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McLaren 720S Spa 68 edition honors McLaren's first F1 win

A couple weeks after McLaren announced a special six-car run of 570S models to commemorate significant moments in the automaker's history, the company has debuted another special edition with racing ties. The "720S Spa 68" collection, fittingly commissioned by McLaren Brussels, honors McLaren's first Formula 1 win which took place at the '68 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps 50 years ago. It was Bruce McLaren's fourth and final F1 victory before his sudden death in 1970. As McLaren notes, the maiden win in June '68 was later followed in the years since by eight constructor championships and 12 drivers' championships, the first of both in occurring 1974 with Emerson Fittipaldi driving. The three 720S cars all wear MSO's Anniversary Orange paint, the hue of which has been done in the style of the original 1968 M7A F1 car. There are outlines of the track on the bodywork and on the headrests, and numerous inscriptions also note the occasion. There's also a numbered plaque to mark the series number. There's an orange script on the carbon fiber sill cover just inside the door. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Two of the cars have reportedly already been spoken for, so there's still an available special edition car left for one lucky buyer. Related Video:

McLaren P1 GTR Senna tribute car built by MSO as the ultimate P1

McLaren just finished what looks to be one of its most incredible MSO ( McLaren Special Operations) projects ever with a P1 GTR. As is obvious in the photos, this P1 GTR is meant to celebrate the McLaren MP4/4 F1 car Ayrton Senna raced to complete dominance in the 1988 championship season. There is no shortage of Senna projects going on over at McLaren, clearly. This car has been in the works for three years running, along with McLaren's actual car, the Senna. Don't be confused, however, this is a one-off P1 GTR that a McLaren collector/Ayrton fan commissioned to be built. The livery isn't the only thing that sets it apart from other P1 GTRs either. McLaren says this car has a unique engine specification. Its heat shield is made out of 24 carat gold; the rear cover is made out of Lexan (type of plastic) and it has modified engine bay shrouds. We're not told how much more power it makes, but apparently it's more than the 986 horses in your standard P1 GTR. This Senna fan managed to wrangle the McLaren engineers into designing him a bespoke aero package for the car too. It has new front dive planes, a wider front splitter, Gurney flap, new barge boards and bigger endplates on the rear wing. Even more downforce is generated by inboard secondary wing elements. A "normal" P1 GTR produces 1,433 pounds of downforce, but this car brings that up to a whopping 1,763 pounds. Yeah, it's going to stick just fine. The design and customization on this car is pretty next-level. McLaren Rocket red and Anniversary white are the same color codes used on the F1 car. Both doors have the Marlboro barcode that was used in lieu of Marlboro script when regulations changed to bar that sort of advertising. Senna branding is all over the thing, everywhere you look. The seats are actually the same ones McLaren used in the Senna (actual car) itself. Yeah, there's a whole lot of Senna going on here. With the unbelievable attention to detail and expense that went into this car, we wonder what the owner's plans are for it. Will it live at the track (we hope) as the extra power and aero suggests? Or is this something to be put away in a collection because it's just too freaking special? Call it a good problem to have. This thing is awesome. Related video:

McLaren displays six bespoke 570S models with historic themes

McLaren Beverly Hills has commissioned a special collection of 570S models, both in Coupe and Spider configuration, to commemorate McLaren's racing history. The collection, named Racing Through the Ages, features six cars done up in three themes: Muriwai, Papaya Spark and Sarthe Grey, all neatly tying in with specific periods in McLaren racing, and all with the GT4 racing stripe decorating the exteriors. The first of the car themes, Muriwai, stands for Muriwai Beach in New Zealand, the place where Bruce McLaren first took part in a race at the age of 15. McLaren also built a house with the same name in Woking, and the color theme is similarly bluish white, with the car wearing MSO Defined Muriwai White paint and a McLaren orange "Speedy Kiwi" logo. The second, Papaya Spark, is done in a color reminiscent of McLaren's 1960s-1970s racing livery, from the time McLaren claimed Can-Am, Indy 500 and Formula One wins. The car's fixed rear wing is painted Burton Blue, in the style of the original racers. As for the third one, Sarthe Grey, it's easy to guess the Le Mans reference: these cars commemorate McLaren's 1995 win with F1 GTR cars claiming first, third, fourth, fifth and thirteenth place. The hue of the two Sarthe Grey cars here imitates the paint color on the winning F1 GTR, and the rear wing reads "24 HEURES DU MANS – WINNERS 1995". Each of the six cars wears a numbered plate with the text "1 of 6 – Racing Through the Ages", and the interiors – right down to ignition keys – are matched to the respective theme. "It's exciting for us at MSO any time we are able to merge McLaren's racing heritage with current McLaren Automotive road cars," said Ansar Ali, the Managing Director of McLaren Special Operations. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren 720S Spider debuts with new roof, colors, glass flying buttresses

