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McLaren W1 First Drive: Ferocious Hypercar Transcends the Track

You know things are getting serious when McLaren rolls-out the ‘1’ suffix. The origin story is, of course, the very first road car McLaren ever built, the F1. Designed by visionary Formula 1 aerodynamicist and engineer Gordon Murray, it arrived in 1992 and rendered all other supercars obsolete. The tiny, lightweight F1 embraced carbon-fibre material technology, adopted a radical centre seat driving position with two passengers set back and either side and was powered by a 6.1-litre V12 engine from BMW that might as well have been passed down directly from the Gods. Game-changer? That doesn’t even come close to describing its impact, even if at the time sales didn’t come easy… The P1 was very different. Rather than a unique side project from the Formula 1 team, it was instead a statement piece for McLaren Automotive, a new road car division still in its infancy. It arrived in 2013 and was a wild-eyed showstopper. It traded the long-legged gait and supple suspension of the F1 for a weaponized hybrid system capable of delivering 903bhp and huge blue flames from its drainpipe exhaust. In Race mode, it lowered by 2-inches and its massive concave rear wing extended into the sky. The P1 was all about aerodynamic downforce, crazed acceleration and a snorting, angry soundtrack that mixed venomous twin-turbocharged V8 with the manic whirr of electric motors. Not so much a car as a force of nature. And now there’s this: The W1. It’s a true successor to the P1 with a similar brief and, on the face of it, it evolves rather than radically reinvents McLaren’s vision for the ultimate hypercar. This is not a criticism. How could it be when the result is this dramatic and has such staggering, other-worldly potential? The W1 has 1258bhp delivered to the rear wheels. It’s capable of 0-124 mph in 5.8-seconds, the quarter mile in 9.6-seconds at 167 mph and produces 2205lbs of downforce at 174 mph. The active aerodynamics – particularly a rear wing that extends way out beyond the rear of the car – are pure performance art and deliver massive aerodynamic efficiency. The result, aside from looking extremely cool, is that the W1 is McLaren’s fastest road car around a racetrack. Ever. Their benchmark circuit is the breath-taking Handling Track at the Nardo proving ground in southern Italy, where the W1 beats their previous benchmark, the flyweight McLaren Senna, by three seconds per lap. Or “a lifetime” as they call it in racing. Maybe two lifetimes! Core to the W1’s performance is the new ‘Aerocell’ carbon fibre tub. With integrated seats and a raised footwell to allow for inboard pushrod-operated front suspension – which in turn gives air a clean path to the huge underbody diffuser – it’s light, stiff, space efficient and has been instrumental in McLaren realising a full ground-effect concept. Just like last year’s F1 cars, which were the fastest ever made. There is also an active front wing and the aforementioned complex rear wing dubbed ‘Active Long Tail’. All of which is very admirable. But the ‘anhedral’ or gullwing doors and the fantastically shirnked-wrapped feel to the minimalist, highly-focussed interior are a pretty good side effect. The W1 feels special. Those fixed seats are perhaps a shade more upright than expected, and the driving position is less obviously racecar than, for example, the Aston Martin Valhalla or Ferrari F80. However, once you’ve adjusted the pedals (they move on a slider) and the delicate, slim-rimmed and alcantara-trimmed steering wheel, there’s an overwhelming sense of purpose. The cabin is so tightly tailored and imparts a sense of lightness and agility before you so much as start the all-new 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, which makes 916bhp all on its own and revs to 9200rpm. Reach up to a roof-mounted control panel to find the starter button. Maybe this fighter plane trope is a little corny, but somehow you feel thrilled rather than manipulated. The W1 has a sense of humour as well as all that motorsport-derived sophistication. There’s a short delay, but when the engine does fire it’s instant – as the high-powered hybrid system negates the need for an old-school starter motor. A sharp flare of revs tells you that this engine is hyper-responsive and angry. On some deep level your brain and body have been sent all the signals required to prepare for something new and intense. Ahead of us, an empty Mugello racetrack, so press and hold the blue button next to the red starter to select Race mode. The centre display graphic shows the W1’s transformation in real time as it lowers by 37mm at the front and 17mm at the rear whilst simultaneously undocking all that active aero goodness. Race mode is not road legal and is geo-locked. You can show your friends and neighbours the aero dance, but it won’t allow you to select a gear to actually drive unless you’re at a circuit. Incidentally, the rocker switches either side of the display binnacle allow further options now: Toggle