Latest news with #McLarenW1
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
McLaren W1 to debut at Goodwood Festival
McLaren Automotive is set to showcase its '1' car lineage with the global public debut of the McLaren W1, along with McLaren P1 and F1 at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK. The W1, displayed for the first time at 'McLaren House', features a 1275PS V8 hybrid powertrain and active aerodynamics, including 'Formula 1-inspired' ground effect aero technology. With only 399 examples available for customer specification, all of which are already allocated, the W1 joins the ranks alongside the McLaren F1 and McLaren P1. It is commemorating the 30th anniversary of its win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with two distinctive events at the festival. The winning F1 GTR will make an appearance on the Hillclimb, driven by JJ Lehto, part of the original winning team. Additionally, the new 750S Le Mans, a limited edition of 50 units featuring a McLaren Special Operations (MSO) High Downforce Kit, will be introduced to the public. The track-only Solus GT, known for its 840PS naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 engine and sub-1,000kg weight, will return to the festival after its Timed Shootout Final win in 2023 and another hillclimb run with Mika Häkkinen last year. Furthermore, the 750S and Artura MCL38 Celebration Edition supercars, produced in a limited run of nine each, will participate in dynamic runs at Goodwood. McLaren is also marking ten years of its 'LT' cars, with LT models from the Heritage collection participating in dynamic displays. The 'Celebrate LT' initiative has been engaging the LT owner community globally. In April this year, Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings completed its acquisition transaction of McLaren's Automotive business and a non-controlling stake in McLaren's Racing business. Last year, McLaren Automotive entered a partnership with Divergent Technologies to develop advanced suspension hardware. "McLaren W1 to debut at Goodwood Festival" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
McLaren Pioneers 3D-Printed Suspension for Ultimate Durability & Aero
McLaren has partnered with California-based industrial digital manufacturing company Divergent Technologies to develop a series of 3D-printed suspension components for its upcoming W1 supercar. The new McLaren W1 features a Formula 1-inspired front suspension mounted directly into the vehicle's Aerocell monocoque and a central chassis made from carbon fiber. Divergent's 3D printing technology has helped McLaren develop efficient and intricate suspension systems, optimizing durability and stiffness. These suspension systems include the front upper wishbone, aeroform lower wishbone, and front upright, with externally visible front wishbones playing a key role in managing airflow and enhancing suspension strength. "The Divergent Adaptive Production System, or DAPS as we call it, is a fully digital design agnostic production system that allows the user to optimize any design for any vehicle without any changeover in tooling or design-specific fixturing," said Cooper Keller, Divergent's Chief Programs and Operational Officer. Will Tabbah, Principal Chassis Engineer at McLaren, described the W1 as "all about aerodynamics" when discussing the car's Formula 1-derived approach. McLaren needed Divergent to integrate its Formula 1-inspired suspension system into its carbon fiber monocoque cell. Divergent's laser powder bed fusion 3D printing process begins with powdered metals, high-powered lasers, and precision optics, which weld the powder layer by layer into complex structures. Automakers have traditionally used 3D printing for prototypes or aesthetic components, but Divergent uses 3D printing with artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and robotics for production-ready structures. Keller noted that Divergent's lower wishbone for the W1 was the first time it integrated an aero profile into the structure, while emphasizing lightness. Removing a single gram was likely to compromise the entire part's performance or integrity. Divergent formed these components with its computer algorithm after receiving McLaren's requirements, which included a design space, keep-out zones, the part's stiffness, and load cases it had to sustain. McLaren underwent multiple iterations of component development, which was easily adapted to by Divergent, thanks to its software handling the heavy lifting. Keller said he wants Divergent's partnership with McLaren to extend beyond suspension components, covering cars from bumper to bumper and corner to corner. The McLaren W1 was introduced to commemorate the automaker's 50th anniversary of its first Formula 1 championship win. It features a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine paired with a hybrid system, producing 1,257 horsepower and boasting a top speed of 217 mph. McLaren will debut the $2.1 million W1 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which is occurring this weekend. The automaker is limiting its W1 production to 399 models, with each unit already sold. With help from Divergent, the McLaren W1's front upper wishbone, aeroform lower wishbone, and front upright strike an ideal balance between weight, strength, durability, and aerodynamics. The adaptability of Divergent's software helped facilitate McLaren's ability to create a car that's Formula 1 for the road while pushing the industry toward newer manufacturing techniques. More automakers may soon follow McLaren and Divergent's lead in streamlining production with 3D-printed parts, which offer greater flexibility through rapid testing and refinement. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Drive
