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McLaren sold out of the 675LT Spider in two weeks

We've come to expect a McLaren to be fast, but this latest development is measured on an entirely different scale. Just over two weeks after revealing the new 675LT Spider, the British supercar manufacturer has sold out the entire production run of 500 examples. The vehicle in question is the convertible version of the 675LT coupe introduced earlier this year and based, in turn, on the 650S in the company's Super Series. Like the coupe, the 675LT Spider packs an upgraded version of Woking's now-signature 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8, rated at a suitably devilish 666 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. The track-tuned roadster also features the extended long-tail bodywork first seen on the coupe and which gives the LT its name, but with a retractable hardtop to let in the extra-raspy exhaust note and the rapidly passing wind through the fortunate occupants' hair. And by rapid, we do mean rapid: 0-62 is quoted at 2.9 seconds and the top speed at 203 miles per hour. The commensurately quick uptake of the Spider, confirmed by company spokesman Wayne Bruce to Autoblog, is even faster than the rate at which it sold the preceding coupe. It took McLaren two months to sell out the 675LT following its introduction at the Geneva Motor Show this past March. Speaking to the prospect of another extreme take on the Super Series to follow, Bruce said the company has "No more announcements planned this year. Let's see what our customers ask of us in 2016." To coincide with the filling of its order books, McLaren released this video of Bruno Senna wringing the spider's neck out. The minute-and-a-half-long clip was shot on and around the same Portimao circuit in Portugal where we recently drove the 570S. Since you won't be able to get your hands on one yourself (unless you got your order in early), this may be the closest you'll ever get to the long-tail roadster, so check out the action in the video above. Related Video:

Rare Ford Mustang ASC McLaren is a piece of '80s history

You can't blame the dealer for advertising this oddball convertible as a "Ford Mustang McLaren." The name certainly rolls off the tongue better than "Ford Mustang ASC McLaren," and it makes the car sound a whole lot more appealing. However, without the 'ASC' in there, you don't get the full picture. And when it comes to the world of strange automotive collaborations—particularly those of the 80s—you most definitely want the full picture. ASC McLaren Mustangs were the result of fortuitous timing, and a project that was already underway between the American Sunroof Company and McLaren (no, not that McLaren). Detroit custom car builder Peter Muscat brought the idea of a Mustang with a tonneau cover to ASC after chopping the top off a Fox body on his own, and in turn ASC founder Heinz Pretcher brought the concept to Ford. Big blue was already in the midst of relaunching a Mustang convertible, which had been absent from the lineup for 10 years, so initially it was the Mercury Capri that got the ASC/McLaren treatment. The result was a car that was more expensive than a Mustang GT, and coupled with declining sales of the Capri overall, the car was discontinued in 1986, paving the way for the ASC McLaren Mustang you see here on eBay. With the change over to the Mustang as their platform for modification in 1987, ASC McLaren were given the opportunity to create something notable. Customizing the Capri was one thing, but the Mustang name carries with it iconic status. So what did ASC McLaren do with their chance to leave their mark on automotive history? They gave the car some visual modifications, both inside and out, but like the Capri, left the powertrain untouched. Also like the Capri, the cars still ended up costing more than $20,000. Between the high price, the economic woes of the late 80s, and disputes between Muscat and Pretcher, the ASC McLaren Mustangs were no more by 1990. During the three year run, 1,806 ASC McLaren conversions were completed, making them quite rare, especially low mileage examples like this one. The 5.0 V8s are known for being stout engines, capable of handling serious modification, and logging lots of miles, so there are no concerns there. The 5-speed Borg-Warner transmission that came in all Mustang GTs is also known for being a durable unit, the '87-'90 versions especially so. The main concern here would be the life the car has lived, and more importantly where it has lived.

The unbelievable everyday supercar | 2017 McLaren 720S First Drive

The McLaren 720S goes around a racetrack the way the Earth goes around the sun, inasmuch as the numbers involved are very difficult to comprehend. The Earth is very large, and the sun is even larger and very far away, such that a relative speed of 67,000 miles per hour seems crazy but is barely noticeable. The McLaren, however, puts you in a more immediate frame of reference, such that everything pertaining to its speed is not just noticeable, but alarming. The 720S is so fast that there's no warming up to it. Almost immediately you're driving at speeds that, in pretty much any other car would mean imminent calamity. Even the non-alarming voice the driving coach in the passenger seat uses to tell you to go faster seems alarming. Best of all, though, McLaren reminds you that rewards come with skill, not just speed, which is weird for a car this fast. You can't just point the steering wheel, mash the gas and let the electronics sort everything out. You have to, you know, actually drive, paying close attention to weight transfer and smooth inputs. That also sounds weird, but it's rare these days. In our world of point-and-shoot supercars, McLaren made the 720S a true driver's car. So, how did we get here? In brief, after dipping a toe in the carmaking pool with the McLaren F1 in 1992 and the Mercedes-McLaren SLR in 2003, racing juggernaut McLaren started McLaren Automotive in 2010 and got into the business full time. That lead to the MP4-12C (later just 12C), P1, and eventually the three-tier Sport, Super, and Ultimate series lineup present today. The 720S sits in the middle, replacing the 650S and 675LT. Since the start, McLaren has launched at least one new model or derivative every year. So expect a variant of the 720S in 2018. This is the first of McLaren's second-generation regular production cars. It uses a carbon-fiber underbody the company calls Monocage II, an evolution of the P1's monocoque that replaces the previous carbon fiber tub. It has all the things that come with structural evolution: light weight, lower side sills, higher rigidity. The new carbon monocoque also results in amazing rear visibility, thanks to a C-pillar located at the far edge of the car, bolstered by another thin strip of carbon fiber with glass covering the space in between. Visibility also benefits from the fighter-jet profile of the 720S. The wedge-shape of the previous McLarens gives way to a canopy-like roof that recalls cars like the Pagani Zonda or original Acura NSX.