News: McLaren's P1 supercar hits the test track

It was almost exactly 20 years ago that we car enthusiasts were getting all girlishly excited about the prospect of McLaren's first ever road car, the original F1. That went on to be the fastest car in the world, and to win Le Mans at its first attempt. So just imagine how excited we are at the prospect of this, the P1, McLaren's successor to the F1...

Just 500 of this amazing looking car will be built, and while its engine is structurally similar to the 3.8-litre V8 turbo that's in the existing MP4-12-C supercar, not only will the P1 get a power boost, it will also get a hybrid KERS setup that will boost power again for overtaking bursts. Quite what you'd need an overtaking burst to get past in one of these remains unexplained. A Veyron perhaps?

Anyway, expect power to be at least 750-800bhp, and with all the active aerodynamics and computer controlled suspension that you'd expect from McLaren. And judging from the still-camouflaged styling (why, when they showed the car un-disguised at the Paris Motor Show last year?) it will look remarkably like being violated by a Le Mans racer when it does overtake you, boost or no boost.

Enjoy the photos and check out the video too. It spits fire...

News: Porsche's ground breaking 918 gets a price tag

  

Porsche's 918 Spyder supercar, which claims to offer the performance of a true road-racer with the emissions of a Prius, has officially gone on sale... but only in the US for now. We Europeans will have to wait just a little longer for a price tag for our dream car.

And the price tag for American Porsche-philes? $845, 000, or around €634,000, and yes, that's before taxes, delivery and related charges. Wow. Time to start a Post Office savings account, chaps...

Of course, this being a German car, that $845k is just the starting point. There are extras...

If you want the track-focused 'Weissach Pack' which lowers the car's weight by around 34kg, you're going to have to find $929,000 down the back of the sofa. And things like those retro-seventies Martini racing stripes will cost a wee bit more too. 

Still, with a reported output of 729bhp and a plug-in hybrid transmission that allows you to cruise around town in silent, zero-emissions mode, perhaps knocking on for a million dollars is cheap at the price, really.

News: Merc's AMG E-Class gets boost to 585bhp

 

Mercedes' updated E-Class will now be available with a 585bhp wunder-weapon E63 AMG version.

The hot AMG versions of the new-look E-Class saloon and estate will now be made available as a 'standard' (if that's quite the right word) version with a BMW M5-bothering 557bhp and 720Nm of torque from an updated version of the 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 engine. But there will also now be an S model, with a whopping 585bhp and 800Nm of torque, from a tweaked version of the same engine. That one will accelerate this large, comfy, four door saloon (or estate) from 0-100kmh in just 3.6secs. That's not far off McLaren F1 supercar pace.

The S model will also get a locking rear-diff as standard (which should lead to some interesting on-track moments...) Both models can be fitted with massive 420mm ceramic brake discs as an option, while inside, the cars will be fitted with a high-end Bang & Olufsen sound system and a specially-designed IWC dash clock.

Mercedes' 4Matic four wheel drive will also be available as an option, which sound like it might be a good idea for the 585bhp S version, but there's no official word yet on whether you'll be able to have 4Matic with right-hand-drive.

 

News: Electric SLS swooshes on track

The possible future of high-performance motoring, the all-electric Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell, is seen here on the move for the first time since its Paris Motor Show debut.

Please do not adjust your set; yes we know that you would think there should be a meaty, beefy V8 engine note as the SLS swooshes past the camera on the twisty and fast Ascari race track in Spain, but of course the whole point is that there is no engine – instead the SLS E-Cell gets its 750bhp (!) and 1,000Nm f torque (!!!!) from four electric motors positioned just behind each wheel and fed juice from a stack of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

Price? Don't know yet but it sure won't be cheap. Still though, while normal SLS drivers are queuing up to put another €120 worth of four-star into their tanks, you can charge your E-Cell up for another 100km for about €2 a throw.

And yes, this is serious. Not just a pie-in-the-sky prototype. This is going on sale soon. 

News: Is this Ferrari's new 900bhp engine?

 We know that Ferrari is currently hard at work on F70, areplacement for the blistering Enzo hypercar, and in fact we've already seen its all-carbon chassis, at the Paris Motor Show. But now, here is the first image of its 900bhp hybrid engine...

It's a bit blurry, but Dutch website Autoblog.nl is pretty sure that this is the first image of Ferrari's new wonder engine nestling in its carbon-fibre cradle. The large grey box, with the orange wires, sitting at the back between the exhausts, is the KERS unit which, F1-style, harvests electric power from braking and various other systems and allows the driver to thumb a button for extra overtaking oomph, or for a short trickle on pure, zero-emissions electric power.

Quite why you'd need extra overtaking oomph from a 7.3-litre V12 in a carbon-chassis supercar that will probably weigh about as much as a Fiesta is a bit beyond us though...