McLaren Automotive's special gift to attendees at the company's Winter Ball was the reveal of the 720S Spider. Coming about 18 months after the launch of the 720S Coupe, McLaren has made a few specific changes compared to the hardtop, like frameless doors and new rear spoiler programming, along with wide improvements over the last Super Series roadster, the 650S Spider. The carbon Monocage II tub in the fixed-roof 720S becomes the Monocage II-S in the Spider. Even though the tub discards the overhead spine, new carbon supports at the tub's rear return the lost rigidity. The 650S used steel supports fitted into its Monocage; switching to carbon means saving 15 pounds in the rollover protection structure compared to the predecessor car. The Monocage II-S needs no extra strengthening elsewhere, keeping the slim A-pillars and header rail of the 720S. A new hardtop mechanism operates the standard all-carbon-fiber roof. Electrically instead of hydraulically actuated, the mechanism is another source of weight loss and performance gain. The motors raise and lower the roof in 11 seconds, at speeds up to 31 miles per hour. The operation happens six seconds faster than on the 650S Spider, at a top speed 13 mph higher. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The rear end's carbon fiber deck has been redesigned to stow the roof, leaving a two-square-foot cubby underneath for luggage when the roof is up. To maximize visibility to the rear-three-quarter, McLaren made the buttresses extending from the roll hoops to the fenders out of glazed glass. Customers wanting more visibility skyward can order an electrochromic glass roof that tints or goes all clear with a button push. Kitted out so, the glass top tints automatically when the car's turned off, then returns to its last setting upon restart. The M840T 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 possesses familiar gumption here, being 710 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. McLaren redrew the underfloor aero and tuned the rear spoiler to manage the Spider's unique airflow. Because the 720S Spider puts on just 108 pounds more than the coupe, performance varies by only a tenth of a second in some cases. The 0-60 dash transpires in 2.8 seconds, the top speed clocks in at 212 mph, both the same as the coupe. Gunning on to 124 mph takes 7.9 seconds, the quarter-mile needs 10.4 seconds, both times a tenth more than the coupe.

McLaren and Alonso will use Chevy engines at Indy 500

Fernando Alonso will have a Chevrolet engine in his McLaren when the double Formula One champion attempts to win next year's Indianapolis 500 in his second attempt, the British team announced on Tuesday. The 37-year-old Spaniard led 27 laps last year on his debut at The Brickyard in a Honda-powered Andretti Autosport car before retiring with an engine problem with 21 laps to go. The 2018 Indy 500 winner, Australian Will Power, won with Chevrolet-powered Team Penske last May. "Having Chevrolet power behind me means we're putting ourselves in the best possible position to compete at the front," said Alonso in a McLaren statement. The double Monaco Grand Prix winner, who won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Toyota this year, left Formula One at the end of the season last month and is targeting Indianapolis as the final part of the "Triple Crown of Motorsport": winning the Formula One championship (or Monaco), Le Mans and the Indy 500. The late Briton Graham Hill, also a two-times Formula One champion who died in 1975, is the only one to have done it, completing the triple in 1972.Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video: Motorsports Chevrolet McLaren Racing Vehicles IndyCar

