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'World's Fastest Gamer' competition winner lands McLaren F1 simulator job

LONDON — A Dutch sales manager whose teenage hopes of a motorsport career ended when the money ran out won an eSports competition on Tuesday to become a McLaren Formula One simulator driver. Rudy van Buren, 25, a once-promising junior go-karter, came out on top at the end of a "World's Fastest Gamer" competition that started in May and drew more than 30,000 entrants. In the all-Dutch two-man showdown, after a week of tests and virtual races that started with 12 finalists at McLaren's headquarters in Woking, England, Van Buren beat 20-year-old Amsterdam student Freek Schothorst. Van Buren had started karting at age 8, winning a Dutch junior championship in 2003, but he quit at 16 due to a lack of money. "Every boy that starts karting dreams about F1, and at a certain point that dream just vanishes," Van Buren said in a McLaren statement. "Now by winning World's Fastest Gamer, I can relive that dream." McLaren, the team of double world champion Fernando Alonso and past greats like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, were seeking to tap talent from virtual racing to help them develop their real car. Finalists were subjected to fitness and mental assessments as well as racing virtually on a variety of tracks, from Indianapolis to Interlagos. The 12, whittled down over the course of the week, included a Danish doctor, a 41-year-old French father of two, and a 23-year-old Briton who had yet to pass his real-world driving test. Van Buren was one of those with a strong resume from the world of eSports. "To think that I came to the McLaren Technology Centre for the very first time last week but am leaving here today as McLaren's newest employee is mind-blowing," he said. The competition is the brainchild of Darren Cox, whose Nissan GT Academy initiative took gamers out from behind a console and on to the real racetrack with professional works drives. "Rudy is a worthy winner and his story of being lost to racing, then rediscovering his passion though gaming and having his talent recognized by an F1 team is almost a fairytale," said Cox. McLaren, who have had a troubled three years with Honda in the real world and are hoping to rejoin the frontrunners with Renault power next season, see virtual racing as a growth area commercially. "With more than 10 million people viewing the competition, we've demonstrated the real value of eSports within F1," said McLaren's newly-appointed director of eSports Ben Payne.

McLaren MSO R Coupe and Spider are one customer's perfect supercar twins

With enough money, you can usually get a supercar manufacturer to build just about anything. McLaren Special Operations is a division of the British automaker set up just to work with customers on bespoke products. Today, McLaren announced that one customer is about to take home a nearly identical pair of cars completely tailored to his tastes. They're called the MSO R Coupe and MSO R Spider. The pair appear to be based on the McLaren 675LT and 675LT Spider, respectively. Both cars are powered by McLaren M838TL 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8. In these cars, the engine makes 679 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. McLaren says both engines have been blueprinted and the heads and exhaust ports hand polished. The exhaust features a crossover muffler to optimize exhaust flow. The ends of the system are titanium. The most notable change to the car's styling is the addition of a number of aerodynamic devices, including a large twin-element rear wing. The cars also have front dive planes and louvered fenders to optimize airflow. The front bumper, hood, louvered fenders, roof scoop, rear deck, and side mirror arms and casings are all made of carbon fiber. A carbon fiber stripe runs down the center of the cars. Both cars are painted in the same shade of silver, though the coupe is done in a matte finish. There are red accents along the bottom and on the rear-wing endplates. Likewise, the interior is a mix of carbon and red trim. Most of the dash is covered in black Alcantara with contrasting red stitching. Most of the trim is exposed carbon fiber. The fixed-back seats are covered in a bright red shade of Alcantara. There are some bespoke touches on the instrument cluster that show the MSO R logo, along with a plaque in the door of each car. There's no word on who purchased the car or where he might live, but the car is left-hand drive. That suggests the car isn't likely to stay close to McLaren's home base in Woking. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery McLaren MSO R View 14 Photos News Source: McLaren McLaren Convertible Coupe Performance Supercars mclaren 675lt

This never-registered 1997 McLaren F1 is for sale, if you have the cash

As many of you readers may know, when it comes to Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, they're always worth more over time if they remain in their protective packaging – especially rare or unusual models. Clearly the person that ordered this 1997 McLaren F1 had that mindset, and we wouldn't be surprised if the same principle will apply to this car. This 1997 McLaren F1, previously reported on by Autoweek and being sold by U.K. dealer Tom Hartley Jnr, is remarkable because it has just 148 miles on the odometer, which the dealer claims is the lowest of any F1 in the world. Apparently the owner didn't even register the car for driving on the road. Not only that, but the car is basically in the condition it was in when it left from the factory. Everything on it is well-preserved because nothing has really been used, and everything is still carefully wrapped up in its protective packaging. The dashboard, floors and seats are all lovingly (obsessively?) taped up in foam and plastic. The floor mats are still in their plastic wrap, never having been used. The same goes for the car's fitted luggage and specially ordered F1 LM-style exhaust and F1 GTR-style suede removable steering wheel. Of course other trinkets remain with the car, too, but have since lost their protective trappings. The car comes with the matching Tag Heuer watch with the car's serial number on it, the complete tool cabinet, on-board tool roll and build book. The car was built for a buyer in Japan. Amusingly, this car is listed as a "right-hand drive" model for that market, which is irrelevant considering the car's center driver's seat. One other custom touch to the car besides the exhaust and steering wheel is the carbon fiber seat with yellow center accents. Tom Hartley Jnr does not have a price listed for this F1. We're willing to bet that the dealer will be expecting some extraordinary offers, though. Recently, the first McLaren F1 imported to the U.S. went for the whopping cost of over $15 million. That car was likely boosted by provenance and the inclusion of unique U.S. homologation parts, but it also had seen plenty of use with an odometer that had clicked over 9,600 miles. Though this yellow model doesn't have special history like that one, the fact that it's effectively a new car as delivered from the factory should make it extremely valuable. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.