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Last of 500 allocated McLaren Sennas sells at auction

If you held any hope of obtaining the last available McLaren Senna, abandon it now: The last of the 500 build allocations has sold at a private auction for McLaren customers. It raised GBP2 million ($2.67 million) for the Ayrton Senna Institute, the nonprofit non-government organization named for the late three-time Formula One world champion. The company announced the sale three days after the supercar's official unveiling and four days after it was leaked during an early reveal party. Excluding taxes, the winning bid from an anonymous buyer was more than three times the U.K. list price for the car. Originally dubbed the P15, McLaren says the Senna is the "most extreme" road car it has ever created, with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 generating 789 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. It's also the lightest, at 2,641 pounds. It boasts a RCC II RaceActive Chassis Control hydraulic suspension and unique features like a Jetsons-esque glass greenhouse and glass panels in the doors. Ayrton Senna won three F1 world championships driving for McLaren. The auction for McLaren customers was attended by his sister, Viviane Senna da Silva Lalli, and Bruno Senna, her son, also a race driver and McLaren ambassador. The Ayrton Senna Institute provides education to underprivileged children in Brazil. View 25 Photos Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery McLaren Senna auction Image Credit: McLaren McLaren Auctions Coupe Luxury Performance Supercars supercar mclaren senna mclaren p15

McLaren reveals new P1 GTR ready for gentleman racers

There are race cars and there are road cars. McLaren is known for making both, but lately there's been a new class of vehicles emerging in between. They're supercars developed specifically for the track but for no specific racing series, and the new McLaren P1 GTR is the latest. Previewed in concept form in Monterey this past summer, the P1 GTR is now ready to hit the track. It's based, of course, on the P1 – Woking's million-dollar flagship hybrid hypercar – but incorporates a long list of upgrades to make it better suited towards ripping around a closed circuit than an open road. For starters, the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 hybrid powertrain has been optimized for track use and retuned: the internal combustion engine cranking out 789 horsepower (up from 727) and the electric motor another 197 (up from 176) for a combined output of 986 hp. The other side of the power-to-weight ratio has also been optimized, with unnecessary elements removed and many parts replaced by lighter ones: The glass roof and engine cover, for example, have been replaced by carbon fiber, and the side windows by plexiglass. There's also a new Inconel and titanium alloy exhaust that saves 14 pounds all by itself. The result of these and other measures is a drop in curb weight by a solid 110 lbs. Of course the performance-obsessed engineers in Woking didn't stop there. They also dropped the suspension by two inches and widened the track by over three, riding on 19-inch alloys with Pirelli slicks. The aero has also been revised, with a splitter jutting out the chin and a fixed wing rising a foot and a half taller than the roof, helping the P1 GTR produce 10 percent more downforce than the road car on which it's based. Hit 150 mph on the straightaway and you'd be generating 1,455 lbs of downforce, assuming you haven't activated the Drag Reduction System flap in the rear wing by then. Although it hasn't disclosed the details, and as good as the road-car's stoppers are, McLaren has hopefully upgraded the brakes as well. Like arch-rival Ferrari's XX client development program (and the path that Aston Martin is tipped to take with the upcoming new Vulcan), the P1 GTR will be part of an organized program. Participating owners will start at the McLaren Technology Centre to have their seats fitted, livery designed and fitness assessed before hitting the first track sessions at Silverstone in the UK and Catalunya in Spain.

McLaren's MSO makes this 720S supercar even more super

McLaren has brought a special edition of its already stunning and supremely quick 720S supercar to this year's Geneva Motor Show. Designed by McLaren Special Operations, this one-of-a-kind creation is finished in "Atlantic Blue" paint and comes with a tastefully understated "Saddle Tan" leather interior with contrasting grey stitching. To drive the point home that this car is unique, McLaren's press release offers the gentle reminder that "even the floor mats are bespoke." So, don't expect to find suitably stylish replacements at your local NAPA auto parts store, ladies and gentlemen. McLaren's MSO branch is basically the British automaker's tailor-made service for its range of performance cars. Oftentimes the creations are true one-offs, entirely commissioned by well-heeled clientele who want their car to stand out from the masses. Not that McLaren creations are exactly clogging up parking lots, but, hey, if you have it then why not flaunt it? MSO does occasionally build a limited series of vehicles, like the 10 race-inspired 570S sports cars finished in paint jobs similar to the liveries of McLaren F1 GTR race cars from the 1990s. If you have to ask the price, well, then you probably shouldn't be shopping for customized McLarens. The standard McLaren 720S starts at approximately $288,000, putting it right in the middle of the company's lineup. Considering the owner of the Geneva Motor Show car didn't specify gold-flake fenders, or an interior constructed out of platinum-plated Lego blocks, it's safe to assume this car doesn't streak too ridiculously far into the fiscal stratosphere. Engine power remains the same. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 nestled in the carbon fiber chassis produces 710 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. Punch the gas pedal, and the 720S needs less than 3.0 seconds to sprint from 0 to 60 miles per hour. The top speed is 212 mph. And did we mention how incredibly fast all this feels in real life? In our review of this ballistic British supercar, Mike Austin summed up just how rapid your first impression will be. "The 720S is so fast that there's no warming up to it. Almost immediately you're driving at speeds that, in pretty much any other car would mean imminent calamity." He also praised the fact that getting the most out of the 720S demands attention and skill, not just a heavy right foot. "In our world of point-and-shoot supercars," he summarized, "McLaren made the 720S a true driver's car." So the car is special.