Novitec N-Largo McLaren 720s boasts big presence to match big power

If a carbon tax referred to a penalty based on how much carbon fiber were used to build a car, specialty tuner Novitec Group would be looking at a hefty bill for its most recent creation. The Novitec N-Largo adds not just a styling kit, not just a performance upgrade, not just a suspension adjustment, but all three to the already massively talented 720s supercar. Based in Germany, Novitec has made a name for itself tuning elite performance and luxury cars, including Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces, Maseratis, Teslas, and McLarens. In the past, Novitec has offered its takes on McLaren's 540C, the 570S, the 570GT, and even a different example of the 720s. But this new build has a much more assertive personality than the previously subtle makeover. Limited to just 15 examples, the N-Largo gives the 720s a look similar to that of the McLaren Senna. Using molded carbon fiber, the N-Largo ditches the soft and suave curves of the stock car for a more aggressive demeanor. The car can been lowered 1.3 inches with sport springs, and it sits on staggered Vossen MC2 forged center-lock wheels, 20-inch in the front and 21-inch in the rear, wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero rubber. Novitec N-Largo McLaren 720s View 26 Photos Novitec notes that the new bumpers completely replace the original McLaren parts and bolt to the secure original connection points. The styling kit was not devoid of practical thought, either, as the kit maintains the aerodynamic and cooling bits that help make the 720s such a deadly performance vehicle. The N-Largo also adds a new rear airfoil attachment that is claimed to increase downforce. Most importantly, Novitec crafted three different levels of performance tunes for the 720s. According to Vossen, an auxiliary control unit plugs in and adapts to the electronic engine controls on the car. In the most powerful stage 2 configuration, which includes a performance exhaust, the N-Largo shows up to the tune of 794 horsepower and 648 lb-ft of torque, 84 more horses and 80 more lb-ft than the standard 710 horsepower and 568 lb-ft of torque from the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. According to Novitec and Vossen, this gives the N-Largo a 0-62 time of 2.7 seconds, a 0-124 run in 7.5 seconds, and a top speed of about 215 mph. There's no word on pricing or availability, but we can tell you this: Novitec is already working on an interpretation of the McLaren 600LT. We have a feeling it might be even more braggadocious than the 720s. Related Video:

McLaren will race the new 720S GT3 in Abu Dhabi

Mark your calendars, endurance racing fans: McLaren says the new 720S GT3 will finally be shown at the Bahrain GP Festival. The Gulf 12 Hours endurance race, held two weeks later, will then be the GT3's maiden competitive event. McLaren also released some new photo material of the new, track-focused 720S GT3 version. One 720S GT3 will be entered in the Gulf 12 Hours race by the works team; McLaren will mainly use the acquired data to prepare for the 2019 season. The car has already been tested for thousands of miles around European circuits, the manufacturer says. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. McLaren Automotive states the 720S GT3 is the first car its in-house motorsport department has developed, designed and built. Earlier, it was said that the race car shares less than 10 percent of its parts with the road-going 720S: the body is extensively reworked for racing duty, and while the engine is based on the standard car's four-liter, twin turbo V8 unit, it has been extensively rebuilt, and it's now coupled to a six-speed sequential transmission instead of the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission offered to regular customers. The GT3 will also be sold to privateer teams, and McLaren disclosed the price in August as $564,000 – handily double the price of a $280,000 regular-issue 720S. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren Senna GTR spied testing at the track

The McLaren Senna really moves. With its 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 789 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, it's a fitting tribute for the legendary driver it's named after. While it's a road-legal car, it does have a race mode. But if that weren't racy enough for you, McLaren has a gnarlier version on the way, as you can see from these spy photos. That car, the McLaren Senna GTR, will be too hot for public roads, though, and will be a track-only version of the car. McLaren first envisioned the Senna GTR as a concept car, which it trotted out at the Geneva Motor Show last spring. The British automaker has said it only intends to build 75 examples, and each will cost around $1.4 million. That'll buy the lucky owners at least 813 horsepower and 2,200 pounds of downforce. A lot of dramatic carbon fiber bodywork helps it perform that aerodynamic feat. As McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt has said, the GTR will offer "more power, more grip and more downforce ... than the McLaren Senna and post even faster lap times." The prototype we see in the spy shots above looks incomplete, so expect to see more aero bits as development continues. It has a more aggressive stance, with wider fenders to match its wider track. We'll be curious to hear more details from McLaren closer to the car's production launch late next year, but seeing the Senna GTR hit the track is certainly a thing to behold. Related Video:

