Grand Prix Rejects

First Bernie, now say goodbye to the "MP4-XX" cars of McLaren.

http://motorsports.nbcsports.com/2017/0 ... 4-pattern/

I don't know how to feel about this. I generally hate Macca, but they've been naming the cars like that since 4 years before I was born. It just seems....right. But on the otherhand, if they do actually bring back the orange? All is forgiven.

EDIT: While they did delete my admittedly snarky comment, I'm glad to see they changed what MP4 meant in the article.

With the new model names, they've gone from sounding like fax machines (MP4-31) to postcodes (MCL32) - I think I preferred the fax machines...

I'm annoyed about this thing that in no way negatively impacts on my life.

Unless Ron Dennis has a legal claim to the Project 4 aspect of MP4 (which is possible and he's just the type to prevent anybody else using it) then this shows a massive lack of respect for the history of the team and some of the competition-annihilating machines and drivers it has produced.

So now I'm wondering if the recent suggestions they may colour the cars orange is an attempt to vicariously cash in on the teams origins with big Bruce and write Ron Dennis out of its history completely.

If so, then this new McLaren boss, whatever his name is, sounds like a skateboarder or something, is a big stupid idiot.

CoopsII wrote:I'm annoyed about this thing that in no way negatively impacts on my life.

Me too.


I just wonder if it's a middle finger to Dennis. His coming back was acrimonious, and his being forced out even more so, so I wonder if they are doing everything he hated on purpose, just to make him stew, because he's still on the board and a major shareholder right? I remember the year they tested in Orange and it was popular and Dennis laughed and said they could never race it in. Must drive him nuts if it comes to be.

I think it is a missed chance. They should have taken the opportunity to pay tribute to important McLaren people of yesteryear. People like, you know, Ron Dennis. They could even start with RD-17. Or is that too soon? Because if it is, I would suggest LW-44 instead.

Wallio wrote:I just wonder if it's a middle finger to Dennis. His coming back was acrimonious, and his being forced out even more so, so I wonder if they are doing everything he hated on purpose, just to make him stew, because he's still on the board and a major shareholder right? I remember the year they tested in Orange and it was popular and Dennis laughed and said they could never race it in. Must drive him nuts if it comes to be.

Whilst he has been moved out of his role at McLaren Technology Group, the Financial Times noted that Ron Dennis still owns 25% of the shares in the group and still has "a blocking minority vote on future decisions", as they termed it. In that sense, it would potentially be quite a bad idea to deliberately annoy him given that, if he was uncooperative, he could exercise those potential blocking powers maliciously if so inclined.

Equally, at this stage it is unclear whether this is a change that the company really intended to make, or if it is a change that is being imposed on them and is being spun as a "fresh start" for the company. As CoopsII mentions, I would not be surprised if it turned out that the reason they've changed the name is because Ron Dennis owns the "MP4" marque and is unwilling to relinquish it.

so what.... Ferrari have changed their naming convention most years.... its no big thing

WeirdKerr wrote:so what.... Ferrari have changed their naming convention most years.... its no big thing

That's exactly why it is a big thing. Ferrari have never had a consistent naming system that has spanned for more than six consecutive seasons. Meanwhile McLaren have been building MP4s since 1981, and only the Williams FW naming convention is older (going back all the way to 1974).

Massive missed opportunity not to just use the M prefix. Should just be M32. MCL seems nonsensical - I assume it's short for McLaren?

I was a bit annoyed when the car numbers changed to the personal driver number system—just a bit, because it had nothing to do with racing or anything—but this is where it stops. I don't care about model names.

AndreaModa wrote:Massive missed opportunity not to just use the M prefix. Should just be M32. MCL seems nonsensical - I assume it's short for McLaren?

Echoed sentiments. And yes, it's meant to be McLaren.

Then again, you could make the argument that the MP4 designation became reduntant after 1996, since M stands for Marlboro.

Normal32 wrote:Then again, you could make the argument that the MP4 designation became reduntant after 1996, since M stands for Marlboro.

Yeah, that was something that I had only learnt for the first time this week. I had always assumed it had stood for McLaren Project 4. Like a continuation of the 'M' designation, but with the P4 tacked on.

dr-baker wrote:

Normal32 wrote:Then again, you could make the argument that the MP4 designation became reduntant after 1996, since M stands for Marlboro.

Yeah, that was something that I had only learnt for the first time this week. I had always assumed it had stood for McLaren Project 4. Like a continuation of the 'M' designation, but with the P4 tacked on.

After Marlboro left, the M in MP4 did stand for McLaren indeed.

FMecha wrote:

dr-baker wrote:

Normal32 wrote:Then again, you could make the argument that the MP4 designation became reduntant after 1996, since M stands for Marlboro.

Yeah, that was something that I had only learnt for the first time this week. I had always assumed it had stood for McLaren Project 4. Like a continuation of the 'M' designation, but with the P4 tacked on.

After Marlboro left, the M in MP4 did stand for McLaren indeed.

Yeah,but I was assuming this before the end of 1996...

MCL32 sounds like a Maserati to me, due to the MC12.

watka wrote:MCL32 sounds like a Maserati to me, due to the MC12.

And an MC12 sounds like a DeLorean to me, due to the DMC-12. Which reminds me of a music group, Run-DMC.

dr-baker wrote:

watka wrote:MCL32 sounds like a Maserati to me, due to the MC12.

And an MC12 sounds like a DeLorean to me, due to the DMC-12. Which reminds me of a music group, Run-DMC.

It's tricky, but it's like that, and that's the way it is.

This wrote:

dr-baker wrote:

watka wrote:MCL32 sounds like a Maserati to me, due to the MC12.

And an MC12 sounds like a DeLorean to me, due to the DMC-12. Which reminds me of a music group, Run-DMC.

It's tricky, but it's like that, and that's the way it is.

Those cars are beyond my price range, so I suppose I'm gonna have to walk this way.

I'm glad to see this change in philosophy from McLaren, I was never a fan of how Ron Dennis shunned the teams history.

He only brought up the teams history when it suited him.

I don't care and I don't think this will have an impact in the image of the team, or history or their performance on track.