up the Handling control on the left for Race+ (for F1-spec super smooth tracks) or stick to Race for gnarlier ones. On the right toggle select ‘GP’ for sustained performance over a stint or ‘Sprint’ to unleash all 1258bhp for a time attack. There’s also a DRS and Boost function on the steering wheel. But I guarantee you won’t have the mental capacity to use them… Exit the pitlane, pin the throttle and W1 takes maybe a millisecond or two to gather its might (the gearing stretches to around 60mph in first, nearly 100mph in second, primarily to aid traction), but then lunges at the first turn with incredible ferocity. It instantly feels light, almost like inertia is no longer a thing. McLaren really does prize lightweight engineering, and at 3084lbs (dry) the W1 has a 278lbs advantage over the Ferrari F80. Plus, Ferrari uses figures for cars fitted with every single carbon fibre option. In reality, the gap is probably wider still. The impression of agility and stunning control continues as the track is unravelled at startling pace. The electric motor mounted to the side of the new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission is good for 342bhp and 324lb ft and it boosts any low rev lethargy the new flat-plane crank V8 might have (spoiler alert: It doesn’t appear to have any), so the W1 just feels massively, almost impossibly powerful at any revs. Even so, there’s real reward for wringing it out to 9200rpm and the power curve feels superheated but organic, too. In Race mode the steering – still hydraulically powered – has less assistance and it is noticeably heavier than other McLarens. However, that resistance is welcome as it gives you something to push against and imparts so much information about the front grip level. New Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres with a bigger front footprint than P1 or Senna really help. The front-end feels incredibly secure and the rear-axle follows with perfectly-aligned precision. The whole car feels super-stiff, completely locked into the surface and inspires confidence, but there’s an inherent agility and adjustability that means you’re quickly confident to push at its limits and really impose yourself on the chassis. It’s such a complex car but the driving experience is intuitive, and the driver feels a key contributor rather than just amazed (or terrified) observer, holding on for dear life. Every dynamic ingredient really is shockingly effective and yet has a subtlety and lightness of touch. From that delicious steering to the incredible brakes, the W1 just feels so mission-focussed, so hooked-up. Only the new 8-speed gearbox is a slightly disappointment. It’s fast and punchy, but after the scintillating energy of the Ferrari F80 ’box it feels competent rather than inspired. Other quibbles – it’s okay to quibble when the starting price is $2.1-million before tax and destination charge. Well, that new twin-turbocharged V8 sounds tightly wound and aggressive but if you have a P1 tucked in the garage you’ll miss the snorting, Darth Vader-style soundscape and all the drama that goes with it. Ferrari does this better, too. The F80 sounds deathly dull from the outside but is a riot of turbochargers, electric motors and all sorts of mechanical fury within the cockpit. Even so, the W1 is wildly entertaining on track, and the rear-drive configuration makes it more of a challenge and more satisfying than the F80 when chasing lap times or just sliding around for fun. In the Ferrari, you must second-guess what the front e-axle might do, whereas in the W1 it’s all on you. There are plenty of tools to help, including the ingenious Variable Drift Control, but somehow the W1 is more heroic. Or at least fools you into feeling more heroic – which is surely the point! On the road? Nimble, loaded with feel and sublime response. The ride is noticeably tougher than, say, a 750S but the control is ramped-up too, and with a bit more speed the whole car finds a delicious rhythm. Sport mode for the drivetrain brings some nice turbo whooshes and chirps, but the noise remains high-quality rather than extreme excitement. It is perhaps the one area the W1 feels just a little too tame. Of course, there’s nothing tame about the raw performance… which is genuinely shocking and literally hurts your neck muscles after a few hours. How McLaren has given the W1 such immense traction through just two driven wheels is beyond me. So, is it worthy of that ‘1’? I think so. Perhaps we won’t be talking about $25-million auction results for the W1 in 30 years from now, as we are for the F1. Perhaps it doesn’t quite have the amazing presence and jaw-dropping star quality of the simply gorgeous P1. But it is such an intense experience and the way it marries stunning track performance with delicate poise and entertainment on normal roads is something akin to magic. Maybe not ‘the one’ but definitely a searing, outrageous addition to McLaren’s fiercest family line. Just 399 W1’s will be built and they’re all sold. I’m not surprised at all. View All McLarens For Sale Images: McLaren Automotive

