Hamilton drives his McLaren F1 car with a Blackberry - Video

In an online society, companies have been known to go to great lengths to advertise their products in clever new ways, but few could compare to this viral video of Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel of his McLaren F1 car in a way no one imagined possible. The story goes two geeks who hacked the Blackberry Storm to control their R/C F1 car were invited by McLaren to view this same concept on a much larger scale.



After arriving at McLaren’s test circuit in Portugal they find the team has hacked into its own F1 car, creating the world’s fastest and most expensive R/C toy. Naturally, this is all too overwhelming for the 2008 F1 Driver’s Champion who immediately takes his new toy for a quick lap using the phone’s built-in accelerometer to steer.

© Source: caradvice
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McLaren F1 sold for £2.5 million

RM Auctions sold a 1997 McLaren F1 for £2.530.000 (about $4.12 million at current rates). Although this does not come close to the all time record set by a Ferrari GTO for $28.5 million, it does set a new record for McLaren F1 prices and is about four times the origional sales price a little over a decade ago.

The McLaren F1 is powered by a BMW sourced 6.1-liter V12 engine that delivers 627 hp at 7,400 rpm. In March 1998, the F1 hit a record speed of 240.14 mph. It held this record until February 2005 when it was broken by a Koenigsegg CCR going 242.2 mph.

The F1 wasn’t the only high dollar car of the day. The auctions sold a 1965 Ferrari 250 LM Berlinetta and a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France each for a price of £2,255,000. A 1938 Horch 853 Special Roadster was sold for £1,127,500 and a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante for £660,000.

© Source: topspeed
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McLaren P11

Although a recent shift in McLaren’s design management has delayed the company’s upcoming P11 performance car by at least a year, it doesn’t look as though the P11 project has been brought to a complete standstill. The P11’s mechanical components are reported to be set, and a series of new images reveals the P11’s design could be closer to production-ready than first thought.

The P11 was originally slated to make its debut in 2009, but its first auto show appearance will now be sometime in 2010. The P11’s production date has also been moved back, with a target now set for 2010 or early 2011.

Word has it that the P11 is taking aim at the Ferrari F430 Scuderia and the Porsche GT2 and will use a Mercedes AMG-sourced 6.2-liter V8 making 550 horsepower. Although the engine will be sourced from AMG, it is believed that Mahle — the company that took over Cosworth — will build the engine. That power will be sent to the rear-wheels and the car should be capable of sub-4 second 0 to 60 runs, as well as a top speed over 200 mph.

Following the launch of the P11, McLaren is expected to offer a Spider version of the P11, which has likely been delayed until early or mid-2012

Also on the calendar for the 2012 or possibly even 2013 is an even more high-performance version of the P11 — dubbed the P12. The P12 — which will probably wear the GTR nameplate in production — will channel the spirit of the original McLaren F1 and, as such, will be powered by a V10 making in excess of 600 horsepower. To further push its performance to the limits, the P12’s P11-based platform will be completely re-engineered to reduce as much weight as possible.

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Modern McLaren F1 rendered speculation

For a while, the McLaren F1 was the fastest car money could buy, powered by a 500kW V12 good for a top speed of 362km/h. With a revival of the icon confirmed to be in the works, renderings have surfaced on a Slovenian website apparently of the next-generation McLaren F1.

In collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, the new model is expected to carry the same AMG V8 engine from the soon-to-be discontinued McLaren SLR roadster. The unique centre driving position could also be lost in favour of a more contemporary two-seater layout.

Details remain scarce, although among current speculation surprisingly the Veyron has not been mentioned, suggesting perhaps the Veyron’s 407km/h bragging right is not a performance goal.

However, like most early renderings this could be nothing more than the work of a talented amateur - only time will tell.

© Source: caradvice
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McLaren SLR Speedster Spied

Mercedes and McLaren were preparing to launch a special lightweight version of their SLR supercar, a batch of spy shots plus a spy video have surfaced, giving us a sneak peek at the limited-edition roadster prior to its anticipated unveiling by McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton towards the end of the month.

The images – which appear to have been released by the manufacturer itself – confirm our previous report that the roofless supercar will have little in the way of protection from the elements, with an F1-sized wind deflector screen as the only thing between the driver and the wind rushing by at breakneck speeds. Inspired by the original '50's-era 300 SLR, the new speedster will be faster than any previous SLR and be built in a small serial of 75 examples.

© Source: autoblog
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McLaren F1 LM

Ten years ago, Lewis Hamilton was only 13 years old and was already under the wing of McLaren chief Ron Dennis. A young Lewis visited the McLaren headquarters in Woking, England, and fixed his eyes on a bright orange McLaren F1 LM supercar sitting on display at the factory. Good taste, Lewis: only five roadgoing LMs were made, and each one is said to be worth about $4 million. Produced in 1995 to commemorate McLaren's win at Le Mans, it was the fastest supercar of its day, and with a 0-60 time of under three seconds, it remains one of the fastest to this day.

Ron Dennis has now promised Hamilton that if he wins the world championship this year – and locks up the constructors' title together with teammate Heikki Kovalainen – the car will be his. Not a bad bonus.

© Source: autoblog
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Former McLaren designer targets Lotus with new sportscar

It turns out that the McLaren F1 project was a point of departure for its creators. Gordon Murray, the chief designer, went his own way and is preparing to revolutionize the city car. Several of his colleagues stayed at McLaren's road car division to develop the Mercedes SLR, while others presumably returned to the racing division. A few former McLaren engineers went on to work on the Caparo T1, and now another one of the designers, Jim Dowle, has revealed plans for his own sportscar.

Although the car is just entering the clay-model stage and doesn't even have a name yet, PistonHeads has some preliminary details. Dowle's sportscar will reportedly carry a £35k price tag and will target the Lotus Exige but be more usable. The target weight is 870kg, and while the definitive powertrain has yet to be determined, the package calls for 200 horsepower mounted in the middle of the aluminum/carbon chassis. We'll have to keep our eyes pealed, because if the project ever makes it to even limited production, it promises to be one hell of a ride.

© Source: autoblog
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Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster

Mercedes-Benz said the finicky crowd at the Festival of Speed here had "an extremely positive reaction" to the unveiling of its new supercar, the SLR McLaren Roadster. The Roadster goes on sale in September.

To celebrate the festivities, the German automaker released a fresh batch of photos of the supercar, which sprints from zero to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 207 mph.

The SLR McLaren Roadster tackled the legendary hill-climb circuit six times during a weekend marked by a downpour of torrential rain as well as blue skies. The SLR McLaren Roadster is powered by a handmade AMG 5.5-liter supercharged V8 that kicks out 626 horses and 575 pound-feet of torque.

The SLR McLaren Roadster will be built at McLaren's Formula 1 factory in nearby Woking, England.

© Source: insideline
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