McLaren Senna, page #4

Auto blog

Fernando Alonso sputters in his Indy test

INDIANAPOLIS — Helio Castroneves and Fernando Alonso kept waiting around Wednesday. Now both international stars have some unfinished business to take care before qualifying for this year's Indianapolis 500. After enduring a rain delay of more than four hours then watching IndyCar regulars turn laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for two more hours, Castroneves and Alonso finally made it onto the track — but couldn't quite complete their refresher course. "Happy to be back here because this place is great," Alonso said after posting a fast lap of 218.690 mph — the slowest of the nine-driver evening session. "We were slow because the weather and some of the decisions people made on running time and things like that." He faced a bevy of problems in his first trip back to Indy since an impressive rookie performance in 2017. The rain delay forced organizers into rescheduling the one-day test, moving the rookie and refresher driver time from midday to the evening, cutting a significant amount of practice time for Alonso and the others. And when the green flag finally waved, Alonso's No. 66 car stalled in the warmup lane forcing the two-time Formula One champion from Spain to be towed back to pit lane where his crew worked feverishly to fix an electrical problem while sat in the cockpit. Eventually, he did get out and passed the first of two refresher phases. He'll have to wait until opening practice of the 500 on May 14 to pass the second. "It was frustrating for everyone because it was a brand new chassis and a brand new car, so we expected to run a lot," said Alonso, who drives for McLaren Racing. "If we could have had this at midday, you could work on your issues in the afternoon and then go out again." To put his day in perspective, Takuma Sato, the 2017 Indy winner from Japan, posted the fastest lap of the day at 226.993 mph and Colton Herta was the fastest rookie at 226.108. Castroneves, as usual, was good right from the start and posted a fast lap of 225.565. The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner looked smooth and fast on his favorite track and wasted no time passing the first phase. That much should have been expected from the popular Brazilian, who has recorded seven top-three finishes in 18 Indy starts and will make his season debut May 11 in the IndyCar Grand Prix. The weather and yellow flags prevented four of the five veterans — Castroneves, Alonso, Oriol Servia and JR Hildebrand — from passing phase two. Only Indy native Conor Daly made it.

New 'Hobbs & Shaw' trailer speaks — and explodes — for itself

When Dwayne Johnson tweeted that this summer's "Hobbs & Shaw" movie would be the "Biggest showdown the Fast & Furious Universe has ever seen," we didn't realize just how big he meant. Turns out he meant so big that we're going to need a bigger universe. Of course there are all kinds of cars, including enough McLarens to start three dealerships. There are also vintage customs, military APCs, a Rat Rod Optimus Prime, helicopters, and an F-22 Raptor-ish fighter with side-by-side seating. If there's anyone left on the planet who doesn't know, "Hobbs & Shaw" is about two former bad guys taking on a new badder guy. The Rock plays Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham plays Deckard Shaw in a two-hour "SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!" grudge match with the genetically enhanced Idris Elba and a small nation worth of Elba's gun-fodder clown-car henchmen. Elba's character has a real name, but we'll call him by his chosen nickname: Black Superman. It gets so much worse, and so much more explodey, from there. Since this is meant to be the beginning of a new franchise, maybe one day we'll find out how the sequel plans to outdo the first installment. Perhaps by not making one side in the final fight go to battle with 19th-century wooden implements. The date you need to mark on your calendar, whether in anticipation or warning, is August 2. Enjoy.

Jaguar I-Pace named World Car of the Year

NEW YORK — The Jaguar I-Pace has been named World Car of the Year, an award meant to honor the most significant new car introduction and conferred by an international jury of automotive journalist judges. The group announced the winners of additional awards at the New York Auto Show, with the Audi A7 named World Luxury Car of the Year, the McLaren 720S recognized as World Performance Car of the Year, and the Suzuki Jimny named World Urban Car. The I-Pace additionally took home two other awards: World Car Design of the Year and World Green Car of the Year. The WCOTY team of 86 jurors hail from 24 countries, and the organization is independent and not tied to any publication. This is the 15th year for the awards. For this year's World Car of the Year award the top three finalists were the I-Pace, the Audi E-Tron, and the Volvo S60/V60. Previous WCOTY winners were the Volvo XC60 in 2018 and the Jaguar F-Pace in 2017. View 74 Photos