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Here's Why You Can't Move the Driver's Seat in a McLaren W1
The latest car news, reviews, and features. McLaren isn't the only hypercar maker to incorporate fixed seats in its latest masterpiece; rivals like the LaFerrari and Aston Martin Valkyrie have 'em, too. In the case of the McLaren W1, though, the company didn't force fixed seats to show off, or charge customers even more money for bespoke seat padding. The W1's seats don't move because that helps it stay as light and aerodynamic as possible. A new video from McLaren explains the rationale behind the fixed seat, and it all revolves around the hypercar's new Aerocell carbon-fiber chassis. Back when the W1 was still a blank sheet of paper, McLaren's engineering team knew it had to reach deep to achieve its weight and drag-coefficient targets. So when it came time to design the new Aerocell chassis, the crew was willing to make any changes necessary. 'Fundamental to this project was the aero story,' said Andy Sylvester-Thorne, McLaren's head of body structures. 'That meant we needed to shrink the Aerocell down in the key areas. One of the key facilitators of that was having a fixed seat because that allowed us to shorten the monocoque.' McLaren It's a compounding effect, too. With a fixed chair in place, McLaren was not only able to make the front structure more compact but also reduce the height and angle of the A-pillars and roof, improving aerodynamics. More efficient front-end packaging gained by the seats allowed McLaren to push the front axles even further back. They extend outwards through pre-built holes in the carbon fiber front impact pillars, shortening the dash-to-axle ratio and, again, improving aero. It's all explained in the video below, starting at about the 1:10 mark. Long before Sylvester-Thorne worked on the W1, he was also in charge of designing the chassis for the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a project that was led by the legendary and famously obsessive Gordon Murray. In other words, he understands what it means to agonize over the tiniest details to get things just right, and it seems that's exactly what's been done with the McLaren W1. Now, when are we going to get that W1 versus Ferrari F80 race? Got tips? Send 'em to tips@ Nico DeMattia is a staff writer at The Drive. He started writing about cars on his own blog to express his opinions when no one else would publish them back in 2015, and eventually turned it into a full-time career.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Bowers & Wilkins to make McLaren F1 audio products
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Quick Summary Bowers & Wilkins has extended its partnership with supercar firm McLaren. It's the official audio partner for McLaren's cars and now the F1 team too, with new themed products on the way. The partnership between high-end audio firm Bowers & Wilkins and supercar company McLaren has brought us some interesting products in the last few years. We've had a special edition pair of the Px8 headphones to blend in with McLaren car interiors in 2022, and the iconic Zeppelin speaker got an F1 makeover in 2023. Now it looks like more audio products are coming, as the partnership between the two firms hasn't just been continued but extended. The extended partnership means that Bowers & Wilkins is the official audio partner across McLaren Automotive and now the McLaren Formula 1 Team, too. That means it'll work closely with the car manufacturer to continue to create and optimise the sound systems in McLaren cars, as was the case with the McLaren W1. And in the case of the F1 partnership, it means supplying speakers and headphones to the F1 team – which won the constructor's championship last season – while also developing new F1-related B&W audio products for consumers. According to Bowers & Wilkins: "New projects are in development to further appeal to the Formula 1 team's substantial global fanbase." It doesn't say what those projects involve, but based on what we've seen from the partnership previously it most likely means special editions of existing products given a McLaren makeover. For example, the Zeppelin McLaren Edition is still very recognisably a Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin speaker, but it's been given a colour scheme of "Galvanic Grey and Papaya" to match a popular McLaren interior. I wouldn't expect a Ferrari-esque avalanche of branded products, though. The McLaren and Bowers & Wilkins partnership has been in place for years now – since 2015 – and the only two co-branded products are the aforementioned special edition speaker and headphones. I'd expect similar restraint from this renewed deal with a focus on quality rather than quantity.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
McLaren W1 Melds F1 Aerodynamics with a Lightweight Hybrid V-8
