A key milestone was marked today at the Yorkshire manufacturing centre that from 2019 will start producing carbon fibre tubs for McLaren Automotive, the British creator of luxury sportscars and supercars.
As darkness descended at the £50million McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) nearing completion in the Sheffield region, McLaren Automotive Chief Executive Mike Flewitt was on-hand to illuminate the famous marque’s sign.
A spectacular indoor lightshow then greeted guests, culminating in the recently unveiled McLaren Senna road car performing a series of expertly choregraphed ‘doughnuts’ to leave a trail of fresh Pirelli tyre rubber on the new centre’s floor to ‘christen’ it – McLaren style.
Named after the famous Brazilian Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, who won all three of his World Championships at the wheel of a McLaren, the McLaren Senna – whose design was led by Harrogate- born Rob Melville – was accompanied by Ayrton’s original Grand Prix winning McLaren MP4/5 race car from 1989.
The event provided the first glimpse inside the new composites technology centre which, when open, will be home to McLaren’s second production facility and the first ever outside of its native Woking. Over 40 McLaren employees are already based in Sheffield, housed at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, where they are advancing the process for creating the lightweight carbon fibre Monocage structures at the heart of McLaren cars.
When fully operational, around 200 people will work at the MCTC, which will supply carbon fibre tubs to the McLaren Production Centre in Surrey where the company’s sportcars and supercars are hand- assembled.
Carbon fibre has long been a part of McLaren’s DNA, the company having introduced the very first carbon fibre chassis into Formula 1 in 1981. Carbon fibre’s innate strength and lightweight properties mean that the company has never made a race car, sportscar or supercar without it since.
McLaren is continuing to develop its expertise in both hybrid –it delivered the world’s first hybrid hypercar the P1TM over five years ago – and lightweight materials. Combined, the two are fundamental in the development of future automotive technologies, capable of driving increased performance while meeting ever stricter environmental legislation. Under the company’s ambitious Track22 business plan, at least half of the brand’s range will feature hybrid technology by 2022.
McLaren Automotive announced earlier this month that it had recorded another record year of growth, selling a total of 3,340 cars in 2017.
It follows the introduction last year of new models in each of the three established McLaren product families; the 570S Spider was added to the Sports Series, the 720S replaced the 650S in the Super Series and the track-concentrated McLaren Senna joined the Ultimate Series.
Mike Flewitt, McLaren Automotive Chief Executive said: “Today is an important and exciting milestone for everyone at McLaren Automotive, as well as a personal honour, to officially turn on the McLaren sign at what will be our McLaren Composites Technology Centre when it opens later this year.
“It marks the continueddevelopment of the current 2,100 strong company, and will bring new jobs to the Sheffield region which has a proud association with advanced materials; first with steel and now a future to look forward to with carbon fibre innovation and production for McLaren.”
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Notes to Editors:
A selection of high resolution images accompanying this release is available to download from the McLaren Automotive media site – cars.mclaren.press
About McLaren Automotive:
McLaren Automotive is a creator of luxury, high-performance sportscars and supercars.
The company, launched in 2010, is now the largest part of the McLaren Group.
Every vehicle is hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, England.
The company has three defined product families: Sports Series, Super Series and Ultimate Series which are retailed through over 80 retailers in 30 markets around the world.
McLaren is a pioneer that continuously pushes the boundaries. In 1981, it introduced lightweight and strong carbon fibre chassis into Formula 1 with the McLaren MP4/1. Then in 1993 it designed and built the McLaren F1 road car – the company has not built a car without a carbon fibre chassis since. As part of the Ultimate Series, McLaren was the first to deliver a hybrid hypercar, the McLaren P1™.
Announced in 2016, the company’s Track22 business plan will see the company invest £1billion in research and development to deliver 15 new cars or derivatives by the end of 2022, of which at least half will be hybrids.
2017 saw the company launch further models in line with Track22 including the second-generation Super Series, the 570S Spider and the McLaren Senna.
To support the development, engineering and manufacture of its range of innovative sportscars and supercars, McLaren Automotive partners with world leading companies to provide specialist expertise and technology. These include AkzoNobel, Kenwood, Pirelli and Richard Mille.
McLaren Group:The McLaren Group is a global leader in luxury high performance and technology and comprises three principal businesses: Automotive, Racing and Applied Technologies.
Further information:
Wayne BruceGlobal Communications & PR Director | McLaren Automotive LimitedPhone: +44 (0) 1483 261500Mobile: +44 (0) 7768 12429Email: wayne.bruce@mclaren.com
Daniel GoldingGlobal Head of Corporate Communications | McLaren Automotive LimitedPhone:+44 (0) 1483 261500Mobile: +44 (0) 7717 450469Email: daniel.golding@mclaren.com
Paul ChaddertonGlobal Product Communications & PR Manager | McLaren Automotive LimitedPhone:+44 (0) 1483 261500Mobile: +44 (0) 7990 776749Email: paul.chadderton@mclaren.com
Amel BoubaayaHead of Lifestyle and EU Communications | McLaren Automotive LimitedPhone: +44 (0) 1483 261500Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 531357E-mail: amel.boubaaya@mclaren.com
Adam GronSenior Press Officer – UK | McLaren Automotive LimitedPhone: +44 (0) 1483 261500Mobile: +44 (0) 7827 081 770Email: adam.gron@mclaren.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/Adam_Gron
Hunter SkipworthSocial Media Manager | McLaren Automotive LimitedPhone: +44 (0) 1483 261500Mobile: +44 (0) 7990 564 052E-mail: hunter.skipworth@mclaren.com
Roger OrmisherVice President, Communications & PR | McLaren North AmericaPhone: +1 714 501 8137Email: roger.ormisher@mclaren.com
Laura ConradPublic Relations | McLaren North AmericaPhone: +1 765 517 2186Email: laura.conrad@mclaren.com
Karin HaferkornHead of Marketing & PR, Middle East, Africa and Latin America | McLaren Automotive LimitedPhone: +44 (0) 1483 261343Mobile: +44 (0) 7899 816872Email: karin.haferkorn@mclaren.com
Sunny ZhangPR Communication Director – China | McLaren Automotive LimitedPhone: +86 (0) 21 2074 0520Mobile: +86 186 1617 9933Email: sunny.zhang@mclaren.com
Gracia YapPR Manager – Asia Pacific | McLaren Automotive LimitedPhone: +65 6338 3700Mobile: +65 9109 3698Email: gracia.yap@mclaren.com
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