[stickshift]

Heard that McLaren has started doing factory tours for porspective buyers. ANyone been on one yet?

 

[paul]

Factory Tour

Hi all first time post , i did the factory tour lastnite we were well looked after was kept well topped up with fizz, there were maybe 30 to 40 there at a guess including Mike Brewer and Edd from Wheeler Dealers. They had 2 MP4 Cars there which are looking fantastic, going to be well worth the wait.

 

[ECSofVirginia]

That's a great gesture of Mclaren. Did they get into answering any in depth questions about the cars and build process or was it just a show and tell?

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

Hi all first time post , i did the factory tour lastnite we were well looked after was kept well topped up with fizz, there were maybe 30 to 40 there at a guess including Mike Brewer and Edd from Wheeler Dealers. They had 2 MP4 Cars there which are looking fantastic, going to be well worth the wait.

Sounds like it is well worth doing. I got a call from McLaren last week and hope to also do the factory tour in the not to distant future.

 

[cgt]

Hi guys, I'm a friend of Boxer and he suggested I join here and post up pics of my visit to MTC last week.

Paul, I was there on the same night as you, Mr Brewer kept us entertained with many great stories all night. The McLaren staff were all highly knowledgable about every aspect of the car (and McLaren history) and it was all done very properly. Compared to some, this whole event showed a lot of focus and attention had been paid to doing things right.

It is truly an awesome place, the architecture and design of the building is very futuristic and the racing machinery on display is mind-boggling when you think about how many F1 and sportscar those races won, and who drove them.

I thought it was a very nice touch to have such obvious regard for the drivers who made the McLaren legend long before this amazing building came into existence.

I thought the silver MP4-12C looked stunning and the fit and finish on the car was top notch. These are phone pics by the way, it looks even sharper in the metal.

 

[paul]

Nice pics CGT , getting mine developed today and going to get the picture in the lucky bag framed, was half expecting Jenson and Lewis to make an apearance though we got Mike and Edd instead !! Deposit went down yesterday with the manchester branch, going to be a long wait

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

CGT, thanks for posting. The McLaren F1 is simply the ultimate road car.

 

[RWD]

Awesome photos. Tour must have been nice. Based on the photos I take it the MP4 was off limits for the time being? Did they allow you to sit in it?

 

[zippycar]

Some more pics from the MTC

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

Excellent shots. Thanks.

 

[Mclicious]

Thank you for al the photo,s i have to be pateince a few months before i can visit the factory . Here on the continent is a preview in a few months , hope to see some others photo,s from other places before .

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

Have been in contact with one of the dealers. Might try to get a factory tour arranged in the next several months.

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

I am now booked for a factory tour next Thursday. Will try to get some more pictures and post them up afterwards.

 

[RWD]

Excellent, keep us in the loop.

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

I went on the factory tour a few days ago. Hugely impressive operation. F1 department is something NASA should aspire to. Looking around, you can understand why they have won so many races and why Virgin Racing, Lotus, etc is so far behind. Walking the line of historic McLaren F1 cars was amazing.

The 12C looks better in the metal than in pictures. Cabin is surprisingly comfortable with good leg room. Car looks quite compact and not huge/overweight Engine is a bit of a mystery. We were told that it is a "McLaren" engine but then it was mentioned that it began life elsewhere and was purchased and modified/tuned by McLaren but was all a bit unclear. Definitely chain driven so no issues with annoying cambelt changes.

Here are a few bad iPhone pictures.

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

Nice pictures, Boxer!

BTW, I've tested the car at Millbrook, and I can only say that IT IS AWESOME! The active dynamics system really works, and you can even change the engine noise that enters the cockpit.

The engine is a development of an USA racing V8. The development has been done by McLaren and Ricardo. They said us that no standard engine fitted the requirements of low weight, low height and high revving ability that McLaren looked for.

They did say that the engine was developed by Ricardo. Any idea where the base engine was sourced from?

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

Nope, the trainers had no exact idea. They said something that it was perhaps derived from a competition american V8, but they weren't completely sure.

I do wonder if it was the same base as the GM LS6 or LS7 engine.

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

No idea. But the ancilliaries belt has been removed, and the alternator has been moved lower and backwards. So the engine is more compact and with a lower weight center.

It might be an LS6. Very hard to say though.

 

[sumbaco]

It might be an LS6. Very hard to say though.

The story of the engine has been mentioned on forums and backed up by people who say they either work at Mclaren or know someone there. So it's not 100%, but it seems to be the best one out there.

I heard that Mclaren bought a stillborn IRL engine design from Menard and had Mahle adapt it to their purposes. During the initial development with Mahle, engines kept breaking, so Mclaren went to Ricardo to iron out their problems. Now Ricardo will make the engine.

 

[Boxer (aka SSO)]

The story of the engine has been mentioned on forums and backed up by people who say they either work at Mclaren or know someone there. So it's not 100%, but it seems to be the best one out there.

I heard that Mclaren bought a stillborn IRL engine design from Menard and had Mahle adapt it to their purposes. During the initial development with Mahle, engines kept breaking, so Mclaren went to Ricardo to iron out their problems. Now Ricardo will make the engine.

Thanks. Do you know who is supplying the turbos?