Less than a decade ago McLaren was little more than a Formula One team. Today, it makes sports cars that rivals the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini – and is seeing the same levels of financial success. What’s the secret?
We’ve been in the business with McLaren Automotive for almost six years now. Five years ago we delivered our first car to a customer – at the time it was a MP4 12C – and for the past three years we have been profitable. It’s a great testament to the quality of the cars we produce, and we’re really proud of that.
Both the racing and the automotive divisions share a roof in your headquarters in Woking, but the two businesses are very different, right down to the shareholders. How much of that racing heritage actually informs the consumer side of things?
To be very honest, we’re inspired by motorsport. But a car designed for the track and one that is road legal are two very different things. There is a trickle-down effect of technology however, for example the battery technology inside the McLaren P1 – it adds extra power in addition to the combustion engine – was initially developed in the Formula One cars. So the inspiration comes from racing, but is then translated by our design and engineering teams into the road car.
That must give you an edge over other automakers?
A big example of where we have an advantage is in our carbon fibre technology that we apply to our road cars. All our motors have a carbon fibre chassis, which saves us so much weight in the vehicle. When it comes to sports cars, weight is everything, which is why having this technology is so important in racing.
Car makers love talking about heritage. Some brands are hundreds of years old, and have amazingly rich and entertaining backstories. McLaren seems to downplay all that, and concentrate on its technology. Would you agree?
We don’t have that broad a past or track record as some of the older marquis, but if you look through our history it’s always been about racing and performance. Right down to the car that put McLaren Automotive on the map, the F1. As I mentioned, we’re a proper established car company now for almost six years, but we’re not going to rest on our laurels. The competition doesn’t sleep, and we’re trying to push ourselves even harder to produce amazing cars for the next six years.
Sales are up a whopping 70 percent over the same time last year. What’s do you think is pulling people away from the more established brands, specifically towards McLaren?
The Middle East Market is all about exclusivity. A customer wants to have a car that is all their own, unique. Exclusivity is something we offer, as McLaren only produces so many vehicles a year. Customers are also aware of the innovation that goes on inside the car, and that is something that links back to our brand awareness. We’re not naive or arrogant, we know other brands have far bigger histories behind them and that we’re almost newcomers in the market, but we know these sorts of things take time. We are very comfortable with what we are producing, engineering and delivering to our customers; and as more people experience McLaren – if they get in to the car – that’s when they really understand what our brand can do.
Was there a tipping point? When all of a sudden the market became very aware of McLaren?
I think we’re still working on it. My personal ambition here, let’s say in a couple of years, is to get McLaren to the same level of awareness as the more established players. So that if someone is ever privileged enough to afford a sports car, McLaren is top of their list. I think a few years ago this would have been impossible, but with the investments going on back headquarters, in our new models and our retail partners in places like the Middle East, we’re on the right track.
