Showing posts with label McLaren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McLaren. Show all posts

Monday, November 28, 2011

Formula 1: Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results


Always the bridesmaid, never the bride: this perfectly describes Mark Webber’s participation at the 2011 Formula 1 season so far. Despite driving the best car on the grid and being in the top-performing team, the Australian not only watched his younger teammate clinch the title with considerable ease, but until the last race of the season didn’t have a single win to show for himself. Read more »

Friday, November 25, 2011

McLaren Denies Rumors about a Honda Engine Deal in 2014


The image of a white and red McLaren, usually with a yellow-green helmet signaling that the man sitting in the cockpit was none other than Ayrton Senna, is one that remains etched in F1 fans’ minds many years after his demise in 1994. Powering the McLaren of the late three-time world champion was a Honda engine.

Last weekend, German magazine Auto Motor und Sport reported that McLaren was in talks with Honda to rekindle their 1988-1992 collaboration, which yielded four constructor championships, from 2014 onwards, when the rules mandate the change to 1.6-liter turbocharged engines.

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McLaren Gives us an Insight into its New Production Center with Video and Mega Gallery


Venturing into the automotive business takes a lot more than building some prototypes, launching a new model and then waiting for the orders to come in. Even more so if you intend to compete on the top level and establish yourself as a supercar manufacturer.

This is why McLaren Automotive didn’t only build its first supercar after the iconic F1 of the ‘90s, but also invested close to £50 million (€58.2 or US$77.3 million) in developing a brand-new, state-of-the-art factory – or rather, as the company names it, the McLaren Production Center (MPC).

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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Formula 1: McLaren’s Boss Says Team “Must Win Races from the Start” in 2012


McLaren is second only to Ferrari in Formula 1 World Championships, having won 12 constructors’ titles, three less than the Scuderia. Yet the 2011 season has not lived up to the team’s expectations despite winning six races, because the combination of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull was clearly superior.

Speaking at the opening of McLaren’s new Production Center, the F1 team's principal, Martin Whitmarsh, admitted that they underperformed this year.

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Thursday, November 17, 2011

UK PM David Cameron Opens New McLaren Production Center


Being one of Britain's most famous homegrown sports car manufacturers and motorsport brands, it's only fitting that UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, was invited to open McLaren's new production center.

The new production center is another piece in the carefully constructed US$ 1 billion plan that Ron Dennis has devised for the transformation of McLaren Automotive in a fully-fledged car company.

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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Video: Fifth Gear Pits McLaren MP4-12C against Ferrari 458 Italia


The 458 Italia, Ferrari's V8 supercar, is the default choice in its category. Sexy, with a fabulous design and the latest in automotive technology, it is a pure driver’s car to be enjoyed by anyone who can afford it.

Yet McLaren plans to spoil Ferrari’s party claiming that its own brand-new supercar, the MP4-12C, can beat it. On paper, little separates them. But the question for car fanatics remains: which one is better?

To find out, Channel 5's Fifth Gear presenters Tiff Needell and Jason Plato decided to pit the Ferrari against its new challenger from Britain. Their verdict? To find out, just follow the jump and watch the video…

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Gordon Murray Unveils Radical T.27 Electric City Car


Gordon Murray is best known as the mastermind behind the creation of McLaren’s F1, which at its time was the fastest supercar of the world – and, before that, for his work and revolutionary ideas in Formula 1 teams such as Brabham. However, that was a long time ago and now Murray is obsessed with creating a unique city car.

So today his company, Gordon Murray Design, unveiled in London their latest ultra compact city car, the T.27. It is a project that was completed in just 17 months from conception to a running prototype, including the design of a new electric powertain by Zytek Automotive Ltd.

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Sunday, June 26, 2011

F1: Sebastian Vettel takes his 6th Win in Valencia


Sebastian Vettel is on a roll and no one seems able to stop him and his Red Bull from adding a second Formula 1 championship to their trophy list. This was confirmed once again today in the European Grand Prix in Valencia, in the eighth race of the 2011, where Vettel took his sixth win of the season. The German world champion started from the pole position and was never challenged during the race as he cruised to another win.

The only driver to even come close was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who started from fourth place and, like his team-mate Felipe Massa, made a terrific start. Alonso had a fight with the Red Bull of Mark Webber who, despite starting from the front row, eventually lost out to the Spaniard who finished the race second, more than 10 seconds behind Vettel.

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Thursday, June 23, 2011

Second Trailer for Top Gear Season 17 Airs Online


We’ve been patiently waiting for the new season of Top Gear to come to our screens, but the time is almost here as the first episode of the series will air on Sunday.

