and ride.

On the downside, it failed in its most critical test: it didn’t measure up to the class benchmark, Ferrari’s 458. Put simply, it was deemed too clinical and uninvolving, which are cardinal sins as far as a supercar is concerned.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Following the posh reveal of the MP4-12C Spider at the Pebble Beach weekend in California at the end of August, McLaren has now come out with a fresh gallery of images and detailed specifications of the open top model.

The big difference over the tweaked 2013 model year fixed-roof coupé version of the MP4-12C series is, of course, the Spider's Retractable Hard Top (RHT) with a fully automatic two-piece design that can be raised or lowered in under 17 seconds at speeds of up to 30 km/h (19 mph).

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The great F. Scott Fitzerald summed it up perfectly: “Let me tell you about the rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them… unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand.”

Apparently, Neiman Marcus understands all too well, no matter if they were born rich, married into money or made their fortune by themselves. That’s why every year its Christmas Book catalogue includes, among other things, a limited edition of an automobile, which is priced accordingly.

Monday, October 8, 2012

This year, up until now, Fernando Alonso scored three wins in 14 races and apart from a single retirement in Belgium, he always finished with points. That’s the reason why, despite his Ferrari not being the fastest car on the grid, the two-time Formula 1 world champion was leading the 2012 driver’s championship.

At the Japanese Grand Prix that took place on Sunday morning at the Suzuka circuit, the Spaniard didn’t even make it past the first corner, retiring for the second time this season.

Right after the red lights went out signaling the start of the race, his Ferrari came in contact with Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus and spun at turn one.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Premium brands continue to roll out one model after another as fast as they can. In the past year alone, Porsche has revealed its brand-new 911 in four versions (with more still to follow), Bentley the Continental GTC open-top and Ferrari, its fastest model ever, to name but a few.

Moreover, the battle at the hypercar segment is heating up as Ferrari is readying its all-new Enzo replacement, Porsche the 918 Spyder and McLaren just a few days ago revealed its own weapon, the P1.

Surely then, with the rich of this world getting richer, those nameplates should be not affected by the economic crisis that rages in Europe and has hit mainstream car sales, seriously hurting companies like Fiat and Peugeot.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Sure the new Volkswagen Golf Mk7 and its kin, the Audi A3 and Seat Leon, along with the likes of the Renault Clio, Dacia Logan and Ford Mondeo, just to mention a few of the mainstream debuts at the Paris Motor Show, are the ones that matter in real-life terms, but it's cars like the McLaren P1 that keep us dreaming and…alive.

Although billed as a concept, in reality, the P1 is a pre-production teaser of the road car that will hit McLaren's glitzy showroom floors just before the end of 2013.

Deemed by many as the spiritual successor to the great F1 of the 1990s, McLaren says the P1 was designed with one simple goal: "to be the best driver’s car in the world on road and track".

We will have to wait for the production model to find out whether the McLaren P1 can live up to its promise, but in the meantime, we can ask your opinion about the hypercar's design and if it hits the right notes.