By Andrew Nabors – April 02, 2018

Ferrari FXX K vs FXX K Evo At Road Atlanta

In the world of hypercars, only one group of owners could respond to a LaFerrari owner with "Cool story bro." That's because members of Ferrari's Corse Clienti spend their weekends on the track, behind the wheel of the Ferrari FXX K.Ferrari's XX series has been the playground of their most wealthy clients. While they are privately owned, the manufacturer handles transport and maintenance on them so that the owners can enjoy tracks around the world without any of the hassles that we common folk might deal with.What began as a program to see just how capable the LaFerrari would be on track, the FXX K prototype made 1,036 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. Strictly intended as a race car, the V12 engine lost all of its emissions control hardware, and it was fitted with giant camshafts. The hybrid system was also updated, making 188 hp, around 20 more than the LaFerrari.Ferrari FXX-K EVOs Hit the Track for the 1st TimeAs the successor to the 599XX, only 40 cars were built between 2015 and 2017. Each racecar has data and telemetry recorders for the owner, but the data is also reviewed by engineers after the race. After compiling the numbers from the world's most famous tracks, they found a few areas for improvement.Ferrari 599 GTB For SaleInnovation never stops in Maranello, so the FXX K Evo was unveiled at Ferrari Finali Mondiali in Florence last year. A host of aero upgrades offer 23% more downforce, which is a whopping 75% more than the LaFerrari. It is also 198 lbs lighter, but they won't tell us how they did it.Sad: Hard to Watch this Ferrari FXX Evo’s Brutal CrashThe number of changes is clearly evident in the giant rear spoiler and the front splitter. We don't know how many have been produced so far, but seeing three in one place is unreal. But Speedracer 38 was able to capture this footage at Road Atlanta a few weeks back, so prepare to smile. The 599XX Evo is no slouch, and it's great to see these cars together in action. If you think you have what it takes, start practicing in your LaFerrari and stay with us for all your XX action!Browse LaFerrari For Sale

By Andrew Nabors – March 27, 2018

VINwiki: How To Import Your Dream Car

Subaru fans are probably the most dedicated group when it comes to brand loyalty. They eat, sleep, and dream about dominating every section of a rally. Back in the days of Speedvision, they usually played World Rally Championship races throughout the night.How To Finance An Exotic CarIt was this fast-paced action that inspired Leh Keen to get into motorsports. He has podium finishes at Watkins Glen and Sebring, racing in Carrera Cup cars for Dempsey Racing and other major teams. But it was his love of rally racing that made him hunt down his dream car. The 2001-2002 season for Subaru will go down in history as making the WRX STi known around the world.ProDrive only built 8 Subarus in 2002, so he had a challenge ahead of him. After a long search, the nicest survivor was found in Ireland. It was converted to right-hand drive, but Leh had to have it. Instead of loading a container, it was strapped to a pallet and loaded into a Delta freight flight to Atlanta. The process to convert it back to left-drive was painstaking, but the ends justify the means. The bug-eyed WRX had a restrictor plate that limited power for its class. After removing it, his car makes 500 lb-ft of torque across the tachometer. VINwiki is a great app that allows you to share your car's history and connect with other enthusiasts like us. Thanks to the team for another great video, and stay with Autofluence for more VINwiki uploads.Find Your Dream Car Here

By Andrew Nabors – March 24, 2018

Porsche Celebrates 30 Years of All Wheel Drive

Your average car shopper will look at 4WD or AWD as a benefit. Sending power to all wheels is great for safety and it is fun in the corners. Porsche shocked the world when the 911 arrived with AWD, but they did it out of necessity. Porsche 911 Ice Ballet: GT2 RS vs 2.5 S/T The engine in the 911 is actually behind the rear wheels. So when turbos arrived in the 70's, it gave the car a brutal reputation as the "Widowmaker". Porsche engineers chose the biggest turbos on the market. This was before computer control, so it took a few seconds for them to spool up. But when they did, it doubled or tripled the engine's power instantly. This was the cause of wrecks for many drivers who couldn't tame it. Porsche had to go AWD to tame the wild power of the 911. To celebrate this achievement, they celebrated on ice in their latest YouTube upload. The cars speak for themselves, so take a break from your weekend chores and enjoy Porsches in action. If you want to have AWD fun, every 911 turbo since the 964 has had AWD, so click the link below to find your next car. Browse Porsche 911 Turbo For Sale

