If a recent job listing is anything to go by, McLaren is prepping to being work on a hybrid supercar at some point in the future.

According to said job listing, McLaren is looking for a senior engineer to deal with powertrain hybrid technology who will “lead the technical assessment integration and application of appropriate hybrid powertrain technology”.

It only makes sense that McLaren release a hybrid vehicle, right? I mean with other supercar makers reportedly working on the same thing, it would be the logical next step.

Tags: hybrid, job listing, McLaren, powertrain, rumor

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Things are starting to get a little hot in the battle between the Forumla 1 Teams Association and Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (aka the FIA). It seems that the two parties has a bit of an argument which resulted in 8 Forumla 1 teams, namely Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW, Toyota, Red Bull and Toro Rosso (FOTA), to break away completely and announce that they will hold their own championship series in 2010.

Below are segments of the press release explaining the situation, courtesy of Autoblog:

“The teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship.

“These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.

“The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series.”

With such major brands breaking away from the FIA it will be very hard for the federation to hold their own. F1 fans need not worry as this is in favor of the series. Let’s wait and see how this unfolds.

Tags: BMW, brawn, breakaway, championship, F1, Ferrari, FIA, forumla 1, fota, McLaren, Race, red bull, Renault, series, toro rosso

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Racing enthusiasts can own a piece of racing history with the McLaren F1 GTR which is one of the 3 successors of the McLaren F1. The F1 GTR is going up for sale from a private collection in Tokyo, Japan. The custom-built race car was introduced in 1995 and is known for its victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car ran for three years from 1995-1997, had a total of 9 chassis built in the first two years and 10 in its final year.

The chassis that will be up for sale is #28R, originally #27R, but was damaged, and rebuilt for GTC Competition as a spare car, raced late in FIA GT in 1997. In 1997, the car generated a conservative 600hp from its de-stroked 6.0L version of the F1’s 60-degree V12. A standard road-going McLaren F1 recently sold at auction for $4 million so this McLaren F1 variant could fetch a similar price.

Tags: F1 GTR, McLaren, private collection, Sale, Tokyo

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The new supercar by McLaren codenamed P11 should go right up against the Lamborghini Gallardo, the Porsche GT2 and Ferrari F430 with an expected price around $200,000-$300,000. Power will most likely come from a mid-mounted 6.2-liter V8 AMG engine producing around 550 hp.

While the engine will be sourced from AMG, it is thought that Mahle,  the company that took over Cosworth, will build the engine. The chassis and body are made of carbon fiber to keep weight down. Peak speed is expected to be around 200 mph (320 km/h) and 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) will come in under four seconds. As for size, the P11 should fir between the Audi TT and R8. The P11 was originally to make its debut sometime this year, but its first auto show will now probably be sometime in 2010. The P11’s production date has also been pulled back, with a target set for 2010 or early 2011.

Tags: McLaren, P11, Supercar

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Peter Bryant may not be familiar to most of us but he is in fact the person responsible for the Can-Am Titanium Car. The Cockney racing mechanic who designed and built two of the stiffest challengers to the mighty McLaren Can-Am cars, died of an apparent heart attack at his Las Vegas home on March 31, four days short of his 72nd birthday.

The London-born Bryant caught the racing fever early in life, took a welding course to make himself more marketable, and landed jobs with such teams as Lola and Lotus in Formula One before moving to the United States to work in Indy and Can-Am racing.

In 1969, he pulled together the backing necessary to construct his own car. Driven by Jackie Oliver, the Ti 22 “Titanium Car” proved competitive with the all-conquering McLarens, leading one race, setting one joint fastest lap and finishing a close second twice during 1970.

Bryant leaves a wife, daughter and a son from a previous marriage, as well as 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

(Source) AutoWeek

Tags: Formula One, McLaren, Racing

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We first heard of the limited edition Mercedez-benz McLaren SLR Stirling Moss back in December when it was announced to have been produced to commemorate British racer, Stirling Moss.

Well, new pics of the SLR Stirling Moss have emerged at this years Detroid Auto Show, and boy is it beautiful.

Don’t expect to own one of these, ever. Unless of course you already have a McLaren SLR as Mercedes is only making the 75 models available to current owners.

More pictures in the read link.

Read (Autoblog)

Tags: limited edition, McLaren, SLR, stirling moss

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Mercedes Benz and McLaren have released photos of the new limited-edition SLR Stirling Moss, which will be unveiled at the upcoming NAIAS. Only 75 models of the limited-edition car will be made available to current owners of the McLaren SLR.

This limited-edition car was developed to commemorate the British motor racing legend Stirling Moss, who drove the legendary Mercedes-Benz SLR racing cars to numerous victories in the 1950s. Notable design features of the Stirling Moss limited-edition include an arrow-shaped form, a muscular rear-end and bespoke surfacing on the hood, which runs from the tip of the nose right down to the interior, thanks largely to the absence of a windshield.

The Stirling Moss edition signals the end of SLR’s production cycle, which will end in May 2009 as planned. Production on the limited-edition car will start in June 2009 and continue to December 2009.

Tags: McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, SLR, Sterling Moss

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