PitBoard: McLaren to bestow iconic badge on ultimate P1 GTR

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty years on from victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the now legendary McLaren F1 GTR, McLaren Automotive will resurrect the iconic name from its history for the track-only edition of the award-winning McLaren P1. The limited-run model will go into production when the 375th and final example of the road car has been completed, and in homage to its race-winning ancestor, the most powerful McLaren to date will be named the McLaren P1 GTR.

With no need to comply with road legislation, the McLaren P1 GTR will be designed and developed as the best drivers’ car in the world on track. This will see even greater levels of performance, grip, aerodynamics and downforce than the road car. It will also feature technologies and a powertrain more extreme with an intended power output of 1,000ps, race-proven slick tires, a widened track and more aggressive and distinctive styling designed to offer optimized performance around a lap.

The decision to produce a track-only variant is in response to demand to McLaren P1 owners. The McLaren P1 GTR will be priced at £1.98m, and will include a tailored program created for each customer to build driver capability. It will include exclusive consultations with the McLaren driver fitness team and Design Director Frank Stephenson, privileged access to one of the McLaren racing simulators, and participation in a minimum of six dedicated international drive events to be held at some of the world’s most iconic Formula 1 circuits. Exact production numbers are still to be determined, but will be strictly limited.

VW Group delivers over 4M units for first time thru May

The Volkswagen Group delivered 4.11 million vehicles from January to May, 2014. The company handed over 864,600 units to customers in May. “The Volkswagen Group brands delivered over four million vehicles for the first time in the period to May. That is an encouraging development, particularly in view of the mixed performance on world markets,” Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler said in Wolfsburg last Friday. “Even though our Group and its brands are in an excellent position to respond to the different trends in the world regions, market demands still remain challenging,” Klingler continued.

Group brands delivered a total of 1.64 million vehicles on the overall European market from January to May, of which 866,200 were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany).In the home market of Germany, 502,200 customers chose a new car from the Volkswagen Group. Europe’s largest automaker delivered 274,000 vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe. 113,800 units were handed over to customers in Russia during the same period.

The Group delivered 350,400 vehicles in North America from January to May, of which 237,900 were handed over in the United States. In South America, the Volkswagen Group delivered 296,000 vehicles to customers during the same period, of which 229,500 were handed over in Brazil.

The Group continued to record very encouraging figures in the Asia-Pacific region, where1.66 million vehicles were delivered to customers in the same period, of which 1.51 million units were handed over in China, the Group’s largest single market.