By Andrew Nabors – March 21, 2018

Clash Of Titans: McLaren 720S vs Kawasaki Ninja H2

Mexico is home to some wild street racing, and this one will take your breath away. If you prefer to have fun on two wheels, you probably know about the Ninja H2. Kawasaki pulled out all the stops to make the Suzuki Hayabusa look like a scooter.The 998cc engine has dual overhead cams, like most other liter-bikes. The secret is in a variable speed supercharger that allows it to make 310 horsepower and 115 lb-ft of torque. Asking one tire to channel that power to the ground is just insane.How To Turn On McLaren 720S Secret Startup Exhaust Easter EggSo what happens when it meets the latest in McLaren's Super Series? The 720S has a 4.0-liter twin turbo V8 that supposedly makes 710 horsepower. Owners have been reporting that it is much more powerful than the factory claims. It weighs 2,829 lbs which gives it a horsepower to weight ratio of 0.25. The Ninja H2 weighs 476 lbs, with a power to weight ratio of 0.65, more than twice its competitor. The 720S has laid waste to everything so far, so who do you think will win this race? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below and stay with us for more wild comparisons.Browse McLaren 720S For Sale P.S. - Racing on the street is a great way to end up in a casket or in prison, so keep it on the track. duPont REGISTRY does not condone any street racing. Always follow your local traffic laws.

By Edward Jones – March 21, 2018

The Five Quickest Porsches Ever

Porsche makes some undoubtedly quick cars and has done so for decades. To give us a visual representation of their five quickest cars of all time, Porsche has created a video that pits five of their quickest cars against each other on an abandoned airfield. The cars racing in the video include the 911 GT2 RS, 911 Turbo S, 918 Spyder, Carrera GT and Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo. Those cars were listed in alphabetical order and don't relate to the ultimate placing of them in the top five standings.The Five Best Sounding Porsches, EverTo me, an interesting bit of info regarding this race is the price difference between them all. When considered, the cheapest model that was raced has an MSRP of $188,400 (Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo) while the most expensive's MSRP is $845,000 (918 Spyder). While that price difference is a few hundred thousand, the difference in 0-62 mph time is minimal. Check out the video below by clicking play.

By Andrew Nabors – March 20, 2018

How Pagani Builds The Huayra Roadster

Your car was built on an assembly line. An invention of Henry Ford, this moving dance of people and tools allows the automakers to meet the demands of the driving public. But before robotic welders and CNC machine tools, cars like the Pagani Huayra were built one at a time, by master coachbuilders.A Bugatti Chiron and Pagani Huayra Sold via BitcoinWhen Lexus built the LFA, they invented a new machine to weave its carbon fiber parts. It is a great car, but something is lost in translation when a human is taken out of the process. That is why Horacio Pagani and his team combine the latest in materials with handbuilt precision. Every Pagani wears a body of Carbotanium. He patented the process of infusing titanium into carbon fiber to build the strongest material ever used in an automobile.To show potential buyers the time and effort involved in building the Huayra Roadster, they uploaded a captivating video to YouTube yesterday. We are taken behind the scenes to see each layer laid by hand. Once the resin is applied, the entire body is vacuum-bagged. This ensures the resin completely permeates the fibers before it is fired in the Autoclave. It takes countless hours to mirror image the weave of the carbon down the body's centerline. It is funny to see the head of the Composites Area is Maurizio Ferrari, and that their workers use Snap-On tools. The torque wrench looks more expensive than a nice daily driver! Tell us what you think of their process in the comments below and stay with us for all your Pagani updates.Browse Pagani Huayra For Sale

