Carbon fiber is a staple ingredient in many of the supercars these days but the lightweight material has a very special connection with McLaren as the team was the first to introduce a carbon monocoque chassis in Formula One back in 1981 and is now also the producer of the world’s first one-piece moulded carbon fiber chassis with its MP4-12C supercar that will be sold later this year.
When the team made the bold and innovative step to introduce a carbon monocoque in Formula One, John Watson was the pilot of the car. The combination of lightness and strength proved its effectiveness immediately as Watson won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and also managed to walk away from a high speed crash later in the season.
Now 30 years later, Watson, a five time grand prix winner, will be reunited with the model that saved his life as well as the spawn of its engineering as he will see the MP4/1 and drive the MP4-12C.
McLaren have cemented their spot as pioneers in the carbon race with the MP4-12C by virtually halving entry price for carbon-based road cars. Furthermore, by industrialising the production processes, it could also mark the beginning of a new era of affordable carbon manufacturing.
“McLaren is a company driven by a passion to innovate. That passion manifests itself in advances in uses of materials and technologies in order to win motor races and produce ground breaking cars. But only now, almost 30 years to the day we introduced the first carbon chassis, are we seeing that technology being to transfer to more mainstream production. McLaren Automotive is leading the way, planning to produce up to 5,000 carbon-based cars per year as a range of exclusive and premium sports cars,” said Anthony Sheriff, Managing Director at McLaren Automotive.
“I will be reunited with ‘my’ racing car and get to drive the 12C at Silverstone almost 30 years to the day since driving the MP4/1 out of the pit lane there and it will be both a proud and an emotional moment for me,” said Watson.
