Lincoln Gets a Hot Rod ; McLaren picks LSE for its first niche performance player.(Brief Article)

McLaren Performance Technologies' future starts with a hot rod Lincoln. ``With all due respect to Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, when you think `Hot Rod Lincoln,' we want you to think `McLaren Engines,''' says McLaren president and CEO Steve Rossi, who hopes to turn a Lincoln LSE into an American-built competitor for BMW's M5 and Mercedes' AMG E55.

``Our intention is not to put Mustang SVT brute and brawn into a Lincoln; it's to provide BMW M5 engineering elegance in a Lincoln,'' says Rossi. ``At the end of the day, there is no serious American sports sedan. We want to be there.''

Rossi knows a little bit about the AMG performance formula. An engineer by trade, Rossi helped launch several AMG models when he served as head of public relations for Mercedes-Benz USA in the mid- to late-1990s. He sees McLaren Performance branching out from its behind-the-scenes role as an engineering supply house to grow a niche vehicle line. The company has a 30-year track record as an engine provider for Can-Am and Indy 500 winners, originating as the separate U.S. engine development company for Bruce McLaren Motor Racing.

The company has also built a number of limited-production performance cars like the McLaren Mustang, Buick GNX and Pontiac GTP Turbo, and developed the Northstar powertrain for Cadillac's 24-Hour Le Mans entry. It also builds Indy Racing League Chevrolet engines for Blair Racing.

The first vehicle to emerge as a result of Rossi's vision for McLaren is the Lincoln LSE ``Powered by McLaren Engines'' model-a silver sleeper for the New York auto show.

``They've done a good job of creating the base vehicle,'' says Rossi, referring to the stock rear-wheel-drive car with its 252-hp 3.9-liter V8.

Starting there, McLaren engineers add an Eaton supercharger and a McLaren-built intake and cat-back dual exhaust to boost output to an estimated 350 hp. Torque jumps from 261 lb-ft to an estimated 350 lb-ft. Power runs through a six-speed manual transmission to a taller rear end fitted with a McLaren traction ``Gerodisc'' differential. McLaren estimates the drivetrain work ...