All posts tagged mclaren
Mercedes C63 AMG impounded: Hamilton world's greatest hoon
After being served a notice and having his Mercedes C 63 AMG impounded, McLaren F1 driver Lewis Hamilton could become the world’s most famous and capable hoon - or at least Australia’s most famous and capable, according to Car Advice. On practicing a few burn outs outside the Albert Park F1 circuit, Hamilton was served a summons and had his car impounded in what will go down as Australia’s most high profile “hoon” arrest.
As Car Advice reports, Hamilton is most likely the most famous hoon ever arrested in the state of Victoria, Australia, and certainly the richest, earning more than 22 million euros a year. He joins a list of famous hoons, including:
Victoria’s youngest hoon, Laney Frankland, 5, whose 49cc minibike was impounded when Victorian police swooped as the girl rode the bike in parkland under parental supervision. The title of oldest Victorian hoon is also hotly contested – on February 28 this year a 90-year-old man stormed past the previous 80-year-old 150km/h record holder to become the state’s oldest hoon after driving drunk at more than 20km/h over the speed limit.
Continue reading: Mercedes C63 AMG impounded: Hamilton world's greatest hoon
Button and Hamilton video test McLaren MP4-12 C
After the presentation of the McLaren MP4-12C which included an interview with F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, we see the MP4-12C track testing at Goodwood with the two drivers. Hamilton and Button clearly have to draw the company line and are unlikely to say anything negative about the car, unless you include “remember that it’s a road car” in that category. We get more of an idea of the MP4’s supercar driving characteristics and clearly McLaren have concentrated on building a technologically impressive vehicle, while also making sure that driving feel is part of the equation.
Official McLaren MP4-12C pics and details
The first line in the McLaren MP4-12C press release really gets your attention: “the first in a range of high performance sports cars from the home of the world’s most successful racing car company”, meaning more goodies to come, right? The McLaren MP4-12C has been officially released, along with the McLaren Automotive company, and while it’s the first road car from them, there is plenty of pedigree to draw on.
It’s hard to sum up what the 12C is all about with its stunning combination of McLaren technology and design. It has a carbon MonoCell chassis, for lightweight, compact but high performance driving with one of the best torque-weight ratios around. The whole car weighs in at 1,300kg.
The MP4-12C is equipped with a McLaren ‘M838T’ 3.8 litre, V8 twin-turbo engine with 600 hp and a dual clitch gearbox (Seamless Shift Gearbox or SSG). It has dual variable valve timing and about 600 Nm of torque. The press release below gives you more information than you ever wanted to know, plus a little history lesson to boot. While it’s all quite overwhelming, there are a few key points that we can take away from this display of pride in high quality engineering.
McLaren MP4-12C testing video
McLaren XP8 and XP10 Testing in Spain from GTspirit on Vimeo.
Here’s a video of the McLaren MP4-12C, which will soon debut on the road, launching the challenge to the Ferrari 458 Italia. The video is an introduction to the McLaren production process and specifically, its Experimental Prototype vehicles. The narrative gives us an idea of what McLaren wants to achieve with the MP4-12C, and what it might be like to drive one.
The philosophy behind the MP4-12C was to create an inspiring supercar to drive, not an intimidating one. It had to be a car with supercar performance, but that focussed on an easy driving experience. See it all in the video.
McLaren MP4-12C development video
This video on developing the McLaren MP4-12C is the first in a series on how the MP4-12C was built. This one focuses on the initial testing and development phases, using a Formula 1 simulator and meeting the McLaren test driver. We get an idea of the testing procedure, in Bahrain and at the Arctic Circle, and see track drives at the Nurburgring together with daily rambles around the highways and byways of the UK.
Mercedes McLaren SLR Hamann Volcano tuning
The Hamann Volcano tuning of the Mercedes McLaren SLR takes on new life, with an updated production run in red and yellow tints. The original Volcano looked to be a one-off example, but the white tint and carbon fibre tuning has been reworked again. The V8 engine now has 700 hp and 830 Nm of torque, and a top speed of 348 km/hr.
