Latest news with #W1
Scottish Sun
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Boss of iconic British supercar maker steps down after merger with luxury EV brand as it eyes making cheaper motors
The long-expected merger was made official a few weeks ago CEO GONE Boss of iconic British supercar maker steps down after merger with luxury EV brand as it eyes making cheaper motors Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MAJOR shakeup has hit a British supercar manufacturer as it's CEO has stepped down just weeks after the company confirmed its full-scale merger with an EV start-up. Michael Leiters, who took the helm of the iconic McLaren Automotive three years ago, has exited with immediate effect. 4 Michael Leiters, CEO of McLaren, is stepping down Credit: Getty 4 Leiters first arrived at the company's headquarters of Woking three years ago Credit: Getty 4 McLaren announced it would be merging with EV brand Forseven on April 3 Credit: Forseven Leiters will be succeeded by Nick Collins, former CEO of Forseven, who will now lead the newly formed McLaren Group Holdings. McLaren said Leiters' "contribution and leadership were crucial to the company's transition, including important phases like the recapitalisation and change of ownership". Leiters said: "I am honoured to have led McLaren Automotive over the past three years. "I am thankful having worked alongside such a dedicated and talented team. "I'm proud of what we've achieved together and confident that the business is on a strong path for success. "I wish all involved the very best in the future.' Leiters steered the luxury car manufacturer through a critical financial revamp and change in ownership. McLaren was snapped up in December by Abu Dhabi's investment group CYVN Holdings, which also owns Forseven - an all-electric car company. The long-expected merger was made official on April 3. During his time at McLaren, Leiters, a former Ferrari CTO who has also worked at Porsche, oversaw key launches like the hybrid Artura, the 750S supercar and the reveal of the wild W1 hypercar. British sports car brand to release new flagship model in just weeks - and it'll follow a legendary motor from the 1990s McLaren Automotive, which is a separate entity from their famous F1 team, was founded in 2010, with its headquarters based in Woking. Under McLaren and Forseven's full-scale merger, all future cars will continue to wear the McLaren badge, with the Forseven one disappearing. The supercar manufacturer was previously owned by Bahrain's Mumtalakat Holding Company. It comes after an iconic sports car that was discontinued earlier this year "will be back without a doubt", the firm's boss has revealed. Nissan released a heartfelt message for customers and fans of the iconic GT-R announcing its demise in February. The GT-R R35, affectionately known as Godzilla, was first unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007 before being updated many times, most recently in 2023. Nissan's USA chief product planner, Ponz Pandikuthira, recently told Motor1: "Those big horsepower cars are simply not going to meet emissions standards. "So it's a matter of where the tech catches up with us. Battery tech, motor tech, and it may take us a few years, but GT-R will be back, without a doubt." 4 A McLaren 720S is seen on a production line as Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge tours the factory floor in Woking in 2017 Credit: AFP
The Sun
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Boss of iconic British supercar maker steps down after merger with luxury EV brand as it eyes making cheaper motors
A MAJOR shakeup has hit a British supercar manufacturer as it's CEO has stepped down just weeks after the company confirmed its full-scale merger with an EV start-up. Michael Leiters, who took the helm of the iconic McLaren Automotive three years ago, has exited with immediate effect. 4 4 Leiters will be succeeded by Nick Collins, former CEO of Forseven, who will now lead the newly formed McLaren Group Holdings. McLaren said Leiters' "contribution and leadership were crucial to the company's transition, including important phases like the recapitalisation and change of ownership". Leiters said: "I am honoured to have led McLaren Automotive over the past three years. "I am thankful having worked alongside such a dedicated and talented team. "I'm proud of what we've achieved together and confident that the business is on a strong path for success. "I wish all involved the very best in the future.' Leiters steered the luxury car manufacturer through a critical financial revamp and change in ownership. McLaren was snapped up in December by Abu Dhabi 's investment group CYVN Holdings, which also owns Forseven - an all-electric car company. The long-expected merger was made official