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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

2015 Brazilian Grand Prix is the same as it ever was

At this point, we hope Nico Rosberg is planning to carry his current qualifying form into the 2016 season and back it up with the same kind of race-day cojones he showed winning the race in Mexico City two weeks ago. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver got it right enough again on Saturday afternoon to take his fifth consecutive pole position ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton by almost a tenth of a second. It's the same one-two from Brazil last year. The bad news for the rest of the field is that the winner in Brazil the last seven years has been one of the two drivers on the front row. Last year it was the Williams duo that lined up behind Mercedes, this year it's Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel plays the stalking horse, securing third in his Ferrari ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen in fourth. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas actually qualified in fourth, but he had to serve a three-spot grid penalty for passing under red flags in Free Practice 2, so he started sixth. That promoted Sahara Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg up to fifth. Daniil Kvyat was the quickest representative from Infiniti Red Bull Racing, getting into seventh even with a Renault power unit that's weak on some of the key stretches at the Interlagos track. Felipe Massa had the second Williams in eighth, in front of the second Red Bull driven by Daniel Ricciardo in ninth. Toro Rosso hasn't confirmed its drivers for next year but Max Verstappen keeps making it hard to look elsewhere, taking 10th. Rosberg is working nearly the same trick he pulled last year: drive like a second driver for most of the year, drive like a world champion for the last quarter of a season. He pulled away at the start and covered Hamilton just enough on the run to the first corner to keep Hamilton on the outside. By the end of Turn 1 the German had the lead and didn't give it up for the rest of the race outside of pit stops. Without overwhelming pace to pass and unable to follow closely, Hamilton could do nothing except ask his team for a different strategy to go for the win. When Mercedes told him "No," trying to protect Rosberg's second place in the championship ahead of Vettel, that was the race. Just like last year, Rosberg and Hamilton finished one-two. Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hulkenberg, and Kvyat drove lonely races to finish in positions three through seven.

This is why the windshield-less McLaren Elva doesn't require goggles

Every Ultimate Series supercar McLaren makes has its own aerodynamic challenges. But while the P1's, Senna's, and Speedtail's aero missions were mainly focused on performance, the biggest aerodynamic challenge of the McLaren Elva was creating a "virtual canopy." Similar to the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar, the Aston Martin V12 Speedster, this unreleased Bugatti concept, and the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2, the Elva has no roof and no windshield. Although this creates a dramatic design and a pure open-air experience, the wind can be an annoyance without the proper gear such as a helmet and/or goggles. McLaren set out to solve that problem and make it so its drivers and passengers could drive the Elva without any gear whatsoever. To accomplish this task, McLaren came up with a fairly simple idea that requires complex execution. Essentially, the air that enters the lower intake on the front fascia is put through a J-shaped or hook-shaped duct and mitigates airflow that hits passengers. The duct curves the airflow toward the front of the car at high speeds and interrupts the air flow that is traveling over the hood. This interruption creates the aforementioned "virtual canopy" that protects those in the car from any air disturbances. The final piece of this technology is a "gurney" just in front of the hood vent that will pop up when traveling at higher speeds to create a bigger bubble. The host of the video, Director of Engineering Design Dan Parry-Williams, says that the bubble is so clearly defined that sticking a hand up into the air path feels like sticking a hand out the window. Parry-Williams explain how it all works in the video above. In other news, McLaren's motorsport division recently announced it has furloughed its staff and its F1 drivers have taken a pay cut during the pandemic and financial crisis. Read more about what actions McLaren is taking during these uncertain times.