Ron Dennis (Executive Chairman, McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive) outlines McLaren's ambitions for 2012 and beyond
Just like our racing cars, the McLaren Group never stands still -- and you may like some of the pioneering new directions we're taking.
McLaren is more than just a builder of beautiful and successful Formula 1 cars: we're a relentlessly competitive entity, bred on high-performance and determined to bring to market ground-breaking products and solutions that are set apart by their top quality and dependence on totally unique and highly innovative steps in performance.
To take just one example, we're poised on the verge of a hugely exciting automotive programme with our high-performance sports car, MP4-12C.
And today's visit to McLaren by Prime Minister the Rt Hon David Cameron MP is a statement of intent: that we're committed to building a homegrown sports car manufacturer to take on the likes of Europe's and North America's giants.
But that's not all.
Through everything we do, we're absolutely dedicated to fostering the rebirth of one of Great Britain's industrial cornerstones: beautiful and meticulously crafted high-tech industrial design and manufacture.
Design and manufacturing have been at the backbone of British industry for more than 100 years, and are activities that we as a company not only passionately believe in, but consider of primary importance to the future economic growth and recovery of the United Kingdom.
It's a philosophy that is at the cornerstone of McLaren Group chairman Ron Dennis's view for the future of the Group.
He said:
"Through everything we do, McLaren strives to find the solution.
"We never stop. We exist to go faster; to be state-of-the-art; to innovate; to perform with belief, flair and passion; to be the absolute best at what we do. And everything that McLaren is has been built on the founding principles of good design and solid, seamlessly efficient engineering and manufacturing.
"Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, great minds such as George Stephenson, James Watt, Matthew Boulton and Isambard Kingdom Brunel have brought tremendous and justified acclaim to Great Britain via their relentless innovation and restless desire to deliver societal benefit.
"But, in the UK, there has been an over-reliance in the past on the financial and service sectors. Now, industry is realising that Britain's grand manufacturing tradition is a solid platform upon which to build -- and I want the McLaren Group to play its part in the crucial recalibration of UK plc.
"I'm delighted that the Government is embracing that initiative too: we need to encourage young people to embrace the STEM subjects, by which I mean, science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
"This should not trigger the abandonment of the arts -- of which I am also a keen patron. However, I firmly believe it is the role and duty of British industry to offer STEM graduates the appropriate destination jobs -- the provision of a worthwhile career path that ensures that our brightest scientists, technicians, engineers and mathematicians aren't lured into finance or banking -- simply because they feel that engineering cannot compete to offer equal satisfaction or reward."
As Ron Dennis's words make apparent: our vision is clear, and the means by which we achieve it are rich and diverse. We are proud that McLaren is a British industrial icon, but there is more to us than you may imagine...
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The historic cornerstone of our business, a household name within the UK and one of the most prestigious brands in world sport. With 175 grand prix wins and 20 world titles achieved by a roster of talent, including our world champions -- Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton -- our Formula 1 team has rightfully become one of the most famous and established in the history of the sport.
