McLaren automotive Ltd
McLaren’s goal in everything it does is to win. The pursuit of driving perfection through a relentless process of engineering, testing and innovation is a straight-forward expression of how McLaren puts process behind that goal. It is as simple to express as it is difficult to achieve. Nearly half a century of involvement in Formula 1 racing has brought twelve manufacturers’ championships and established the Woking-based company at the very highest level of precision engineering, manufacturing and design.
McLaren’s racing success has been instrumental in delivering excellence into its road car programme. This year, the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 racing team’s Championship-winning drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will be campaigning the MP4-26 race car, but they will also be driving McLaren road cars in the shape of McLaren Automotive’s new MP4-12C.
Delivering a thrilling driver experience courtesy of its 600PS twin-turbo V8 engine mounted in a unique one-piece moulded carbonfibre ‘MonoCell’ chassis, the MP4-12C is a fitting successor to McLaren’s first road car, the 240mph F1 of 1994, a no-compromise supercar which combined staggering performance and pin-sharp handling with everyday usability. Both road and race cars have always reflected McLaren’s pioneering status in the automotive application of aerodynamics, weight-saving and carbon composites, first introduced into Formula 1 by McLaren in 1981.
Operating from the inspiring Norman Foster-designed McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, the Group incorporates McLaren Electronics Systems (developing automotive control systems and components which are now used in every car on the F1 grid, and in many other motorsports) and McLaren Applied Technologies, which provides commercial applications for the Group's technologies and an internal resource for facilities and expertise.
