McLaren P1 Track confirmed as McLaren Automotive goes in to profit

McLaren are building a track version of the P1 (pictured) for P1 customers only It’s only three years since McLaren Automotive entered the hugely competitive market for high-end supercars (well, it’s four years, but only three since the first 12C went to a customer), but it’s already in profit. McLaren made an operating profit in 2013 of £12.4 million (and a pre-tax of £4.4 million) on sales of £284.4 million and did so – as predicted – by hitting their sales targets – McLaren sold 1359 12Cs and 36 of the McLaren P1 hypercar. And that looks to be just the start.

Toyota studies a rear-drive entry for Scion

Scion vice president Jack Hollis is a former Stanford and AAA baseball player who, but for an injury, coulda been a contender, coulda played in the show. He's not one to boast--he didn't tell us of his baseball days, we got it from someone else. Nonetheless, you'd imagine the 6-foot-2-inch auto exec would have a pretty good self-image.

40 Years of Mmmm

In 1972, the Dow Jones closed above 1,000 for the first time, the Olympic Games in Munich were marred by the killings of 11 Israeli athletes, gasoline averaged 55 cents a gallon, Bobby Fischer became the world chess champion and the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam. It was also a notable year for German automaker BMW, as that year saw the birth of its famed M division.