McLaren MP4-12C Live Launch
Auto Express will be at the launch of the McLaren MP4-12C from 10.30am GMT Thursday 18th March 21010. Watch it on Twitter and on LIVE video
Auto Express will be reporting live from the launch of the new 458 Italia rivalling McLaren MP4-12C. In the run up to the event, we've had unprecedented access to the new supercar, and McLaren Automotive, the company that will build it, and take the fight to the mighty Lamborghini and Ferrari.
Ron Dennis Q&A
Auto Express talks to McLaren boss Ron Dennis about the MP4-12C and the company that will build it, McLaren Automotive.
AE: What key characteristics define a McLaren road car?
RD: If you take the F1 as the start of the story of our road cars, and the 12C as the latest chapter, then there are common themes: engineering integrity, an obsession with reducing weight, Formula 1 integration in the development of the cars, and design driven by function, in particular aerodynamics. They are very different cars in concept, but are both steeped in McLaren DNA.
AE: Why should people buy a McLaren what does your car have that Ferraris 458 doesnt?
RD:The fundamental concept behind what we are doing at McLaren is that we are not just launching a new car to rival the worlds best sports cars, but a whole new car company from a blank sheet of paper. You would expect McLaren to say that the 12C and future models will compete toe-to-toe with our competitors products, but where we believe we will differ and present a further competitive advantage is in how we will treat our customers. Our aim is to launch cars that out-perform the competition in all aspects speed, emissions, dynamics but we also want to offer a new standard of customer relationships.
AE: We had heard that financing the build of your production facility had proved challenging. Is the funding in place for your new factory?
RD: It would be churlish to say that finding £40 million has been easy, but despite the economic conditions under which we have developed the project, the interest in supporting McLaren Automotive, whether from potential retailers or investors, has been very positive. The new McLaren Production Centre was always planned to begin construction as soon as planning permission was granted and that is exactly what has happened.
AE: What have been the key differences in designing and launching the McLaren road car, versus the McLaren Formula One car?
RD: It is more enlightening to talk about the similarities. Automotive and Racing are under one roof, so there is total integration between the teams. For example, Formula 1 aerodynamicists discuss problems and solutions with the 12C development team regularly. And the 12C has been developed on the same simulator used by the racing team. Despite the fact that a road car takes years to develop and a Formula 1 car, though based on evolution, just a few months, the fundamentals remain the same: rapid problem solving, absolute individual responsibility for every engineer and clear focus on the goals.
AE: What key skills do you posses that will make you a great car company boss?
RD: Within McLaren it is a matter of hiring excellent people and allowing them to take decisions. But not being afraid to also roll up your sleeves and understand the finer details of a possibility or a problem. Looking outside, it is no different to any business understanding exactly what the market and customer desires and delivering that without compromise.
AE: Formula One, now road cars, whats next from the McLaren Group? Do you have aspirations outside of the automotive industry?
RD: Our aim has always been to make McLaren Group an innovative, profitable, and multi-faceted company with engineering and technology principles at heart. If we grow the Group it will retain that ethos.
AE: Finally, on the eve of the launch of the new MP4-12C, what do you think is a greater challenge, taking a Formula One team to World Championship glory, or launching a new car company?
RD: Neither one nor the other. The challenge has been building up a great company full of empowered, enthusiastic and dedicated people. Then keeping that company at the top for those people. That started with winning Formula 1 World Championships, and launching McLaren Automotive as a fully-fledged car company is part of that story and a major contribution to our success.
Gordon Murray Q&A
We catch up with the legendary designer of the McLaren F1 to get his thoughts and opinions on the new MP4-12C.
He's the man who fathered the original McLaren F1 a machine thats still considered the finest supercar of all time. But what does Gordon Murray think of the new MP4-12C? Auto Express grabbed some time with the legendary engineer to find out.
AE: Youve been away from the McLaren set-up for six years, what were you working on before you left?
GM: Well, after the F1 and the SLR I was working with a team looking at other projects. In my last two years I headed up a group called Advanced Concepts. The main reason for this was to look at exotic materials such as carbonfibre, with the aim of producing these in higher volumes but at lower costs.
AE: Was that going to be applied to anything in particular?
GM: One of the last cars I worked on was codenamed Project Eight, which was to be the next McLaren-Mercedes model to succeed the SLR. It had a monocoque construction. We had some debate on whether Project Eight should be made from aluminium, but I was determined to pursue the carbonfibre route.
AE: And what do you think of the new MP4-12C?
GM: Im very pleased to see that the MP4-12C has the same modular, monocoque construction. There are lots of supercars around now, but none of them can boast this advanced chassis. Its a very strong USP for the MP4-12C and gives it a clear link to the companys Formula One cars. Supercars are also getting heavier and heavier and what McLaren have done here is focus on lightweight, which is totally the right thing to do.
AE: How is the Gordon Murray Design city car project progressing?
GM: Very well. We have finished the petrol car and are working on T26 a customer car. This will be delivered very soon. Then well start work on T27. The main concern of the business is to license the technology, though, and weve got several contracts to fulfill, so things are going very well indeed. Its fantastic that Gordon Murray Design is a British company thats keeping the technology in the country too.
AE: Finally, have you driven an F1 lately?
GM: I drove one last week actually! Its still as good as when I first drove it. No question.
