POWERED BY F1 ENGINEERING, MCLAREN SUPERCARS PROVIDE A DRIVING EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER.
POWERED BY F1 ENGINEERING, MCLAREN SUPERCARS PROVIDE A DRIVING EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER.
Since McLaren Automotive rolled out the 12C in 2011, its supercars have attained legendary status. It’s no wonder. The British marque has a genesis that spans more than 50 years in Formula 1 championship racing and engineering; its technology has netted 12 drivers’ and eight constructors’ titles. It all began in 1963 when Bruce McLaren, on the back of winning three Grands Prix in a Formula 1 career that flagged off six years earlier, when he was 22, embarked on building racing cars. That journey culminated three years later when he established his own team and eponymous cars for the world championship.
For Bruce, designing and constructing racing cars were about constantly innovating to push engineering to conquer new frontiers. “It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone,” he said. His philosophy powers the McLaren Formula 1 racing team. In 1993, the company redefined how a sportscar for the road should be engineered in the form of the McLaren F1, one of the fastest production cars ever made.
In the new chapter that kicked off seven years ago, its supercars inherited this pedigree. They are built on the Formula 1 team’s pioneering carbon fibre chassis and race-bred technology in safety, aerodynamics, drivetrain and software. As a measure of its reputation as the ultimate driving machine, the entry level 540C supercar has a top speed of 300 kmh and the two models launched this year, the 720S (left) and 570S Spider, can reach 341 kmh and 328 kmh, respectively. More is in store, if the company’s plans to invest £1 billion (S$1.8 billion) in R&D to deliver 15 new models before the end of 2022 is any measure. It’s McLaren’s time to roar on the roads.
