Weekend Roundup: 12/08/17-12/10/17

The McLaren Senna: Fully Revealed, Fully Insane

McLaren has announced the next addition to their Ultimate Series line of cars in the form of the insane car you see above, which they have dubbed the McLaren Senna. Named for famed racer Ayrton Senna–considered by many to be one of the best drivers of all time–McLaren has set the bar high.

This is a fact that the company seems well aware of, as their press release begins with the quote, “You commit yourself to such a level where there is no compromise. You give everything you have; everything, absolutely everything.” This quote, from Senna, foreshadows the focus of the car, as McLaren has stated that the Senna will forgo any civility on the road, instead focusing on providing the best circuit experience.

No compromise.

Well, there is a little compromise, as the Senna is road-legal and has a 2nd seat. Despite the second seat, beyond placing it in the cabin, the entire focus has been on perfecting the drivers environment.

These seats are bolted to a new development of McLaren’s Monocage chassis, dubbed the Monocage III. This stronger, lighter chassis, combined with the rest of the cars weight-savings, the Senna weighs in at 2641lbs dry, with no fluids or driver.

To emphasis this low weight, as well as the drivers connection to the track, customers can select the optional glass inserts for the door, which replace the carbon fiber inserts that come standard.

I sincerely hope that EVERY customer selects that option.

Powering this carbon feather is a 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8, codenamed M840TR, is the most powerful internal combustion engine produced by McLaren, making 789hp and 580lb-ft of torque–or nice round 800 numbers for both in the metric system.

This power is routed to the rear-wheels only, through a dual-clutch, seven-speed gearbox which McLaren promises will deliver seamless shifts. Again, showing McLaren’s dedication to on-track prowess, the carbon fiber shift paddles are extended for use with or without racing gloves. Nice one guys.

The rest of the car–brakes, suspension, downforce, cooling–has all been similarly beefed up, with McLaren promising better on-track performance than their first Ultimate Series car, the hybrid P1. Only 500 customers will be able to compare, as the production is limited to the low number, with pricing starting at £750,000. 

Oh, and they have all been sold. Look for more information at the public, physical debut at the 88th Geneva International Motor Show in March.

McLaren Introduces New White: ‘New’ White?

McLaren Special Operations, the division of McLaren Automotive responsible for bespoke creations, has created a unique color based off of the company’s–and Bruce McLaren’s family–history. This color, shown above and dubbed ‘Muriwai White’, refers to the New Zealand coastal community where Bruce McLaren–founder and namesake of the company–won his first race.

After this race the name ‘Muriwai’ stuck with Mr. McLaren, and it is the name that he gave to the family house in Surrey, England. This house, which is currently for sale for a clean 2.1M British Pounds, was painted with whitewashed walls and deep blue doors and shutters.

As such, MSO created their new white with the help of Amanda McLaren, Bruce’s only daughter. The end result was a deep white color with specks of deep blue throughout. Currently, only one 570S has been painted the hue, but MSO is now offering it as an a la carte option on any McLaren road car.

I must say, while I am sure it looks good in person, through the digital medium it looks rather….white.

Bugatti Recalls Chiron Hypercar

While Bugatti may cater to the ultra-wealthy, and is usually not bothered by us mere mortals, it turns out that the ultra-exclusive marque is not above your run-of-the-mill technical recall. The company has recently announced that all Chirons currently delivered–47 of the 450 planned–are subject to a recall pertaining to bad welds in the seat recliner brackets.

Unlike normal recalls however, the company is flying engineers to some customers in hard-to-reach locations to do the repair work on-site.

Turns out that $2.5M USD purchase price does come with some perks after all…

Refreshed Alfa Romeo 4C Arrives in 2019: They Didn’t Kill It!

Alfa Romeo, continuing their bid to re-launch the company in the United States, has chosen to invest in their 4C sports car, refreshing it for 2019. While lackluster sales led many to believe that the 4C would be killed off, Roberto Fedeli, chief engineer for Alfa Romeo and Maserati, instead explained the need for the car to not only survive, but thrive; “We are coming back to Formula 1, and we need the 4C to be our halo car,” he told Autocar.

The refreshed 4C will feature revised suspension and steering, and potentially a new engine. The revised suspension will likely lead to a more civil road car, while the revised steering will likely lead to the same; it may even be power steering.

Anyone hoping for a manual transmission option will have to keep on hoping, as Fedeli says there are no plans to introduce ANY manual transmission in future high-performance Alfa Romeo, Maserati, or Ferrari products, citing the company’s past experience.

Apparently Ferrari developed a manual transmission for the California convertible at the cost of 10 million euros, only to have two customers select the third pedal–for the entire run of the car.

I want one of those two cars.