Here's Fernando Alonso's McLaren IndyCar

McLaren has released renderings and video of its upcoming No. 66 IndyCar, the one that will be driven by Fernando Alonso at the Indianapolis 500 on May 26th. The car wears the time-honored McLaren Papaya Orange color with a contrasting blue hue. Its number is the same as worn by Mark Donohue's McLaren-Offenhauser for the 1972 Indy 500 victory, which was also the first Indy 500 win for the Penske team. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Before the Indy 500, the car is facing an open test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, two weeks from now on April 24th. The images do not clearly show the new AFP cabin protection device fitted, which should be on every car tested on April 24th at Indianapolis. There is a tiny, pinky-sized widget ahead of the small windshield on the renderings, but from the information released earlier about the AFP, the 3-inch tall device – albeit small – should be larger than what the car appears to have. Alonso also tested the No. 66 car's twin at a closed event at Texas Motor Speedway yesterday. In the video released by IndyCar, Alonso appears moderately positive about his new ride and getting acclimated to it. The testing event was not a mere quick warm-up, as Alonso did as many as 105 laps in the car. The 2019 Indy500 is Alonso's second attempt after a disastrous run in 2017 – then, Alonso drove a Honda-powered car for Andretti Autosport and despite leading for 27 laps, had to retire with just 21 laps to go due to an engine problem. The 2019 McLaren car built at the company's technology center in Woking, England, uses a Chevrolet engine, as McLaren announced late last year. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery McLaren IndyCar Motorsports McLaren Racing Vehicles IndyCar

McLaren Senna $13K model by Amalgam has a remote that operates doors and lights

Headquartered in Bristol, England, Amalgam Collection makes some of the most detailed (and most expensive) automotive scale models on the planet. After releasing a static McLaren Senna in 2018, the company thought it could do the car even better justice. So, Amalgam created a remote specifically for the 1:8 model that controls a variety of features, including the lights and the doors. Amalgam has an incredible lineup of models. We could gush about every car on the site, but some of the most notable recent examples have been a chrome Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, a 1:4 Bugatti Chiron engine, a Ferrari 488 Pista, and a Lamborghini Miura P400 SV. Amalgam is currently working on a McLaren Speedtail, a Porsche 917 Martini, and the Ferrari SP twins. Unlike Hot Wheels, however, these are not the types of models one can pile up. Buying just one requires a separate savings account. Originally, Amalgam's first Senna model cost $8,324. The new-and-improved model is listed at $13,444. This is mainly due to the new remote that comes with the model. About the size of a smartphone, the branded remote has eight different buttons. It can lock and unlock the doors, turn on the hazards, turn on the headilghts, turn on the reverse lights, open the left and right door, or turn on interior lights. The model comes in a black "presentation box" and is mounted on either a carbon fiber or leather base, all covered by a clear acrylic dust cover. Inspect the details in the gallery above and see the doors and lights in action below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren shows off new grand tourer in light camo

McLaren announced its upcoming grand tourer model at the Geneva Motor Show last month. The yet-unnamed GT will not be part of any established McLaren series, but rather doing its own luxury thing as a newcomer. We presume there are a number of McLaren customers who, while appreciative of the brand's image and engineering, would put a premium on cabin comfort and highway legs rather than outright supercar intensity – not that McLarens usually come that stripped. The manufacturer has now released new teaser images of the carbon-monocoque car, without any obscuring plastics, just camo on the grand tourer's flanks. The design appears pleasingly un-gimmicky, in a classic 2000s supercar way — there's certainly a touch of Ferrari about it. But what sets the upcoming model apart from usual supercar fare will be its cabin: reportedly comfortable and spacious enough to complete a 1,000-mile jaunt from Woking to Barcelona in one go, complete with a full set of luggage on board. McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt dubbed the grand tourer "the most useable mid-engine car yet" at the Geneva event. Engineering a supercar-shaped vehicle to have useable trunk space must be a challenge, but the production car is said to be able to transport a full set of golf clubs or two pairs of 6-foot-long skis and associated ski boots — in other words, what a McLaren owner would happily pack for a continental holiday. The powertrain of the grand tourer will consist of a twin-turbo V8, with electrification to help it reach the kind of range needed in a comfortable continent-crossing car. Featured Gallery McLaren GT spy shots Image Credit: McLaren Automotive McLaren Coupe Luxury Performance

