MCLAREN AUTOMOTIVE: THE VISION
In 2012 McLaren Automotive will further establish its presence in the global luxury sports car market following a period of unprecedented growth activity. The new £40m McLaren Production Centre was officially opened by UK Prime Minister David Cameron late in 2011.
McLaren Automotive subsequently began 2012 building eight of the new MP4-12C sports car every day. With production targets achieved so early in the year, 35 of the world’s best car retailers in 18 countries are now delivering the new 12C to first customers in Europe, North America (USA and Canada), the Middle East, South Africa and Asia Pacific regions.
Launches of a bespoke services division, McLaren Special Operations, and a new race car manufacturer, McLaren GT, highlight McLaren’s determination to achieve what no other car company has ever achieved in a 12 month period. With McLaren’s place at the top of world motorsport assured, and a brace of successful engineering and electronics businesses also making a global impact from the McLaren Technology Centre, why take such bold and courageous steps into bespoke automotive manufacturing?
Ron Dennis on the launch of McLaren Automotive
The answer lies with the vision and ambition of McLaren Automotive’s Executive Chairman, Ron Dennis: “McLaren’s first and founding principle was to compete successfully in motor sport and particularly Formula 1. That goal has taken us to great heights; from an engineering and innovation perspective, and by rewarding our people for their endeavours over many long seasons of top level motor racing. But despite all the trophies and great racing successes, there comes a time when the maturity of a company and its future development depends on broadening its activities.
“We have long held the dream of building a range of innovative McLaren sports cars. Sports cars that take the raw elements of Formula 1 principles, processes and performance and forge them into a unique package that adds the requirements of quality, efficiency, comfort and reliability – traditionally opposing goals that I know we can deliver.
“McLaren’s modern history began 30 years ago with an operation of 50 people dedicated to design innovation and to winning Grands Prix. Everything we have achieved as a well-honed and fiercely competitive team over the past three decades prepared us for this moment.
McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive now employ over 1,500 people – all dedicated and passionate about being the best: and about launching a new car company and our first car, of which I am very proud. The 12C and the future range of McLaren sports cars will support the long-term development of McLaren and our people.
“This new business also brings into the UK new investment, a new manufacturing facility – the McLaren Production Centre – and new skilled jobs within the UK’s network of high-tech manufacturing and engineering businesses. I believe that McLaren Automotive is a great example of how the UK can develop a new, innovative and globally influential manufacturing base, through technological innovation in design and build-processes.
“Launching a new car company is a great challenge that is inspiring everyone at McLaren.
The new 12C is now on sale worldwide and these are exciting times – for McLaren, for car enthusiasts and, just as importantly, for people who are passionate about technology, innovation and engineering,” Dennis concluded.
McLaren Automotive: a new global car company Although McLaren’s heritage lies principally on the race circuit, the blend of qualities such as ambition, drive and commitment, with more tangible assets such as aerodynamic skills, rapid development through simulation techniques, supreme electronics expertise and a ruthless quest for reliability, have equipped the company to turn Ron Dennis’, and McLaren’s shareholders’ and board members’ dreams, into reality.
Taking the vision and turning that into an effective, profitable and world-class car company lies in the hands of McLaren Automotive’s Managing Director, Antony Sheriff, and the teams run by his fellow directors, Carlo della Casa (Engineering), Alan Foster (Operations), Dick Glover (Research), Greg Levine (Sales and Marketing), Paul Mackenzie (Special Projects), Frank Stephenson (Design), Mark Vinnels (Programme), Mark Wilson (Finance), and Ben
Wright (Purchasing).
The first car in the range, the McLaren MP4-12C, has been designed and developed by a world-class team of engineers and test drivers. All development processes have benefited from McLaren’s expertise in Formula 1, and constant integration with the racing team’s techniques and personnel has set new standards in performance for the road: performance in all criteria from vehicle dynamics to emissions.
Antony Sheriff summed up the focus for McLaren Automotive, inspired by high expectations laid down through the years at McLaren: “When I came here, Ron inspired me with his belief that winning Formula 1 races was simply doing your job.
“After that, it was a question of how you won. That’s the winning attitude that permeates throughout McLaren Automotive and will set us apart from our competitors through the undoubted challenges ahead. We don’t win every race, and we won’t get everything perfectly right at the first attempt with our road cars, but we aim to win every race and we should aim to be the best sports car company in the world. That’s the McLaren way.
“With the 12C, we have designed and built a sports car unlike any other. Feedback from new customers and independent test drivers tells us that the comfort and ride quality enabled by the 12C’s Proactive Chassis Control system is a mind-blowing experience. Technology inspired by Formula 1 is deployed to deliver record-breaking lap times on circuits.
Efficiencies offered by the combination of a lightweight car and a small capacity twin-turbocharged engine make the car the most efficient by a significant margin in its class. Yet it’s also the most powerful, and quickest in a straight line. These polar opposite characteristics are unique to the 12C and are testament to innovating with technology.”
The new MP4-12C is the first in a range of sports cars from McLaren Automotive. On sale worldwide, the McLaren Automotive global retailer network responsible for sales and service of the 12C (new showrooms in Europe, Middle East, South Africa, North America and Asia-Pacific) will be open in all markets early in 2012. By the middle of this decade, McLaren expects to be building approximately 4,000 sports cars annually across the range.
Antony Sheriff said: “McLaren has enormous brand equity because of the success of our Formula 1 team, and other championship-winning racing cars at Le Mans and in Indy and Can-Am races. Combine this with the enthusiasm for owning a McLaren among prospective customers, and the reverence in which the McLaren F1 is held amongst car fans, then McLaren Automotive has the foundation to make a great impact in the sports car market. It won’t be easy, but early signs are very positive. We aim to compete with the best and take a few chequered flags along the way.
“Our commitment to our customers and fans is to launch groundbreaking products that espouse McLaren DNA. Our future range of sports cars will include models and derivatives of varying specification, and we plan for each to be a benchmark for efficiency, performance and innovation, sold through a retail network as dedicated as we are to being the best. We have appointed an initial 35 retailers with experience in delivering outstanding customer service to luxury and sports car owners. Our retail partners will represent us at launch in 18 countries across the globe. Every one of our new retail partners will deliver strong customer relationships which, for a brand new car company with an aspiration towards quality and performance, will be critical to our success,” Sheriff concluded.
Text by: Clásicos al Volante.
Photographs by: McLaren.
