2019 Mclaren 600lt on 2040-cars

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McLaren gets a $185 million boost

DUBAI — British supercar manufacturer McLaren Group, which includes its Formula One team, has arranged a 150 million pound ($185.2 million) financing facility with the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), the Gulf bank said on Monday. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the company hard, with sales plunging during a factory shutdown. It announced 1,200 layoffs in May. "Final documentation has been signed and all the necessary approvals have been granted in relation to a ... 150 million (pound) financing facility," NBB said. Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding Co is the majority shareholder in McLaren Group, with a 56% stake. Mumtalakat also holds a 44.06% stake in NBB while the government of Bahrain holds a 10.85% stake. McLaren's Formula One future was never in doubt despite the cash crisis, team principal Andreas Seidl said on Tuesday. "It was a tough period for the team, steering a team through these financial difficulties we were in," Seidl told reporters. "The positive news we had yesterday about the funding which is in place now, is I think an extra boost, an extra motivation for all of us who are fully focused again on what we like to do most and what we do best." McLaren was the first team to furlough staff, with drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz also taking pay cuts, and the team also went through layoffs, a move that also reflects Formula One's 2021 budget cap. "With me and (McLaren Racing Chief Executive) Zak (Brown) having detailed knowledge of what was actually going on ... there was never a doubt of McLaren not being on the grid next year," said Seidl. The financial issues had not affected this season, he added, with regular performance upgrades planned. While some infrastructure projects had been put on hold, Seidl said he was pushing to get them going again although McLaren still had to be cautious due to uncertainty over how many races there would be and the impact on revenues. The German suggested some headlines that triggered alarm, with talk of mortgaging historical cars and the McLaren headquarters building in Woking, England, or selling a minority stake in the team, reflected McLaren's search for the best possible option in terms of funding. "(It was) finding the right funding which would not only get us through this crisis but also put us in the best possible position to be competitive in the future. So I am very happy with the news from yesterday," he said.  

McLaren 600LT Spider revealed: Top-down performance

In internet parlance, a long tail is a story or topic that endures, that people stick with over a long time. That idea could be translated in automotive terms to a classic. McLaren's Longtail models are modern classics, and the bespoke sports car maker has just minted its fifth Longtail, the 600LT Spider. McLaren promises the droptop has all the track-flavored performance of the 600LT coupe, with the "added exhilaration of open-air driving." With a top-down top speed of 196 mph, that's a lot of added exhilaration. (It's 201 mph with the top up.) And just imagine the tune from those top-exit exhausts just aft of your head. McLaren says it managed to limit the weight gain in the Spider to 110 pounds over the coupe, and cites a dry weight of 2,859 pounds. Well, 2,859.4, to be McLaren-exact. That's 220 pounds lighter than the 570S Spider from which this car is derived, and lighter than its exotic competitors. Customers can also order their cars with seats from the Senna and with radio and climate control delete for maximum weight loss. Much of the weight savings credit goes the car's carbon fiber MonoCell II chassis that, even with the roof cut off, remains as rigid as the coupe without any added reinforcements. As for power, McLaren cites 592 hp and 457 pound-feet of torque from its 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8. That's 4.82 pounds per horsepower, for a 0-to-60 time of 2.8 seconds, on par with the coupe. You surely won't even notice that the Spider's time to 200 kph (124 mph) at 8.4 seconds is 0.2 seconds slower than the coupe. All that power is delivered by a dual-clutch seven-speed transmission. An Ignition Cut feature in Sport mode is said to facilitate faster shifting "whilst delivering a dramatic aural crack from the top-exit exhausts." A feature called Inertia Push (isn't all driving an inertia push?) is supposed to boost acceleration in Track mode. The retractable three-piece hardtop can be operated at speeds to 25 mph. It stows into a tonneau cover behind the seats that can provide a bit more storage when the top is up. And even the Pirelli P Zero™ Trofeo R tires are bespoke, "for track-focused dynamics." The Spider is available to order now, starting at $256,500. Related Video:

Time to configure your McLaren 650S

If you're like us, Friday afternoons are the bane of your existence - the freedom of the weekend is so close you can taste the beer and see the red of your TV's Netflix logo, but the minutes that stand in your way slip by with all the speed of a retreating glacier. You need a way of burning that time, and as it turns out, online supercar configurators are just the answer. Lucky for you, this Friday brings a new one, with the McLaren 650S coupe and convertible available for building. As high-end configurators go, this is a good one. There's a big picture of the car and a wealth of customization options to play with. Like a lot of configurators this one doesn't display prices, although with the hardtop McLaren middle child rumored to crest $318,000, does it really matter? Hop over to McLaren's page and get cracking – those minutes aren't moving any faster. Related Gallery McLaren 650S View 10 Photos Related Gallery McLaren 650S Spider View 10 Photos News Source: McLarenTip: Sean McLaren Car Buying Convertible Coupe Performance configurator mclaren 650s build your own mclaren 650s spider