By Andrew Nabors – March 19, 2018

Top Speed Shootout: 750 HP M5 vs McLaren 570S

If you are looking for a fun-filled sedan, the previous generation BMW M5 is a relative bargain. Known as the F10 chassis, it was built from 2012 to 2016 and powered by a twin-turbo 4.4 liter V8. They are incredibly fast in every situation, which is why this owner chose to race a McLaren 570S coupe on a runway. With upgraded downpipes and full exhaust, it allows the turbos to breathe easier. This results in 750 horsepower sent to the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.Check Out The 5,000 Cars of the Sultan of BruneiMcLaren claims their 570S only make 570 horsepower, which is conservative to say the least. Their sports series does away with the complex hydraulic suspension of the Super Series cars, and it is a comfortable daily driver. Having driven both the 570GT and the 570S, they absolutely make more than their rated power. But in a top speed race, aerodynamics is the great equalizer of all cars. So put on your 3D headset and watch this action in 4K. Thanks to GTboard for the great footage, and stay with us for more 3D action. Tell us who would win given a few more miles of top end action in the comments below.Sports Cars For Sale

By Andrew Nabors – March 16, 2018

Porsche 911 Ice Ballet: GT2 RS vs 2.5 S/T

Do you like snow skiing? Do you like fast cars? These two hobbies seem far apart, but Porsche has combined them in an epic YouTube video. In the summer, the picturesque Swiss Lake Moritz is home to European aristocracy. Polo matches and lounging beside the lakeshore are fun, but winter freezes it solid and it turns into a perfect venue for cold weather sports.Check Out These Great Deals On The Porsche 918 SpyderSo Porsche decided to dig into their archives to allow a vintage 2.5 S/T to tear up the ice. Only 24 examples of this racing 911 S were built, and the 2.5-liter engine made 270 horsepower, more than almost every other car in the 70's. To see how it compares to a modern rear wheel drive 911, they chose a modern interpretation of the widow-maker: the 2019 GT2 RS. Drifting a classic 911 is more fun than a barrel of monkeys, so what makes the new car any different? The latest in computer controlled stability systems is combined with rear wheel steering to make the latest GT2 RS controllable in any situation. Either way, skiing behind a 911 is the opportunity of a lifetime, so tell us which car you would choose in the comments below and stay with us for all your Porsche videos.Browse Porsche 911 For Sale

By Andrew Nabors – March 16, 2018

Hennessey Twin Turbo Audi R8 V10 Test Drive

At the end of every week, we try to find the best way to leave work for the weekend. Sure a V10 Audi R8 offers nice acceleration, but the 5.2 liter V10 leaves a lot of potential power on the table. John Hennessey and his team think about boost day and night. In the form of giant turbos or their own brand of supercharger, they are known for doubling the horsepower of their customer's cars.Top 10 Foreign Cars Illegal In The US If you thought Hennessey Performance only built domestic cars, think again. He admits they don't get many R8 or Huracan examples, and we agree that the R8 has a more understated interior between the siblings. So he strapped a few cameras in the passenger seat and headed to a part of Mexico that looks eerily like Interstate 10 west of Houston. Mufflers were eliminated in this kit because big turbos muffle engine noise just as effectively. At legal cruising speeds the cockpit is only 5% louder than stock. Rolling into the gas at the top end of his drag strip, the R8 went through the quarter mile at 151 mph. He also said its very close in performance to the Venom GT, which has a top end speed of 163 mph. With a 0-60 time of 2.4 seconds, this car will hang with the most exclusive hypercars and it costs a fraction of their price. This comprehensive package comes with 300 miles of tuning and a warranty. Where else are you going to find that? Click the link below for more info and have a great weekend.Learn Morehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=236&v=MF7RhEy6N0U

By Edward Jones – March 16, 2018

The Five Best Mercedes Convertibles

Convertible Mercedes-Benz cars have been around for decades, but only some have stood out from the crowd. Some of these stand-out convertibles are classics and some future models that haven't been released yet. It may take the average Joe hours to go through all of Mercedes' convertible to find the five best, but it takes the company that makes them not long at all considering they already know them all. In a recent video from the German automaker they detail what they believe are the five best convertibles to be graced with the Mercedes badge. Some choices were easy picks, while a couple came in as a curveball unseen. Click play below to see what Mercedes-Benz thinks are their five best convertibles.Five Most Luxurious Mercedes-Benz Cars Ever Made

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