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Is the McLaren P1 order book about to close?

We’re hearing that McLaren is ready to close the order book for their P1 supercar before the specification – or the car – have been fully revealed. We’ve had the reveal of the P1 Concept – and seen it floating round the world as McLaren drum up potential customers with enormous bottomless pockets – and we’ve even seen the P1 on the move as McLaren shake down the development version of the P1. But so far we haven’t had the full specs of the P1 revealed and, as far as we can tell, McLaren hasn’t even divulged the full details of the P1′s power and performance to potential customers – no matter how wealthy they are.

Aston Martin in talks with Mercedes for engine supply

It has seemed for some time that Aston Martin’s wish-list for future engines revolved around Mercedes. They currently use a V12 developed from Ford’s Mondeo V6 and a V8 that’s a development of the 4.2 litre that was in Jaguars (and Range Rovers) until a few years ago, but new engines (and new platforms) are vital if Aston are to remain competitive. Before the recent investment in AML by Investindustrial, there were plans for Aston to use both engines and platforms from Mercedes (the Lagonda SUV was built on the underpinnings of the Mercedes GL) and even the possibility that Aston Martin would design and build the next generation Maybach.

Jaguar/Land Rover Virtual Reality Center

Jaguar Land Rover has opened a new 'Virtual Reality Center' at the Design and Engineering Center in Gaydon, UK. The 'state-of-the-art' design facility draws on advanced audio visual technologies with the projection power of the world's highest resolution projectors to significantly speed up product development cycles following an investment of £2 million. The new Virtual Reality Center allows engineers and designers to see and interact with life-size, three-dimensional models of vehicles and components, reducing the need for physical prototypes.