McLaren 720S Stealth isn't all that stealthy

Plenty of supercar and ultra-luxury car brands have bespoke vehicle programs. However, we don't always get a peek behind the curtains at what exactly comes out of those. Ferrari has Tailor Made; Bentley has Mulliner; Aston Martin has Q and so on. McLaren might just have the most public and outspoken of all these programs with MSO, or McLaren Special Operations. Today it released all the details on one of its latest creations: the MSO 720S Stealth Theme. It's not particularly accurate to call a 720S "stealthy," but the Sarthe Grey paint does the best job it can. That color is inspired by the 1995 Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 GTR, and is broken up by red accents throughout the vehicle. This red detailing was hand-painted and took nearly 200 hours to finish, according to McLaren. A unique satin finish is used for all the visual carbon fiber components, including the front air intakes, door mirrors and arms, rear deck and engine cover and rear fender air intakes. Extra lightweight MSO wheels get finished in black and the same red accents as the rest of the car. The interior continues the red and carbon fiber theme with bright accents everywhere you look. Having the economic freedom to write a blank check to McLaren is how you're going to build yourself a car like this. The London McLaren dealer commissioned this one to be made, so it'll be staying on the other side of the pond for now. It's always neat to check these ultra-unique type of cars out — Lamborghini just took it a full step beyond this one and built a one-off car for a wealthy client. This McLaren will end up drawing a few extra stares too. Related video:

McLaren and Fernando Alonso will enter the Indianapolis 500 next year

SAO PAULO – McLaren and two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso will enter next year's Indianapolis 500, the team announced on Saturday. It will be the second time the Spaniard has taken part in the race, which he led in 2017 before retiring with an engine problem. The 37-year-old, who is also competing for Toyota in the World Endurance Championship, is leaving Formula One at the end of this season and the May 26 date in Indianapolis will not clash with any commitments. Alonso is a double Monaco Grand Prix winner and also won the Le Mans 24 Hours this year, leaving only Indianapolis between him and becoming only the second driver to achieve the 'Triple Crown of Motorsport'. The late Briton Graham Hill, also a two-times Formula One champion and who died in 1975, is the only one to have done it, completing the triple in 1972. "I've made clear for some time my desire to achieve the Triple Crown. I had an incredible experience at Indianapolis in 2017 and I knew in my heart of hearts I had to go back if the opportunity was there," Alonso said in a statement at the Brazilian Grand Prix. "I'm especially glad to be returning with McLaren. This was always my first choice if the team decided to do it, so I'm delighted they've decided to go ahead. "It's a tough race and we'll be up against the best, so it will be a huge challenge. But we're racers and that's why we race." Alonso missed the Monaco Grand Prix last year to compete at Indianapolis, no great loss for him given McLaren's then woes with an uncompetitive Formula One car and unreliable Honda engine. Former F1 champions McLaren are three-time Indy 500 winners – in 1972 providing a car for Mark Donohue as a private entry and in 1974 and 1976 as a works entry with Johnny Rutherford. They will compete at The Brickyard next year as McLaren Racing. "McLaren has a long and fond relationship with the Indianapolis 500 and it's a case of unfinished business for us with Fernando," said team principal Zak Brown, who had already ruled out a full IndyCar season. "No Indy 500 is a cakewalk, it's a massive challenge. We have the utmost respect for the race and our competitors. So, we are under no illusions. But McLaren are racers first and foremost, as is Fernando. We're going for it." (Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Fallon)Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Motorsports McLaren Racing Vehicles IndyCar