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McLaren Indy 500 washout was a comedy of errors: 'We defeated ourselves'

INDIANAPOLIS — The comedy of errors that doomed McLaren's disastrous return to the Indianapolis 500 began months before Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for the race. How bad was it? A week before Alonso's first test in the car, the team realized it didn't even have a steering wheel. McLaren CEO Zak Brown acknowledged Monday the team was woefully unprepared, and small oversights snowballed into the final result. Bob Fernley, the head of the operation, was fired hours after Alonso missed the race, and Brown returned to England to digest the embarrassment of his venture. Brown on Monday provided The Associated Press a detailed timeline of the bloopers and blunders that led to Alonso missing the race, the last piece the two-time Formula One champion needs in his quest to win motorsports' version of the Triple Crown. "I don't think we came into this arrogant, I think we were unprepared," Brown said. "We didn't deserve to be in the race and it's our own fault. It's not like we showed up and gave our best. We defeated ourselves." The path to missing the 33-driver field began when the car was not ready the moment Texas Motor Speedway opened for the April test. Brown had personally secured a steering wheel the previous week from Cosworth to use for the test, and the mistakes piled up from there. "We didn't get out until midday, our steering wheel was not done on time, that's just lack of preparation and project management organizational skills," Brown said. "That's where this whole thing fell down, in the project management. Zak Brown should not be digging around for steering wheels." A cosmetic issue at the Texas test haunted McLaren deep into last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. McLaren purchased a car from technical partner Carlin, and though the car was orange when McLaren received it, it was not the proper McLaren "papaya orange." It had to be repainted after the test, and that still had not been completed when Alonso crashed his McLaren-built car last Wednesday. "We will look at what we learned here, and the list is a mile long." The Carlin spare was in a paint shop 30 minutes from the track, more than a month after McLaren complained about the color, and it ultimately cost McLaren almost two full days of track time. The team looked foolish as other teams were able to move into backup cars in mere hours; James Hinchcliffe crashed in Saturday qualifying and was back on track in his spare that afternoon.

Fernando Alonso fails to qualify as Pagenaud takes Indy pole

Former Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso narrowly failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday as France's Simon Pagenaud took pole position for the May 26 race. Kyle Kaiser beat out Alonso for the final spot in the 33-car field when he finished third, one spot ahead of the Spaniard, in a six-car shootout that determined the Indy 500's last row. The 23-year-old Kaiser, the last driver to take the track, averaged 227.372 mph for his four laps, a mere 0.019 mph ahead of Alonso's 227.353 mph average in the McLaren-prepared Chevrolet. "We never surrendered. We kept trying," Alonso, 37, told reporters after a tough week at the famed speedway. The Spaniard crashed his Chevrolet in practice on Wednesday and missed nearly two full days of practice while a back-up car was prepared. Then he tried five times on Saturday to qualify, puncturing a tire on the first attempt. Alonso had a completely new set up for Sunday's shootout but could not get the speed he needed to qualify. "I think the car felt better today than what we had yesterday. (So I am) happy with things we tried," he told reporters before learning he had not qualified. Pagenaud had a four-lap average speed of 229.992 mph to become the first Frenchman to take the pole since Rene Thomas in 1919. "It's just amazing," Pagenaud, who last week won the IndyCar Grand Prix on the track's road course, told NBC Sports. "Obviously last week was amazing, but this is even more special." He will be joined by Ed Carpenter (229.889) and Spencer Pigot (229.826) on the front row. But the Cinderella story belonged to Kaiser, the 33rd qualifier. "I don't think I can wrap my mind around what we just did," he said after bumping Alonso from the field. "This is all the credit to the team. They've been working non-stop trying to get this car ready for us and they did everything that we needed to get into this field." (Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Ken Ferris)Related Video: Motorsports Chevrolet McLaren Racing Vehicles F1 IndyCar