We visited Jay Leno's famous garage to spend some quality time with the McLaren W1 and other McLarens in Leno's car collection. The look of the W1 is undeniably striking, but we were even more awed by the spec sheet on this lightweight, technically fascinating car. All 399 W1 cars they're going to make, naturally, are already spoken for at a price of $2.1 million. It's hard to stand out when you're flanked by a McLaren F1 on one side and a P1 on the other. That's even more the case when the surrounding landscape is comedian Jay Leno's storied car collection, encompassing more than 200 of the most coveted marques and models in automotive history. McLaren clearly had faith in the new W1 to showcase it among its predecessors and rivals, and after getting a closer look at the latest supercar, we can understand why. It's not McLaren's most striking design, but get closer and the W1 wins you over with details both beautiful and technically interesting, like the almost organic surface of the machined struts that support and control its active rear wing, or the peekaboo of its carbon, titanium, and aluminum undercarriage through the bezels and folds of its aerodynamic body. Sit down with the spec sheet, and you'll be even more impressed. The W1 is rear-wheel drive, should weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 3300 pounds based on McLaren's dry-weight claims, makes about two-thirds that much in downforce (2200 pounds), and offers 1258 horsepower and 988 pound-feet from its hybrid V-8 powertrain. It has taken lessons in aerodynamics and lightweighting from McLaren's Formula 1 team, and if the previous McLaren 1-series cars are a difficult act to follow, the W1 is poised to catch up quickly. The W1 offers our first look at McLaren's latest powerplant design. Although it is a twin-turbo 4.0-liter aluminum V-8, with a 90-degree bank angle and a flat plane crank, the MHP-8 is not a bored-out or boosted-up version of the previous M840T that has powered the majority of McLaren's modern offerings, from the 720/750S to the Senna and Speedtail. McLaren designed the MHP-8 with light weight and compact packaging in mind. The engine is 1.2 inches shorter overall, which is where a literal chunk of its 44 pounds of claimed weight savings over any M840T variant comes from. On its own it makes 916 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, and when combined with an electric motor—as in the W1—the final power output is 1258 horsepower and 988 pound-feet of torque. McLaren was able to shorten the MHP-8's aluminum block during the design process by bringing the cylinder bores closer together—which was made possible by using 3D-printed cores to design the water jackets for optimized cooling and structural layout of the engine block, and also employing plasma spray-coated bores rather than liners. There are no titanium engine parts, but hollow intake valves and camshafts save additional weight, as does the deletion of a starter and alternator. The tasks of starting and charging are handled by the electric motor and control unit. The MHP-8's lightweight valvetrain and stiffer crankshaft allow it to spin up to a 9200-rpm redline, and it's still got plenty of grunt, with up to 30 percent greater torque than M840T from 2500 rpm on up. While that's up from the 750S's 8250-rpm redline, surprisingly, the new, higher-revving engine's stroke is 1.5 mm longer and its bore 1.0 mm smaller (92.0 mm x 75.0 mm) than the previous 4.0-liter's. McLaren is taking a unique approach to the fueling of the MHP-8. It uses a combination of port fuel injection and gasoline direct injection (GDI). Combining the two is not unusual, but where the more common configuration is to run port fuel injection all the time and use GDI at higher rpm, McLaren is flipping the script by using the direct injection at lower rpm and bringing in the port injection at higher rpm. Engineers at McLaren say this format allows for a better optimization of the airflow mixture and uses a smaller direct injector for better efficiency. Two twin-scroll turbos were chosen for higher peak power and increased torque and combined with a small volume intake with short runners to make the MHP-8 responsive throughout its rev range. Also, unlike the previous V-8, the two turbos are unique, with their compressors rotating in opposite directions. On its own, the MHP-8 is a formidable powerplant, but what really kicks it into supercar territory is the addition of an e-module that integrates a radial flux motor and motor control unit in a compact package, which requires less heavy cabling and cooling than separate units. The e-module weighs a claimed 44 pounds and is mounted to the side of a new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic capable of handling higher torque levels than previous McLaren transmissions. But not high enough to handle the combined torque of the engine and motor, which is why the electric assist is fed through the transmission after the clutches, through the shaft that houses the even gear ratios. As with the Artura plug-in hybrid, there is no reverse gear, as reversing is done by driving the motor backward. A compact 1.4-kWh battery is inset in the floor of the W1's monocoque chassis and makes up a structural part of the carbon floor. It's an 800-volt system and maintains a reserve of power, so there is always enough to crank the engine or put the car in reverse. It also regenerates during driving as soon as the driver lifts off throttle, and McLaren says it can recharge enough in the cool-down coast from one speed run to be ready for the next. To keep the driver aurally in tune with the mid-mounted powerplant, McLaren moved sources of mechanical noise—like the timing drive—to the rear of the engine, away from the cabin; stiffened