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2016 McLaren 650S Spider Review [w/video]

All I saw was a cloud of dust. At some point during my 575-mile drive of the 2016 McLaren 650S Spider, I sort of became immune to gawkers. Phones snapped hundreds of pictures and videos, so I imagine I'm semi-famous on exactly 200,000 different Twitstagram accounts by now. But then a kid so intent on capturing my green machine actually drove off the road. Thankfully, he regained control, and in the process was hopefully taught a very important lesson about distracted driving. Probably not. That's what happens when you drive a bright green McLaren through the heartland of America: everyone takes notice. Car enthusiasts or not, every single person I passed in the 650S gave it a second look. Usually they just stared and stared. Or honked. Or tried to race me (and lost – dummies). My road trip was a 575-mile-long case of distracted driving, and all I can say is, "sorry, not sorry." It all started over dinner in New York. I told our McLaren guy that he should send a car to Detroit, and instead of hiring a transportation company, should just let me drive it over. Next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Baltimore with intrepid video producer Chris "Roy Rogers" McGraw, where a $350,000-plus, Mantis Green 650S Spider would be waiting for me by the BWI airport rental car plaza. McLaren cars enter the US through the Port of Baltimore, so it felt right picking up the car there, instead of in New York. Plus, driving this thing through Manhattan seemed like a massive pain in the ass. View 10 Photos No car I've ever driven could draw a crowd like the 650S. No car I've ever driven could draw a crowd like the 650S. It's not uncommon to see supercars rolling through big cities – people don't bat an eye if one drives by in Los Angeles. But in the country, it's a sight to behold. Say what you will about Mac's derivative styling, I think the 650 looks killer. And so did everyone who stopped me on the street. What I found most interesting was, just saying "McLaren" was enough to really draw people in. If they're familiar with the British marque, they haven't heard the name in a really long time. And if the word doesn't ring a bell, they want to know what it's all about. "It's not a Ferrari – it's a McLaren," one guy said to his wife at a rest stop. The brand recognition might still be lower than McLaren would like – everyone instantly thinks it's a Ferrari or Lamborghini – but everyone I met took this car very, very seriously. And you have to take it seriously.

McLaren Senna LM gets a video walkaround

At the end of last year, rumor got out that 26 units of the McLaren Senna production run were still waiting their turn to impress the world. Word was that McLaren Special Operations would remake the roughly two dozen coupes into three special editions, the most numerous of them a Senna LM model. A finished example of the predicted coupe found its way to New Zealand, where McLaren Auckland Brand Manager Luke Neuberger gave the Payapa Orange supercar a walkaround for YouTube channel Giltrap TV. The English carmaker recently launched its 720S Le Mans as a tribute to winning — and hoarding four of the top five finishing positions at —  Le Mans in 1995 with the F1 GTR. That coupe got dressed in McLaren orange with Ueno Grey accents and five-spoke wheels recalling the OZ Racing rims on the F1 GTR, as well as vented front fenders, a roof scoop, and gold-painted brake calipers. MSO went further with the Senna LM, which is natural considering the Senna homage is reputed to cost about $1.7 million, compared to the 720S homage starting at $299,000. The Senna LM bodywork hasn't changed in front from the standard Senna, but the Auckland example wears a uniform color all over; the front fascia of a standard Senna sports black accents in the headlight pockets. Body-colored vents adorn the front fenders above a set of gray five-spoke wheels, and one of the many tiny particluars on the Senna LM sees the center-lock wheel nuts colored red on the left side, blue on the right. Behind those wheels, gold calipers clamp vented discs. As we saw in a spy shot of an early mule left in an industrial unit, the clear pane in the doors is filled in with a body-colored panel. Further back, the glossy carbon fiber wing endplates feature the initials "LM" carved out to show unfinished carbon fiber.  Neuberger wouldn't confess to a horsepower rating beyond "800-ish," but MSO worked on the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. The track-only Senna GTR makes 814 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. The Senna LM engine's been blueprinted, the heads ported and polished, and four exhaust pipes stand up through the Senna LM's engine cover. The standard Senna shows three pipes.

McLaren Sports Series promises at least seven variants

Just how many different supercars can McLaren offer? The answer may yet surprise us even more than we anticipated. The British racing outfit is building a growing range of models around the same basic architecture that has already bred five different variants across two families: the Super Series (with the 625C, 650S and new 675LT) and the Ultimate Series (P1 and P1 GTR). That's already impressive as it is, but the addition of the upcoming new Sports Series promises to expand Woking's model line even further. Much further. According to the latest from Car and Driver, which sat down with McLaren's affable chief executive Mike Flewitt at the Geneva Motor Show last week, the new Sports Series will come in enough flavors to put an ice cream parlor to shame. We've known for some time that the company's upcoming entry-level range would come in at least three body styles, if not four. There'll be a coupe, a convertible and an unconventional GT version. But there will also be a number of engine specs available. The base model will wear the letter C, like the pared-down Asian market 625C. The next step up will be distinguished by the letter S, like the 650S. Both will be offered right from launch. But a third version could follow to serve as a baby brother to the new 675LT. Even if the latter is only offered in one body style, that means the Sports Series will come in seven different versions – giving potential buyers a similar array of choices they'd find if they went for a Porsche 911 or Audi R8. Pricing is similarly expected to target the upper end of the 911 range, landing somewhere between the 911 Turbo and 911 Turbo S, which sell for $152k and $184k, respectively, in the US. Even at the upper end of that range, that's still substantially less than the $265k starting price for the 650S. To make up the difference, the Sports Series will do without active aero and suspension, but will still employ a similar carbon monocoque chassis and 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission – albeit de-tuned from upwards of 600 horsepower to somewhere in the 500-horse range. We'll have to sit tight and wait for more details, but the wait won't be long now as the McLaren Sports Series is set to debut at the New York Auto Show next month. News Source: Car and DriverImage Credit: McLaren New York Auto Show McLaren Convertible Coupe Supercars mclaren sports series