formulaone

McLaren Hits the Ground Running with New Footwear Collection

McLaren spends all their energy chasing Ferrari around the race track. And as often as not, they catch them. But the British racing team is going after Ferrari off the track too, with new sportscars coming out to follow the departing SLR to take the fight to Ferrari in the road car market where the Italian team has been king for decades. In the meantime, Ferrari has come to dominate another area as well, with a vast empire of licensed merchandise on the market. So its arch-nemesis will fight it on that ground too, and to that end has launched its latest footwear collection.

Bearing construction and design inspired by its Formula One cars, McLaren shoes boast hi-tech materials and fashion-forward lines evocative of the technology-driven image which McLaren projects. Realized by Spanish licensee FasionVentures 21, the collection includes both casual and more formal models, recently supplemented by the collection's latest Spring/Summer 2009 line which you can see in the gallery below. Prices start around $200, available from McLaren's online shop and various retailers worldwide.

Gallery: McLaren footwear Spring/Summer 2009

Tags: f1, formula one, FormulaOne, mclaren, mclaren footwear, mclaren shoes, MclarenFootwear, MclarenShoes

Carlos Slim Checking Out Formula One Race Team

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wealth

In our continuing look at the moves of savvy billionaires, it's hard not to notice that Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecommunications billionaire is taking advantage of the economic downturn. Slim made news in November for picking up 29 million shares of Citigroup for around $150 million and Blogging Stocks reported that he also boosted his stake in luxury retailer Saks buying nearly 7.6 million shares of the company over a four-day period.

Slim's latest move may be one even closer to his heart. Slim, has been spotted visiting the UK headquarters of the Honda Racing F1 team,. Motor Authority reveals that a takeover by Slim would boost the chances of GP2 driver Bruno Senna, who is backed by the Telmex subsidiary Embratel, Slim's company. Other suitors for the beleaguered team include Force India's Vijay Mallya, a Swiss hedge fund and Greek shipping tycoon Achilleas Kallakis. Slim is known for savvy investments and so his interest in the racing team indicates he sees a future in a sport that is currently plagued by economic worries.

Gallery: Big Spenders In A Bad Economy