More details on Lanzante's F1-engined Porsche 930 restomod

Not long after last year's Porsche Rennsport Reunion, we posted on Lanzante Engineering's restomod project with the original Porsche 911 Turbo. McLaren Formula One used TAG-branded Porsche engines for four years in the 1980s to win two constructor's and three driver's championships. McLaren sold 11 of those engines to Lanzante — nine of which have been raced, one with a win to its credit — and Lanzante is installing them into the original chassis of some 930s. PistonHeads stopped by the shop to find out more. By the end of its service in the MP4/3, the TAG-Porsche TTE P01 motor rang up 1,060 horsepower in qualifying and 960 hp in the race, revving to a 12,600-rpm redline. Porsche engine legend Hans Mezger had led the development, coaxing those numbers from just 1.5-liters of V6 aided by two large KKK turbos at a max of four bar. All that was fine for a time when F1 ran with unlimited testing and unlimited parts, but a modern owner doesn't want to pay five techs to live in his garage and keep his car running. Lanzante asked Cosworth to make the engine more drivable and reliable. Cosworth installed a new crankcase, adjusted the air-fuel mixture, and installed smaller turbos for quicker power delivery, decreasing max boost by 25 percent to three bar (43 psi). The redline has come down to 9,000 rpm, for final output figures of 503 hp and 310 pound-feet of torque. According to PistonHeads, power climbs a "steady incline to redline," and more than half the rev band delivers maximum torque. The 503-hp rating doesn't sound like much today, when a Mustang gets more than 700 hp. Yet the first 930 Turbos got 296 hp and 243 lb-ft from a 3.0-liter flat-six with one big KKK turbo. The most powerful 930 Flatnose worked up 330 hp and 347 lb-ft from a 3.3-liter flat-six. Lanzante's taken out a ton of weight, though. The TAG engine is already 220 pounds lighter than the 930's 3.3-liter; a new carbon fiber hood and engine cover, and aluminum door skins shed more pounds. The total package weighs roughly 2,430 pounds, which is more than 500 pounds lighter than the original Porsche Turbo. That includes the extra pieces needed to make an F1 engine power a passenger car. Lanzante had to swap in a 930 Flatnose front bumper, which replaces the fog lights for oil coolers. The team put radiators at the front of the car as part of a brand new water cooling system. The climate control is entirely electric, because F1 cars didn't come with HVAC.

Lego built a full-size McLaren Senna, and it's glorious

Lego is not slowing down with its forays into the automotive scene. Today we bring you news of a full-size McLaren Senna model, built as a collaboration between Lego and McLaren. This brick supercar is built using 467,854 individual pieces, which if anybody is counting, is about 200,000 pieces more than Lego used to create the life-size 720S from awhile back. It's still not as complex as the over 1 million-brick Bugatti Chiron project, though. Construction took 2,725 hours from start to finish, while the design and development took just over 2,000 hours. The car itself is built to an exact 1:1 specification in size, and includes a ton of bits from the actual Senna. Borrowed parts include a seat, steering wheel, pedals and infotainment system. Those in the driver's seat are able to operate the lights and play around with the big center infotainment screen. When you push the "start button," an engine simulation plays over the speakers to try and convince you that the twin-turbo V8 is actually behind you. Real McLaren badges right off its cars are fitted anywhere you'd normally see one. Then the wheels and Pirelli tires from the Senna are mounted to the chassis. Getting in and out through the Lego dihedral doors is apparently a bit difficult, but they're removable to allow easy access to the seats. In total, the Lego Senna weighs a hefty 3,348 pounds, which McLaren says is 1,102 pounds more than the real Senna weighs. Keep in mind that this one doesn't even have an engine. It also took nine times longer to produce than a road-going McLaren Senna takes (which is 300 hours if you were wondering). The details and structures to make this thing stick together are impressive, especially that huge wing hanging out the back. McLaren fitted some properly insane aero to the production Senna, and replicating the shapes and angles with Legos couldn't have been easy. Sadly, this one doesn't appear to have any real ability to drive at low speeds like the Chiron does with its electric motor. McLaren plans to show it off at car shows and events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed this summer.