Following last week’s release of the first teaser of season 17, BBC has now aired a second video highlighting the antics of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

Among the other cars featured in the trailer are a McLaren MP4-12C taking on a Ferrari 458 Italia, a BMW 8-Series Coupe compared to a Mercedes CL, the rally version of the Mini Countryman and a Chevrolet Corvette from the early 1990s. You can check out the trailer for the new season of Top Gear after the break.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

McLaren to Spend $1 billion to Challenge Ferrari and Lamborghini


After Lotus, Italian supercar makers have another British contender challenging their supremacy. McLaren is the most successful team in Formula 1 after Ferrari, and yesterday opened its first dealership in the most prestigious part of London.

According to a news report from Bloomberg, the British automaker has much broader plans: its managing director, Antony Sheriff, revealed in an interview that McLaren Automotive intends to spend as much as $1 billion in developing and marketing costs to launch 13 new models and variants in the following years to challenge the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini.

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Monday, June 20, 2011

McLaren Opens Flagship Showroom in London, 19 Countries to Follow


McLaren Automotive will inaugurate a new flagship showroom at One Hyde Park, London, on June 21. And this is just the first of a network of 35 dealerships in 19 countries: Birmingham, London and Manchester in the UK, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich in Germany, Brussels in Benelux, Monaco and Paris in France, Milan in Italy, Madrid in Spain and Zurich in Switzerland. Read more »

Thursday, June 16, 2011

VIDEO: Top Gear Teases Season 17 with New Trailer


In a couple of weeks, BBC will begin airing the 17th season of its highly popular Top Gear TV series. To get our engines running, the media channel released the first promotional trailer of the new series teasing the new automotive adventures of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

The 30 second-long trailer kicks off with Clarkson driving the all-new McLaren MP4-12C on the wet and continues with Hammond in the passenger seat of a MINI WRC racer. Oh, and there’s also a scene with an odd looking red truck...obliterating an Alfa Romeo 156 sedan and a Renault Megane saloon. For the rest, follow the break to watch the trailer

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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

F1 Champs Button and Hamilton to Race McLaren MP4-12C at Goodwood Festival of Speed


The upcoming McLaren MP4-12C will make its first public outing at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place from Thursday 1- Sunday 4 July 2010. Event goers and enthusiasts alike will also get the chance to see McLaren's new supercar in action as reigning F1 champion Jenson Button and 2008 F1 champion Lewis Hamilton will drive the MP4-12C up Goodwood Hill on Saturday and Sunday respectively in the Supercar Run

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Monday, June 28, 2010

Gordon Murray's T.25 Oddball City Car Officially Revealed


Renowned Formula One race car and supercar designer Gordon Murray who gained fame for his involvement in the iconic McLaren F1 project, has finally taken the wraps off his latest creation [after more than two years of teasing], the T.25 city car.

Measuring 2.4 meters or 94.5-inches in length, 1.3 meters or 51.2-inches in width and 1.5 meters or 59-inches in height, the T.25 is smaller than Smart's minuscule Fortwo, yet Murray has managed to fit in three seats in a McLaren F1-style 1+2 layout with the driver sitting in the center of the car. The two passenger seats can be folded down allowing a luggage capacity of 720 liters.

Instead of using traditional doors, Murray opted to utilize the entire front section of the T.25 that pivots forward to allow entry into the car.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

McLaren F1 Celebrates the Big 2-0


McLaren's F1 is 20 years old this year (18 if you consider its 1992 debut date, so it's still legal) and to celebrate, McLaren invited owners out to Woking for a dinner at its Technology Center. The highlight of the get-together has to have been the 21-car F1 roundup, featuring the largest collection of F1s ever seen together.

McLaren chairman (and anti-Bugatti spokesman) Ron Dennis was on-hand to express his own feelings about owning and driving the car: "The F1 is a technological tour-de-force and a real triumph in terms of packaging and design."

"Whether endurance racing or on road, it is supremely fast, agile and yet comfortable. Its styling is enduring and will never fade. I enjoy driving mine more today than ever before because I find its technical purity highly satisfying; the F1 remains one of McLaren's proudest achievements."

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Monday, May 24, 2010

McLaren Reveals First Dealer Locations in 35 Cities Around the World


The brand-new MP4-12C supercar from McLaren Automotive will be sold next spring (2011) by a network of dealers in 35 cities in 19 countries across the world, with more to follow in 2012, the British company announced.

McLaren Automotive's initial network will include eight retailers in North America (USA, Canada), 12 in Europe (UK, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland), two in the Middle-East, and one in Africa (South Africa).

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