Fernando Alonso just misses qualifying for Indy 500 on first day

Former Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso will need a clutch run on Sunday to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 on May 26 after he failed to seal a guaranteed spot on Saturday. The Spaniard tried fives times to put his McLaren Racing Chevrolet in the top 30, but wound up one spot short. He can make the 33-car field only through a six-car shootout on Sunday that will determine the race's final three drivers. "We have another chance to be in the race," Alonso, who is seeking to make his second Indy 500 field, told IndyCar TV. The Spaniard twice got inside the top 30 but both times was bumped outside the mark, with JR Hildebrand and Graham Rahal the final two drivers to seal qualifying spots. Britain's Pippa Mann will be the only woman in the race, qualifying 30th in 227.244 mph. Race positions 10-30 were determined during the day-long qualifying with Saturday's nine fastest drivers set to return on Sunday to decide pole. Spencer Pigot, driving the Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, led qualifying with a four-lap average of 230.083 mph. He was followed by 2018 winner Will Power of Australia (230.081) and Simon Pagenaud of France (229.854). The troubles for Alonso, whose top four-lap average was 227.224 mph, were exacerbated by a punctured tire in his first qualifying run. "That didn't help," Alonso told reporters. "But, obviously, our performance has been quite bad all week. Quite poor." The Spaniard crashed his Chevrolet in practice on Wednesday and missed nearly two full days of practice while a backup car was prepared. He returned on Friday. Alonso said he was worried the McLaren team was "not ready for the challenge." "We've been slow. You see Juncos Racing crashing yesterday and being ready at 6 o'clock. That's impressive," he said. "For us, we've been a little bit slow on everything." Alonso is bidding to join Graham Hill as the only drivers to achieve the 'Triple Crown of Motorsport' with an Indy 500 victory. He previously won the Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans 24 Hours race. He also won two Formula One drivers' titles. (Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)Related Video: Motorsports Chevrolet McLaren IndyCar

Awaiting Chevy Trailblazer, driving Ford Ranger | Autoblog Podcast #580

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Green Editor John Beltz Snyder. First, they discuss the news, including the Chevy Trailblazer, Ferrari to stop providing Maserati with engines, an upcoming Ferrari Hybrid, Elon Musk's sex jokes and the reveal of the McLaren GT. They also talk at length about a couple vehicles they've been driving: the Kia Niro EV and the Ford Ranger. Autoblog Podcast #580 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Chevy Trailblazer could be coming to the U.S. Ferrari to stop supplying engines to Maserati Ferrari to reveal a hybrid supercar Sex on Autopilot McLaren GT revealed Cars we're driving: 2019 Kia Niro EV 2019 Ford Ranger Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Chevrolet Ferrari Ford Kia Maserati McLaren Tesla Truck Coupe Crossover Hatchback Electric Future Vehicles Hybrid Off-Road Vehicles Performance Supercars

McLaren GT revealed — a luxurious yet superlight supercar

WOKING, England — McLaren's short history as a road car brand leaves it unburdened by emotional baggage carried by its rivals, given a new Ferrari or Lamborghini can only ever riff on a well-understood theme. But McLaren is free to do what it wants, and can react quickly to feedback. The original 12C was criticized as lacking excitement, which later cars addressed with ducted-in engine noise, programmed exhaust pops, the track influenced LT range and, ultimately, the Senna. Hardcore cred established, McLaren is now making an abrupt pivot in the opposite direction with the McLaren GT, its new superlight grand tourer inspired by feedback from customers who enjoyed the more refined approach of the 570GT and taken to new extremes by the Speedtail. Certain McLaren constants are maintained: It has a carbon-tub frame, is accessed via dihedral doors and powered by a familiar twin-turbo V8. Likewise, it's lighter, faster and more driver-focused than anything you might consider an alternative. But for all that, the McLaren GT is a standalone product outside of the established Sport Series, Super Series and Ultimate Series model hierarchy. It's a car McLaren customers said they wanted. Consequently, it's the car McLaren is going to give them. The McLaren GT, in essence, slots a segment below the 720S but uses a version of its torquier 4.0-liter V8, dubbed M840TE and fitted with smaller, faster-spooling turbos for a flatter torque curve. A bassy, more sophisticated engine note is also promised. Its 612 horsepower and 465 pound-feet are mid-pack numbers for McLaren, but don't worry, it'll still break 200 mph and scorch 0-60 in 3.1 seconds and 0-124 mph in 9 seconds flat. At a curb weight of 3,384 pounds wet, it fulfills McLaren's "superlight" descriptor by coming in comfortably lighter than the 911 Turbo S, Aston Martin DB11 and Ferrari Portofino that McLaren sees as rivals. U.S. sales will kick off late summer to early fall, with pricing starting at $210,000 — around $80,000 less than a 720S and more or less in line with a 570S Spider. An image of a Ferrari 250 SWB in a McLaren presentation has folk looking up from their phones, product management boss Ian Digman clearly enjoying the provocation before going back on brand with an image of Bruce McLaren sitting in the road-going M6 GT. His point is clear — true GT cars are lightweight and pure in sporting intent while having enough refinement to rack up fast miles in comfort.

McLaren 720S hybrid test mule spied out testing on public roads

McLaren has expressed its intent to make electrified hybrid vehicles for some time now. McLaren CEO, Mike Flewitt, previously said all of its Super Series and Sports Series cars would be hybrids by 2025 as part of the company's Track25 agenda. Today we're spy shots give us our first look at McLaren's hybrid future in the form of a 720S hybrid test mule. How do we know it's a hybrid? Thankfully, our spy photographer was able to catch the "Hybrid" and "Hybrid Prototype" test vehicle stickers plastered on the camouflage of what otherwise looks like a normal 720S. This prototype is likely just some sort of McLaren test mule since the company has said the first hybrid cars (besides the Speedtail) are meant to be from McLaren's Sport Series, and the 720S is part of the higher-end Super Series. McLaren also hasn't spelled out what powertrains its hybrid Super Series cars will be getting down the road, so any guessing as to what a 720S replacement would receive is still just speculation. As for what this powertrain is, we're left to speculate. The company has revealed one hybrid powertrain for the Speedtail. It uses a twin-turbo V8 and makes a combined output of 1035 horsepower and 848 pound-feet of torque. A detuned version of that powertrain could make sense, especially as McLaren already uses variations of its twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 in Sports and Super Series internal combustion cars. Rumors have also swirled about a potential new turbocharged V6 combined with an electric powertrain. A V6 hybrid power plant may make less power than a detuned V8 hybrid, but it's still bound to be plenty potent. All-wheel drive could be in the cards, too, as Flewitt has let on that McLaren is considering such a system with the front wheels being driven via the electric motors. The newest concrete news from McLaren will be coming out tomorrow with the release of the McLaren Grand Tourer. This car is meant to be more comfortable and livable than the rest of the Sports Series is now, so check back for all the details on that.

McLaren just built its 20,000th car since its road car revival in 2011

Nearly two and a half years ago we wrote a story about McLaren building its 10,000th vehicle since its reentry into the road car market. Today, McLaren built its 20,000th vehicle (a 600LT Spider in Chicane Grey) since its revival. For a bit of perspective, it took the British supercar maker a little over five years to build the first 10,000 cars. Now it has managed to build the same amount of cars in half the time. This doesn't exactly come as a surprise, as McLaren has far more models now than when it started with only the MP4-12C in 2011. Even as McLaren truly takes up its place as a "high-volume" supercar manufacturer, it's still smaller than Ferrari and Lamborghini. The prancing horse managed to move 9,251 cars in 2018, while McLaren built just 4,806. Lamborghini did slightly better at 5,750 cars. This doesn't seem to bother McLaren much, as it says it plans to keep output at approximately 5,000 cars per year into the next decade. A small increase to 6,000 cars per year is expected as the company executes its "Track25" plan to introduce more models. Every one of the McLarens built since 2011 has been assembled at the company's production center in Woking, Surrey. McLaren credits part of the sharp increase in production to the addition of a second shift at the manufacturing center, implemented in 2016. We completely expect McLaren to remain lower-volume than Ferrari and Lamborghini in the coming years, especially as those two companies venture into the world of SUVs. The Urus is already out, and Ferrari's performance crossover will likely add even more volume. McLaren has repeatedly said it has no intention of getting into the SUV market.

McLaren GT teased again, this time with a reveal date

About a month ago, we got our first look at the McLaren GT in the form of official photos of a camouflaged car. Now McLaren has released another teaser of an undisguised car in dark lighting. The teaser does still hide a lot of the car, but it's not as onerous as many other automaker teasers. And being a video, it's a little more interesting to see. We get a nice look at details of the tail end. The slim LED taillights are buried within a huge vent panel. The panel fits the curves of the car nicely. And when we get a profile shot, we can see that this McLaren is much more subdued than its more sporting counterparts. The scoops and vents are all smaller and kept close to the body lines. The body itself is low and rather long. This is likely to provide plenty of interior and cargo space. The teaser also finally gives us a reveal date. The car will be shown on the morning of May 15. So be sure to come back that day for the photos and details. In press materials so far, McLaren has highlighted the car's low weight. It will probably be propelled by another version of McLaren's twin-turbo V8, and it may have some level of electrification. We've also heard that there will be enough room for two sets of golf clubs, so it will be practical as a GT.

UK car output falls 14% in March, may get worse with no-deal Brexit

LONDON — British car output fell for the 10th month in a row in March, hit by a slowdown in key foreign markets, and the sector stands to suffer a lot more if the country leaves the European Union without a deal, an industry body said on Tuesday. Output tumbled by an annual 14.4 percent to 126,195 cars in March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. Exports, which account for nearly four out of every five cars made in Britain, were down by 13.4 percent. The SMMT said analysis it had commissioned predicted output would fall this year to 1.36 million units from 1.52 million in 2018, assuming London can secure a transition deal with the EU. If Britain has to rely instead on World Trade Organization rules for its trade with the bloc, which include import tariffs, output is forecast to fall by around 30 percent to 1.07 million units in 2021, returning to mid-1980s levels, the SMMT said. The forecasts were produced for SMMT by AutoAnalysis, a consultancy. Prime Minister Theresa May has secured a delay to the Brexit deadline until Oct. 31, giving her more time to try to break an impasse in parliament over the terms of Britain's departure from the EU. Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt traveled to Japan earlier this month to try to persuade the Japanese government and Toyota, which has a big presence in Britain, that London was determined to avoid a no-deal Brexit. "Just a few years ago, industry was on track to produce 2 million cars by 2020 — a target now impossible with Britain's reputation as stable and attractive business environment undermined," SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said. "All parties must find a compromise urgently so we can set about repairing the damage and diverting energy and investment to the technological challenges that will define the future of the global industry." (Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken)

McLaren GT spied in detail running around the streets of Spain

The McLaren GT is on its way, and today we get a more detailed look at the British supercar. McLaren previously released a few photos of the car in camouflage, but these are much more revealing with close-up shots included. We'd like to turn your attention to the middle and rear of the car, where this McLaren stands to differentiate itself most with the rest of the lineup. There's a bit of a stretching effect from the long, gently tapering engine cover and rear deck. It's unclear how much of that area will be usable storage space, but there's bound to be more than the 570 GT allows for now. McLaren has said it's aiming for a full set of golf clubs or two pairs of 6-foot long skis with boots. So for all you McLaren owners upset about not being able to drive your supercar to the golf course or into snowy mountain passes, rest assured that McLaren is remedying this problem. Even though McLaren is calling this a grand tourer, the general supercar shape and supercar characteristics appear ever-present. It's still extremely low to the ground, positions the engine right behind the driver's ears and it'll probably have even more power than the current 570 series of cars. Autocar recently chatted with McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt about the car, and he said it will have a more dedicated focus on the characteristics you want in a GT. That means high levels of comfort from the suspension and also increased cabin luxury. He went on to say that there will be more McLarens like this to come. The DRL, headlight and taillight signatures are clear for us all to stare at now, too. McLaren hasn't showed much restraint when it comes to the air intakes behind the doors, as they're as large as ever. Camouflage on supercars like this McLaren never looks all that bad — we wouldn't be surprised to see somebody do a wrap like this for a rally, as those are generally pretty out-there designs. McLaren is expected to launch the car relatively soon, presumably as a 2020 model year vehicle. It's looking ready to go in these spy photos, so don't expect to wait terribly long to see the new McLaren GT.