McLaren debuts track-only production Senna GTR after all 75 have been purchased

McLaren designed the Senna to be a track car that was just barely legal enough to drive on public streets. Hinderances such as safety restrictions keep it from being the full-out ballistic projectile it was born to be. So McLaren asked the question, "What if we took the Senna out of that box?" and the approximately $1.4M track-only Senna GTR was born. The Senna GTR Concept car debuted at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, and McLaren has returned a year later to show off the final production model. The Senna GTR follows in the historic footsteps of the F1 GTR and the P1 GTR and sits in McLaren's throne room with other Ultimate Series cars, the base Senna and the Speedtail. The most in-your-face change between the production model and the concept is the rear wing. Somehow, it managed to get even bigger, with new side planks that extend from the left and right tips down to the rear diffuser, creating a rectangular box of aerodynamic super strength. It also has a redesigned front splitter, a downsized rear diffuser, new dive planes on the front corners, and vortex generators on both sides of the car. Slipping through the air is what the Senna is all about, as McLaren says it is "the most effective aero performance for track driving of any McLaren Automotive product." According to McLaren, the Senna GTR's downforce exceeds an astounding 2,205 pounds, compared to the road-going Senna that topped out at 1,763 pounds at 155 mph. The GTR can reach the same 1,763 pounds at about 15 percent slower speed, or at about 132 mph. The GTR is lower, wider, and slimmer than the Senna, as well. At 2,619 pounds dry, the GTR is 22 pounds lighter (the track-only version deletes the infotainment and audio system but keeps the air conditioning). It's 1.3 inches lower than the Senna, the front track is three inches wider, and the rear track is 2.7 inches wider. Further expanding the GTR's girth, fender flares were added to cover up the 19-inch centerlock wheels that are wrapped in 285/650 front and 325/705 rear Pirelli slicks. Behind the wheels are forged aluminum monoblock calipers, six-piston up front and four-piston in the back. These work with 15.4-inch carbo-ceramic discs for extreme stopping power. McLaren says, despite the design change, the rear wing air brake functions the same and can get a 20 percent greater maximum deceleration because of the slick tires. One of the most significant changes to the car can only be felt, not seen.

Gordon Murray's reborn F1 will reportedly have a V12 and a manual

The McLaren P1 is not a McLaren F1 successor. The Senna is not an F1 successor. Neither is the Lamborghini Centenario, or LaFerrari, or the Bugatti Divo, or the Brabham BT62, or the Aston Martin Valkyrie, or the Koenigsegg Jesko. According to Gordon Murray, an F1 successor does not exist. So he's going to build one. In an interview and report from Road & Track, Murray said, "I truly believe nobody's done another McLaren F1 since the F1. And although very few auto journalists have had the chance to drive an F1, we're inclined to agree, just based on how specific of a car the F1 was. Not even McLaren's new Speedtail, which does have a center seating position, can be considered a spiritual successor, as it has a hybrid powertrain. The F1 was an engineering marvel when it was introduced in 1992, and it remains one in 2019. The combination of the center seating position, the 542-horsepower V12, and the 2,244-pound dry weight is nearly impossible to recreate today, thanks to the loads of safety standards, added technology, and more complicated powertrains. Nearly impossible is not impossible, though. According to the report, Murray's new car would have all the features of the old, but better. It will have a V12 powerplant linked to a manual transmission, and the driver will sit in the middle of the car. Like many supercars today (including McLarens), it will use a carbon fiber monocoque, which helped Murray keep the car light. He claims it weighs less than 2,200 pounds, which is bananas. For full information about timing, pricing, availability, and more details about the car, read the full report and all of Murray's quotes at Road & Track. Related Video: