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Autoblog's top 50 car photos of 2016

This one shouldn't need much explanation. We like cars a whole lot, and that includes not just driving them but taking great pictures of them. We've collected our 50 favorite images from this year in the mega-gallery above. It's a mix of old and new, with a healthy dose of vintage and modern race cars mixed in, and not one single shot under the harsh lights of an auto show. So click through and enjoy. Featured Gallery Autoblog's Top 50 Photos of 2016 View 50 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2016 Autoblog.com Audi BMW Chevrolet Dodge Ferrari Ford Lamborghini Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Porsche Rolls-Royce Volvo Convertible Coupe Motorcycle Luxury Racing Vehicles Performance Supercars Classics

Mario Andretti sees familiar spark in Fernando Alonso at Indy

INDIANAPOLIS - Mario Andretti sees the same spark in Fernando Alonso that drove him to take on all comers at race tracks around the world and said he believes the Spaniard is a threat to win the Indianapolis 500. Alonso set the motor racing world abuzz last month when he said he had been granted clearance by his McLaren Formula One team to miss the Monaco Grand Prix and race in the 101st Indy 500 on May 28 in pursuit of the sport's famed 'Triple Crown' - a Formula One title and Indy 500 and Le Mans wins. While Graham Hill is the only driver to achieve the feat, Andretti also stands alone as the only driver to win a Formula One world championship, an Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500. "I embraced the challenges that's why I did it because I was curious," Andretti told Reuters before Alonso settled into the cockpit of an IndyCar for the first time on Wednesday. "Some drivers are very happy specializing. I wasn't. "I see the same spark in Alonso. "I commend him for doing this. I know how he feels because this was always my challenge to go into somebody else's sandbox and see if I could win at their own game. "There's nothing better than that." Despite Alonso having won 32 grands prix and two drivers championships, the 35-year-old was required to undergo IndyCar's rookie orientation program on Wednesday in order to get used to the unique environment of oval racing at the famed 2.5 mile (4km) Brickyard course. "Here you have constant high speed on a super speedway and it is incredibly different from what his (Alonso's) specialty is which is basically road racing," added Andretti. "It's not that he is going to be foreign to 220 mph plus but what he is going to be foreign to is cornering at 220mph plus. "That's the part that obviously he is going to have to deal with and learn how to approach it." McLaren will enter the race with a Honda-engined Indy car run by Andretti Autosport, owned by former McLaren driver Michael Andretti, who put together a detailed game plan for Alonso that began in a simulator. Alonso impressed on Wednesday as he quickly got up to speed with a fastest lap of 222.548 mph (356.825 kph) but Andretti said there was still a lot for him to learn. "As you get closer to qualifying then he is going to have to start flirting with the limit of the car. That's when it gets precarious," said Andretti. "At these speeds when you're flirting with the limits of the car and ready to go then you have to have a pretty good feel.

The McLaren 620R is revealed as a road-legal 570S GT4 race car

Perhaps you missed out on the limited-run McLaren Senna race car for the road. Those were all snapped up immediately, so it’s understandable if you did. DonÂ’t fret, though, because McLaren just unveiled another road-legal race car that it plans to sell 350 of. ItÂ’s called the McLaren 620R, and itÂ’s even more exclusive than the 500-unit Senna. The 620R is truly a road-legal 570S GT4 race car at its core. McLaren simply homologated it for road use, and then took advantage of the total lack of racing regulations to make it even quicker than the race version. The end result is rather enticing. To make it road legal, McLaren attacked a laundry list of items. The massive rear wing gained a brake light. McLaren says that cars will be delivered to customers in the most roadworthy low-downforce setting, but a McLaren retailer is able to adjust it to one of the two other more aggressive settings — in maximum attack, it can contribute 408 pounds of downforce. The front bumper and splitter were redesigned with “more pronounced aero blades” on the splitter. Dive planes were added to help accelerate air flow along the sides of the car and aid brake cooling. Then, the redesigned carbon fiber hood has two nostrils to clean up the air flowing over the top of the car and aid downforce. The full frontal aero package is able to produce up to 143 pounds of downforce. As expected, it uses an unshackled version of the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 out of the GT4 race car. In this spec, it produces 612 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. ThatÂ’s good for a 0-60 mph sprint in 2.8 seconds and a maximum speed of 200 mph. The dampers are straight off the GT4, too. TheyÂ’re manually adjustable, and actually contribute to a 13-pound weight savings over the road version of the 570S. Still, these dampers are meant for the track, so expect them to be brutally stiff on our pockmarked roads. Lightweight aluminum wishbones and uprights are used, plus stiffer anti-roll bars as well. Carbon ceramic rotors and forged aluminum calipers are used to stop. McLaren says stopping power is spectacular with the standard Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, but itÂ’s taken to an entirely new level with the optional full slicks. Buyers in the U.S. are allowed even more goodies than those elsewhere with this car. YouÂ’re able to spec an MSO upgrade package that features a carbon fiber roof and roof scoop for the carÂ’s intake.