- Most attainable McLaren model range commences final stage ahead of full production
- Pre-production phase will ensure the highest levels of quality for the first models to join the Sports Series family: the 570S Coupé and 540C Coupé
The countdown to the launch this autumn of the most attainable McLaren road car project yet, the Sports Series, continues with the start of the pre-production phase within the state-of-the-art McLaren Production Centre in Woking, England. This milestone marks the final stage in the development programme ahead of the global roll-out of the 570S Coupé; the first model to be launched in the McLaren Sports Series family.
Up to this point through the development programme, the Sports Series has covered in excess of 500,000 testing kilometres. These have been on a mixture of race circuits and roads, in some of the harshest conditions around the world including the extreme heat of the Arizona and Nevada summer, the Arctic conditions common of northern Sweden in the winter and, of course, the changeable British weather.
The McLaren Production Centre (MPC) has now been set up in preparation for the start of production, with all tooling in place for the new model. The latest phase of the Sports Series programme will ensure the smooth transition of production methods already in place for the Super Series and Ultimate Series models with minimal disruption. It will see the integration of the Sports Series into the production line along with the Super Series, underlining the flexibility of the MPC. This will also ensure the highest levels of quality, matching the exacting standards befitting any model wearing the McLaren badge.
Andreas Bareis, Executive Director – Quality at McLaren Automotive explained: ‘The pre-production phase is one of the most important, and also one of the most demanding, in a product readiness phase at McLaren. Up to this point, vehicles have been running in various locations around the world and subjected to some of the harshest conditions, and we are testing every component and system to the extreme. This final phase brings all testing together for the first time in a package that is representative of the cars our owners will be taking delivery of.
‘As we move forward as a business we take learnings from previous projects and current products, and now moving into the sports car sector, the programme has become the most challenging to date as we push the bar of quality and performance even higher. The relentless drive for continuously improving quality within all business areas, with a focus on the pre-production phase, enables us to achieve a significant milestone which was set as a key target at the beginning of the programme. It is a real achievement by the different teams across the business that have helped progress to this point.’
Deliveries of the Sports Series, starting with the 570S Coupé, will commence before the end of the year. When the full family has been launched, forecast to be by the end of 2017, the range is expected to more than double the annual volume of McLaren, and bring the brand in front of a new audience. Prices for the McLaren Sports Series start from £126,000.
About McLaren Automotive:
McLaren Automotive is a British manufacturer of luxury, high-performance sports cars, located at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, Surrey.
Following the global launch of McLaren Automotive in 2010, the groundbreaking 12C was launched in 2011, the 12C Spider in 2012, and the limited-run McLaren P1™ went into production in 2013. In keeping with its plan to introduce a new model each year, the company unveiled the 650S, in coupe and Spider form in 2014, and has announced the Sports Series among the models to be introduced in 2015. The brand continues to expand, and McLaren posted a profit during 2013 – only the third year of vehicle production. This was followed in 2014, by a third consecutive year of growth in sales with a record 1,649 vehicles delivered via a dedicated global network of retailers in every major automotive market.
McLaren Automotive Partners
To support the development, engineering and manufacture of its range of innovative and highly acclaimed sports cars, McLaren Automotive has partnered with world leading companies to provide specialist expertise and technology including, AkzoNobel, ExxonMobil, Pirelli and SAP.
Designed for the track; Developed for the road
The connection between Formula 1 and road cars at McLaren is a natural process of experience, knowledge, principles and process transfer. Through the integration of 50 years of Formula 1™ racing expertise and knowledge, and over 20 years of heritage in producing landmark sports cars, McLaren Automotive designs, develops and builds a range of technologically advanced and groundbreaking high performance sports cars which are designed to be a no compromise drive on both road and track.
McLaren has pioneered the use of carbon fibre in vehicle production over the past 30 years, and since introducing a carbon chassis into racing and road cars with the 1981 McLaren MP4/1 and 1993 McLaren F1 respectively, McLaren has not built a car without a carbon fibre chassis.