As the Formula 1 dust settles at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona after last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix I’ve been thinking back to a couple of weeks ago when I was at that very track. It was my first visit to the circuit, courtesy of the Spirit Of Montjuïc classic racing festival, and as [...]
Over the last few months there has been plenty of buzz about Honda’s possible return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier for the McLaren team. According to various new reports, sources close from Honda in Japan say the comeback will happen for the 2015 season with the official announcement to come as early as [...]
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We’ve looked at a classic McLaren F1 supercar, and how you design a modern P1 hypercar, courtesy of McLaren’s legendary design head Frank Stephenson. But how do you actually build a car like this? What does building a supercar involve once you’ve hammered out the technicalities, prototyped and tested the concept and moved into the [...]
The hypercar is a relatively recent phenomenon, taking the fastest, most expensive, most extreme cars on the planet and making them, well, even faster. Even more expensive. Even more extreme. They involve a level of design freedom unknown in the normal confines of the car industry, but even a hypercar designer has to start somewhere [...]
What do you do when you meet your hero? Do you talk to them, say hello, shoot the breeze, or stay at a distance, just hoping to catch their eye for a subtle sign of recognition? What if it’s an inanimate object, like the McLaren F1? Then things can get really weird… especially if other [...]
Take examples of almost 75 years’ worth of the classiest, most exotic, fastest and just generally most drop-dead beautiful Mercedes that have been built, and you have the Mercedes-Benz World collection at Brooklands in the UK. Putting age as well as beauty first, I’ll start off in true VIP style with the epitome of chic: [...]
‘Protect Me From What I Want’. BMW’s #16 V12 LMR LMP1 carried that slogan during pre-qualifying for the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours, with the words stencilled large across the body of the prototype racecar. It was the 15th livery in the line of the marque’s famous Art Cars, created by conceptual artist Jenny Holzer, [...]
616 horses versus one snowboard? Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record holder Rhys Millen strapped into a McLaren 12C Spider to take on a descent in the snowy Rocky Mountains – but with a twist. He’d be racing Winter Games medallist Chanelle Sladics on her snowboard down the notoriously treacherous Loveland Pass. Where else has a sign warning of avalanches caused by long-range weaponry? It looked calm on the way up; the way down is a lot different, as the gloves go on and the snow is kicked up. Fire up the video to see the result!
More...Us Speedhunters are quite accustomed to pointing our cameras at all sorts of automotive greatness, but what happens when we become the subject? McLaren Automotive recently got a hold of our own Jonathan Moore in Geneva to get some of his thoughts on the new P1. Mr.Moore not only talks about the car itself, but also how he approaches photographing it.
It’s an interesting watch, so take a look.
-Mike
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The Geneva Motor Show wasn’t just about Italian supercars by any means. Covering seven halls, Geneva is as much about the mainstream as the exotics and tuners, with standard city cars, electro-wagons and commute-mobiles with their green credentials vying for people’s attention. Which I will get to. But then you come across something like a [...]
If reports out of the Formula 1 circle are true, we may be seeing one of the greatest engine and chassis combos in F1 history return. Word has it that Honda will become the engine supplier for McLaren’s F1 team beginning in 2015. Neither party has confirmed the reports, but it seems F1′s move to [...]
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As the insanely amazing McLaren P1 nears it’s official release, McLaren continues to release tidbits of information about its new supercar. The latest info reads like this – 0-100kmph (62mph) in less than three seconds. 0-200kmph in less than seven seconds. 0-300kmph in less than less than 17 seconds. They also gave some info on [...]
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McLaren’s P1 is getting closer and close to the final production version following its dramatic reveal at last year’s Paris Motor Show. Over the following months, new images have been slowly trickling out of the McLaren Technology Centre, taunting us with more and more little details. Getting access to the car itself seemed virtually impossible [...]
January is already receding into the distance, and global car culture is shaking itself down and preparing for the year ahead. But is there ever a quiet time in the automotive world? I’m sure there isn’t; there’s always someone, somewhere, planning and plotting their next move. Australasian car events are basking in the sun; Japan [...]
If there’s one thing McLaren can’t be accused of, it’s ignoring their heritage. McLaren were founded by New Zealand Formula 1 driver and brilliant engineer Bruce McLareb back in 1963, and the current incarnation of the team – reinvigorated in the 1980s with Ron Denni’s Project Four takeover – puts its history front and centre: from the display of cars in the atrium of the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking to the traditional launch colour of its cars and the dedicated racing spirit that still epitomises the team today.
McLaren celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2013, and they’ve released this video as the first in a series of three films that will be released during the year. It’s an emotionally charged starting point, dealing directly with the tragic death of the team’s founder testing a McLaren CanAm car at Goodwood, through a recreation of that terrible day.
“To do something well is so worthwhile, that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy.”
Bruce McLaren died aged 32. McLaren is his legacy. Bruce is still the inspiration.
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