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McLaren has an electrochromic glass roof to fix the 570GT's solar issue

The McLaren 570GT has a huge glass roof. It looks cool, but it can let a lot of light in, which is not so cool. To solve this (and to show off the latest in custom pieces and paint), McLaren Special Operations has gone to work on the car, in the process making it a little more special. In traditional MSO fashion, the 570GT by MSO Concept isn't an all-new car, but more of a makeover for the road-friendly sports car. McLaren released details on its latest concept ahead of the car's official debut at Pebble Beach. While the majority of the bespoke touches amount to special paint and badging, the niftiest feature is an electrochromic roof that's being developed for production. McLaren added an electrochromic interlayer within the 570GT's standard glass roof that uses electric current to adjust the amount of light coming in through the roof, with five different settings that range from clear to dark. The roof should be a welcome touch for drivers in warmer, sunnier climates, and it should help reduce the occurrence of reflections on the car's display screens, an issue we found on our first drive. This isn't the first time an electrochromic glass roof has made its way to a high-end vehicle, as Mercedes-Benz offers similar tech, dubbed Magic Sky Control, on its roadsters and the Maybach. The touch-sensitive headliner used to control it, though, is new technology. Plus it just sounds cool. Besides the roof, the 570GT by MSO Concept is fitted with a richer-sounding titanium exhaust system that is lighter than the standard stainless steel system and features heat shields that are finished in a golden titanium nitride tint, a nod to the McLaren F1's gold-lined engine bay. The system also acts as a built-in rainbow, changing colors from blue to purple and back as it gets hot and cools down. Other unique touches include a pearl white paint job with gloss-lacquered carbon-fiber sill panels and gloss black on the side skirts, wheels, and door inserts. The "By McLaren" interior has saddle tan leather and more bits of carbon fiber. Those items aren't the most exciting, even by MSO standards, but we can totally get behind the trick roof and gold-tinted exhaust. Related Video: Featured Gallery McLaren 570GT by MSO Concept View 9 Photos News Source: McLarenImage Credit: McLaren McLaren Coupe Luxury Performance Pebble Beach mclaren special operations mclaren 570gt

McLaren MP4-X concept shows innovation won't die in F1's future [w/video]

Despite things like turbocharging and kinetic-energy recovery, today's Formula One cars look more or less like the ones that lapped the world's race tracks 20 years ago. Sure, they're much more aero intensive, but the basic look is the same. McLaren, which probably had some serious free time this season considering its misfortunes, has imagined a futuristic F1 car that adopts many innovative and somewhat controversial additions. It's called the McLaren MP4-X, and the most obvious change is the closed cockpit. The death of Jules Bianchi, the accidents involving Maria De Villota and Felipe Massa, and even the death of Ayrton Senna could have all potentially been avoided by adopting a strong closed-cockpit design, like the one advocated here by McLaren. It's also worth pointing out that this design is a boon for aerodynamics. Inside that cockpit, drivers would enjoy an augmented reality display system, sort of like that used by F-35 Lightning II fighter pilots. There'd also be an independent head-up display that McLaren claims could be used to transmit info about race position and flag status. So basically, the kind of data you'd get playing Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo. Speaking of safety, the MP4-X's entire chassis, beyond the closed roof, would be far safer thanks to the use of "negative-stiffness material structures." Essentially, these materials can soak up the force of an impact and then bounce, for lack of a better term, back into shape. And if you're thinking like we are, this sounds like McLaren wants 900-horsepower bumper cars. Of course, 900 hp is speculation on our end. McLaren is deliberately vague on the powertrain of this concept. Advanced hybrid powertrains aren't surprising, although the team's mention of inductive, wireless charging on tracks sounds like the stuff of Formula E's dreams. In a move that McLaren says "tears up the rulebook," the MP4-X would see a return of ground effects. The underbody would feature enormous venturi tunnels to suck the car to the track. Alongside active aerodynamics that tweak the its shape for turns and straights, this concept McLaren would be both more slippery and offer more downforce than today's cars. There's a lot more on the MP4-X concept than we can talk about here, so head over to McLaren Honda's official website for all the nitty gritty details on this car's advanced systems, including solar cells, advanced tire sensors, and even virtual logos. It all sounds very, very cool.

McLaren previews P1 GTR concept ahead of Pebble Beach debut

McLaren, Ferrari and Porsche have all come out with their hybrid-powered hypercars, vehicles that boast the bleeding edge of what is possible with today's road-car technology. The next step, at least in the case of McLaren and Ferrari, is to push that bleeding edge just a hair further, with even faster, more focused versions of the P1 and LaFerrari. At the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, McLaren will be the first to give us a glimpse of that boundary-pushing machine. The British automaker has announced that the P1 GTR Design Concept will make its global debut smack dab in the middle of Monterey's legendary car week, with the veil lifting on Friday, August 15 at 6:00 PM EST. McLaren doesn't go into many specifics here, simply calling the P1 GTR a track-focused variant of the P1, which we kind of already knew. Based on what we can see from the lone teaser sketch, the new model will have a much more dramatic aerodynamic presence than the street model, with a massive rear wing and a huge rear diffuser. Sandwiched between those two items are a pair of exhaust tips that wouldn't look out of place on the deck of your average battleship. Carbon fiber should feature prominently, with a few exposed sections of the stuff visible in the teaser image. Production is slated to begin promptly after the final P1 street car rolls off the Woking production line, sometime in June 2015. Of course, we'll have much, much more on the P1 GTR when it makes its debut at Pebble Beach. Keep an eye on this space come August 15. Until then, scroll down for the official press release from McLaren. THE McLAREN P1™ GTR DESIGN CONCEPT PREVIEWED AHEAD OF PEBBLE BEACH GLOBAL DEBUT McLaren will use its presence at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance to showcase its ultimate track-focused model, the McLaren P1™GTR, in design concept form. Conceived in response to requests from buyers of the road legal McLaren P1™ for a track focused edition of their car, and available for purchase only to this group as a fully comprehensive programme to include driving events, training and vehicle support, the McLaren P1™GTRwill go into production in June 2015 when the 375th and final example of the road car has been completed - two decades on from the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans win by the legendary McLaren F1 GTR. The McLaren P1™GTR is being designed and developed using five decades of race-winning knowledge from the pinnacle of motorsport.