Continue reading: Mercedes McLaren SLR Hamann Volcano tuning
McLaren MP4-12C Spider planned: new factory races against time
A McLaren MP4-12C spider is planned, although production of the current coupe may not go as smoothly as anticipated if factory construction is not finished in time. The MP4-12C spider would be built with a folding hard top roof, although there is no official confirmation from McLaren.
Autocar says that a “Webasto RHT Sub Assembly area” was originally included in the factory plan, in an area that would be dedicated to the assembly of the retractable hard top of the spider. McLaren has said that the factory plan has since been replaced and that Webasto is only one of future possible suppliers.
In addition, McLaren is currently trying to find space to build the current MP4-12C model as construction on the dedicated factory has not even started. The MP4-12C is expected to be delivered to customers in November next year, giving McLaren just a year in which to establish its facilities.
Continue reading: McLaren MP4-12C Spider planned: new factory races against time
McLaren MP4-12C video from new website
This video of the McLaren MP4-12C comes from its new dedicated site, with new pics and updated website design. Unfortunately there’s no MP4-12C configurator as yet, it will turn up later. We have no way of verifying the “forget what you know about sports cars” slogan, but we’ll trust the guys from McLaren on this one. See the MP4-12C site for more details.
McLaren MP4-12C hi-res pics and Jay Leno video
After the first pics of the McLaren MP4-12C, here is full gallery of the McLaren supercar to be presented next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show. In the video, lucky Jay Leno gets a special preview (it clearly pays to be famous in these situations), although the video still shows the McLaren P11 prototype. It gives us a great overview of the technology involved in building this all-new, in-house MP4-12C. Check it out, I recommend it.
McLaren MP4-12C hi-res complete gallery
Continue reading: McLaren MP4-12C hi-res pics and Jay Leno video
McLaren P11 to be released at Frankfurt with name of MP4-12C
The McLaren P11 could be called the McLaren MP4-12C on its 2009 Frankfurt motor show debut next week. The Times has revealed that the presentation of the supercar is only the start in the creation of a new global brand of supercars.
As the name would suggest, the McLaren “P11″ is inspired by the MP4-12 Formula 1 car of 1997. It was a legendary year for the brand, winning the F1 and bringing the “silver arrow” back to icon status.
The MP4-12C name is set to acknowledge the partnership with Mercedes both in the past, and also with this new McLaren P11 model. With a couple of Formula 1/supercar touches such as gullwing doors, the MP4-12C will be powered by a V8 engine with a seven-speed gearbox and self-adjusting suspension.
The new model is set to be the first in three models to be released, with McLaren aiming for yearly production of 4,000 models, selling 1,000 in the first year. The other models to be introduced prior to 2015 will be entry-level models competing with the Porsche 911 and then filling the gap left by the Carrera GT, discontinued by Porsche. We’ll be waiting for next week’s Frankfurt show to get the details.
Top Gear compares McLaren F1 and Bugatti Veyron in drag race
This is a video for the petrol head in you: one for the speed queen, turbo charged, adrenalin seeker who wants to see fast cars driven… fast. Top Gear compares the McLaren F1 and the Bugatti Veyron in what’s probably a gratuitous test for them to get out in some supercars and play around.
The “two fastest road cars of all time” get out for a speed test in which the only conclusion that can be made is not that they’re both very fast. They’re both stunning, absolutely breathtaking, to look at. And they’re both the stuff of dreams.
It may seem a little unfair to compare the Bugatti to a car that’s already ten years old, but the McLaren is no slack in mechanics and it’s lighter. For a hair raising race, and the result, see the video.
Formula 1 on the streets of London: Hamilton and Kovalainen as black cab drivers
In this very funny and very English video, Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen from the McLaren Mercedes team, swap their racing suits to become black cabbies on the streets of London.
The video has been made to promote the new interactive “Taxi Grand Prix” game from Vodafone, official sponsor of the team. The two drivers race around on board two TX4 models with some Formula One extras to the black cabs. Enjoy the video!
Source | Autoblog.com
Follow us
eurocarblog is part of the Blogo.it network of blogs. Contacts About us.
© 2005-2010 Blogo.it, P. IVA 04699900967, some rights reserved under a Creative Commons license.