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McLaren says it 'is a sports car brand' and won't make SUVs

You can add McLaren to the list of luxury and sports car companies to say it will not build an SUV, the automaker's CEO Mike Flewitt telling Bloomberg, "We need to remain very focused. McLaren is a sports car brand and that's exactly what we're going to remain." In spite of those words, in order to save his voice, Flewitt should get business cards made printed with that response, since the question will certainly keep being asked. And if the coming Lamborghini and Bentley SUVs do well, observers will expect Flewitt's ideas on the subject to "evolve," no matter what he or Ron Dennis says publicly. The evolution we refer to has taken place at BMW, which was never going to make a M version of its SUVs, and Porsche, which said it wouldn't make an SUV smaller than the Cayenne. Furthermore, there's Rolls-Royce, whose CEO said the company hadn't even considered an SUV because it wouldn't fit the brand's values, meanwhile rumors abounded that the company was gauging customer reaction to a sketch of a concept SUV adorned with the Spirit of Ecstasy. And five months later that same CEO said the company was "intesively thinking" about building one. Those are but few and recent examples. If McLaren doesn't waver, it will join Ferrari as the only pure-sports car company holdouts. Featured Gallery 2015 McLaren P1: First Drive View 39 Photos News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Copyright 2014 AOL McLaren Performance Mike Flewitt

The McLaren MSO HS is a full-custom, 679-hp menace inspired by the P1 GTR

There's no end in sight for McLaren Special Operations and its attempts at making McLarens even more, well, special. While we found the McLaren 675LT to be an incredibly competent supercar when we drove it, someone at MSO decided the thing needed more power and aerodynamic goodies. We're okay with that. This project was previously leaked as the McLaren 688HS. Now McLaren has released details on the 679-horsepower MSO HS (for High Sport) and it's ridiculous. Based on the McLaren 650S, the MSO HS is limited to just 25 units, which have already been spoken for and will be entirely customized for their owners. Output from the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine is up to 679 horsepower (an increase of 13 over the 675LT), while torque stays the same at 516 pound-feet. To accompany the increase in power, this particular MSO HS features a hilarious amount of carbon fiber. The roof, hood, front bumper, and wing – which is inspired by the McLaren P1 GTR – are all made out of the lightweight material. Not that we doubted it, but the aero package is functional – McLaren claims the MSO HS makes 485 pounds of downforce at 150 mph. And yes, that's a giant scoop on the roof. McLaren didn't release any performance figures for the MSO HS, but the supercar will surely be just as fast, if not faster, around a track as the 675LT. To help the brave and daring owners that plan to take the car to the track, the MSO HS comes with McLaren Track Telemetry. The feature, which is also found on the 675LT, includes a host of sensors and three cameras to provide data to help the driver go even quicker. Since MSO will customize each of the supercars to an owner's specifications, pricing hasn't been released, and it's kind of irrelevant since you can't buy one anymore. Given its extremely limited run, more powerful engine, and customizable body, you can be sure the MSO HS's price will surely dwarf that of the 675LT at $350,000. Related Video: Featured Gallery McLaren MSO HS News Source: McLarenImage Credit: McLaren McLaren Coupe Lightweight Vehicles Special and Limited Editions Performance Supercars mclaren special operations

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.