body panels and mounts to minimize resonance; and designed a tuned exhaust system with long, equal-length runners that join at the outlet to bring out the higher pitches of the engine note. With the W1 McLaren continues its tradition of carbon-fiber tub and body, but it makes the already lightweight process even lighter by moving away from resin transfer (RTM) in favor of resin-infused fibers (pre-preg), a construction choice previously only used on Formula 1 cars and the Solus GT track model. The result, which McLaren calls "Aerocell," is lighter and designed around the aerodynamic elements of the car. The floor is higher by 2.5 inches, but McLaren says driver comfort is unaffected. The seat is fixed, and its position is part of the monocoque's layout. This allowed McLaren to reduce the wheelbase by almost three inches. The higher front of the Aerocell floor made it possible to integrate the front suspension mounts into the structure, which made space for channeled airflow inside the wheel wells and eliminated the need for a subframe. Door hinge mounts are also a part of the monocoque body, and McLaren has moved away from its butterfly "dihedral" door design in favor of a Mercedes-esque top-mounted "anhedral" door. Besides looking cool at car shows, the change in door design allowed for better airflow out of the front wheel arches into the side pod radiators. Better airflow could be the W1's catchphrase, as every element on its body was designed to smooth out air and direct it beneath the full-floor ground effects into cooling ducts and over the rear wing. Air management begins at the front lip, with an active wing that swings forward up to 10 degrees under braking to prevent porpoising. The entire floor of the W1 expands into a rear diffuser that kicks up to become part of the rear bumper structure. The front suspension plays a part in the car's aerodynamics, with profiled and 3-D-printed components and inboard-mounted dampers, and carbon-fiber lips and trays inside the front bay that keep a clean flow of air to the back of the car. McLaren uses titanium pushrods for the first time in the W1, linking to the dampers and an active heave element that keeps the car flat and aerodynamically consistent on track. Even the side mirrors were tested for minimal disruption of the airflow. In the rear, an active wing controlled by four electric motors automatically extends up to 11.8 inches rearward as well as altering its pitch to make the W1 into a longtail for maximum downforce but retracts and tilts to act as an air brake under deceleration. Speaking of deceleration, the W1 uses McLaren's carbon-ceramic 15.4-inch disc brakes but adds an extra layer of ceramic to allow for more aggressive pad material with higher friction rates. Six-piston monobloc calipers clamp the front, and four-piston calipers with an integrated electric parking brake do the rear. An additional benefit of all the aero design is brake ducts inspired by Formula 1 racing, which both cool the brakes and direct air out of the turbulent wheel wake zone and back toward the radiators. McLaren says the W1 will stop from 124 mph in 328 feet and from 60 mph in just 95 feet. W1 buyers will have a choice of rubber depending on their driving plans. Pirelli will offer 265/35 front and 335/30 rear tires in a bespoke Trofeo RS that comes standard, or P Zero R for more road use and even a P Zero winter tire, for those winter concours in the Swiss Alps. Every one of the 399 planned W1 builds is spoken for, even at $2.1 million. Should you get a chance to sit in one, you'll see an option of leather, faux suede, or McLaren's new "InnoKnit" fabric. The seats are fixed, but the pedal box moves, and McLaren reps assured us it can accommodate both unusually tall and more compact drivers. The steering wheel is smaller and flattened top and bottom for a better view of the instrument cluster and more space below. Unlike some supercar competitors, there are minimal controls on the wheel aside from two buttons. One controls on-demand boost for full power delivery from the electric motor. The other drops the wing into a "DRS" drag-minimizing mode. Hit 'em both and do your best Lando Norris impersonation. The W1 offers several drive modes, including a limited-range all-electric mode which is available for approximately 1.5 miles and at speeds up to 80 mph. Comfort mode uses the motor only as needed for smoother power delivery, and Sport brings it in for the full 1258 horsepower. Race mode offers full power in two forms, GP for extended lapping and Sprint for maximum power delivery in a qualifying-lap situation. McLaren says Sprint should offer enough power for most track lengths, but Nürburgringers may find themselves out of juice before the finish line. Comfort and Sport handling modes change ride quality to match need. Off-track civilizing items include an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay, a console cupholder, and small-item storage. Additional storage for helmets or gear bags is available behind the headrests. McLaren says the W1 can hit 62 mph in 2.7 seconds and 186 mph in under 12.7 seconds with a top speed of 217 mph—a limit McLaren says was chosen based on the limitations of the tire choice rather than a mechanical limit on the car itself. Even though all the W1 models are presold, we don't expect this to be the last time we see the MHP-8 engine in use, so start saving up for the next opportunity. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
