2023 Mclaren Artura on 2040-cars

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McLaren has a backup plan in case Alonso leaves

MONZA, Italy (Reuters) - McLaren have backup plans in place should Fernando Alonso leave the team at the end of the Formula One season in November, executive director Zak Brown said on Friday. "Negotiations are ongoing and they are going very well," the American told reporters at the Italian Grand Prix. "But you've got to have a Plan B and C in the event you don't reach an agreement. And we've got those plans." Double world champion Alonso, who is out of contract at the end of the year, is reportedly considering his options after becoming frustrated with Honda's inability to produce a competitive engine. Both the Spaniard and the team have denied, however, that he has told them that he will not stay if the team sticks with the Japanese manufacturer. McLaren's engine options appear to be as limited as Alonso's, however. McLaren's only realistic alternative to Honda is Renault, if Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso free up a supply of the French manufacturer's power units by switching to Honda. The only teams who might be in a position to offer the 36-year-old a seat - notably Williams, Renault or Force India - have either not won a race in years or not at all. Renault F1 bosses were seen entering the McLaren motorhome at Monza on Friday, increasing speculation that a deal was being struck, although Brown made light of the situation. "They have my Lotus 98T engine that I'm waiting for them to rebuild, so I was asking about that," he said. "They do have it, that's a fact." He would not comment on any talks with Honda. Some media reports have indicated that Toro Rosso need a decision this weekend but Brown said that was not the case for McLaren. "Nothing's finalised," he said. "We don't have to make a decision this weekend. I can't speak for Toro Rosso." Brown said the decision would be a sporting one primarily with McLaren, who last won a race in 2012, needing to be back on the podium. He did not rule out Honda raising their game in time for next season. "They're spending more money, so they're doing what it takes to be more competitive. They're doing different stuff now... they've acknowledged they are working with some outside consultants," he said. "We are going to sit down next week with guys that are much smarter on power units than myself and take a view on what we see their plans are and what they've accomplished and then take a view," added Brown (Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Christian Radnedge) Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.

McLaren 650S will hit 124 mph in 8.4 seconds

Sometimes an automaker reveals a car, in full, and that's the whole story. But sometimes things get dragged out a bit. The McLaren 650S falls in the latter category, which strikes us as a bit odd considering that it's essentially a massaged version of the existing MP4-12C. No matter, the news here remains impressive all the same. The British racing team turned supercar constructor first announced the arrival of the 650S two weeks ago. A few days later, the first images and video footage leaked out. McLaren quickly released initial details and official photos the next day, but withheld certain information – key details like pricing, and, you know... how fast it can actually go. We still haven't seen the thing in person – that will come next week when the car is unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show – but now McLaren has released official performance stats for its new supercar (along with a trio of new snapshots). So just how quick is it? Well, for starters, it'll run the 0-62 mph sprint in three seconds flat and trip the quarter-mile lights in 10.5 seconds before topping out at 207 miles per hour. That's rather quick no matter how you slice it, but for context, McLaren points us to the car's 0-124 mph time, and how that compares to other cars it's made. At 8.4 seconds, it takes the 650S half a second less to reach that speed than the 12C upon which it's based – that means it's a full second quicker than the legendary McLaren F1. And that's no mean feat considering that, even twenty years later, McLaren's first road car is still the yardstick against which all other supercars are measured. Scope out the rest of the impressive stats in the press release below. PERFORMANCE FIGURES ANNOUNCED FOR THE McLAREN 650S AHEAD OF GENEVA DEBUT Feb 27, 2014 - New McLaren 650S Coupe can accelerate 0-200km/h (0-124mph) in just 8.4 seconds - Faster than rival 'stripped out' road racers, yet offers far superior comfort, refinement and equipment - Available in Coupe and Spider variants from launch As the first example of the McLaren 650S rolled off the line at the state-of-the-art McLaren Production Centre in Woking, McLaren Automotive has released performance numbers and confirmed pricing ahead of the global debut at the 84th International Geneva Motor Show. The latest addition to the McLaren range accelerates to 100km/h (62mph) from rest in just 3.0 seconds, and can reach 200km/h (124mph) in just 8.4 seconds.

McLaren may be planning P15 to slot between MP4-12C and P1

McLaren hasn't tried to hide the fact that it is working on cheaper sports car codenamed the P13 that will directly take on the venerated Porsche 911, but now rumor has it that the automaker is also working on a second new model that would slot between the MP4-12C and P1 supercar, which is pictured above. While the car, codenamed P15, is still in the earliest stages of development, McLaren Chief Executive Officer Mike Flewitt teased the project to Autocar. Flewitt admitted that the P15 is still "quite a long way off." Like all of McLaren's current production cars, the P15 would use a tuned version of its 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V8 mounted in the middle of the company's MonoCell carbon fiber monocoque. Flewitt did not say whether the car would use hybrid power like the P1, stick with the 12C's turbos or otherwise. The exact specifications are still being decided. Pricing for the P15 will likely be around 400,000 pounds, or about $660,000 at current exchange rates. That price will position it nicely between the 12C's $229,000 base price and the P1 at $1,150,000. McLaren is reportedly hoping to sell as many as 2,500 P15 models a year when it goes on sale in 2015 or 2016. Featured Gallery McLaren P1 Hot Weather Testing View 10 Photos Related Gallery McLaren 12C GT Sprint News Source: AutocarImage Credit: McLaren Rumormill McLaren Coupe Performance mclaren p1 mclaren p13 mclaren 12c mclaren p15