on April 3. During his time at McLaren, Leiters, a former Ferrari CTO who has also worked at Porsche, oversaw key launches like the hybrid Artura, the 750S supercar and the reveal of the wild W1 hypercar. McLaren Automotive, which is a separate entity from their famous F1 team, was founded in 2010, with its headquarters based in Woking. Under McLaren and Forseven's full-scale merger, all future cars will continue to wear the McLaren badge, with the Forseven one disappearing. The supercar manufacturer was previously owned by Bahrain's Mumtalakat Holding Company. It comes after an iconic sports car that was discontinued earlier this year "will be back without a doubt", the firm's boss has revealed. Nissan released a heartfelt message for customers and fans of the iconic GT-R announcing its demise in February. The GT-R R35, affectionately known as Godzilla, was first unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007 before being updated many times, most recently in 2023. Nissan's USA chief product planner, Ponz Pandikuthira, recently told Motor1: "Those big horsepower cars are simply not going to meet emissions standards. "So it's a matter of where the tech catches up with us. Battery tech, motor tech, and it may take us a few years, but GT-R will be back, without a doubt." 4 McLaren's history McLaren was founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren as a racing team. The team entered Formula 1 in 1966 and became one of the sport's most successful names. McLaren won its first F1 World Championship in 1974 with driver Emerson Fittipaldi. It dominated F1 in the 1980s and 1990s with stars like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. In 1992, McLaren launched its first road car, the McLaren F1, a record-breaking supercar. After years partnering with Mercedes, McLaren began building its own engines and cars. McLaren Automotive was officially launched as a separate road car company in 2010. Its first modern supercar, the MP4-12C, debuted in 2011. In 2022, McLaren launched the Artura, its first series-production hybrid. In 2025, it merged with EV start-up Forseven as part of a shift toward electric vehicles.
The Guardian
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The week in audio: Today; Don't Cross Kat; Dying for Sex; Inside Counter Terrorism Policing
Today (BBC Radio 4)Don't Cross Kat (Wondery)Dying for Sex (Wondery)Inside Counter Terrorism Policing (Counter Terrorism Policing) It's Monday 31 March, Anna Foster's first day as a Today presenter, and she's not in W1. She's in Thailand, in Mae Sot, on the border with Myanmar, reporting on the 7.7-magnitude earthquake. (Nick Robinson is in the rather cushier seat in Salford.) Foster's opening link features a clip of a pre-recorded interview she's done – 'The aftershock,' says a survivor, 'is the whole town is in panic' – and later in the programme she talks to people on the ground, as well as experts trying to get aid into the right areas. The earthquake only took place a couple of days previously. She's been working hard. As longtime 5 Live listeners will know, Foster is a gem. Co-host of Drive on the station for almost a decade, first alongside Peter Allen, then with Tony Livesey, she left in 2021 to become the BBC's Middle East correspondent in Beirut; hardly a soft-soap appointment. Last year she was also made one of the presenters of News at One. She is proper. And on Today on Monday, Foster came into her own. Her reporting meant that even a foreign news numbnut like me came away feeling better informed, and with huge empathy for the many Thai people whose families were just a few miles away over the border (yards, in some cases), but who couldn't get into Myanmar to help. Due to the country's civil war, Foster couldn't get in either – 'If it was up to me, Nick, I'd be there right now,' she said – but she visited Bangkok at 2am, to report on a collapsed skyscraper and the search for survivors. 'It's an operation that's going on right through the night,' she said, describing 'painstaking work' to find people alive in a 'great pile of rubble… five, six storeys high'. Foster might not be as well known as some of her Today colleagues, but she's a great asset to the show – disciplined and human, like a well-informed but unpanicky friend. I might start listening again. Wondery have a new female-focused series, Don't Cross Kat, about a beautiful Brazilian wellness influencer who – surprise! – turns into a dark guru/scammer and takes several other attractive young women down with her. This is a good show, well told and hosted by Chico Felitti. But there have been a few stories like this recently – tales of female wellness groups that turn into sexual exploitation – and, God, I find them depressing. Still, if that's your bag (and it really is a lot of people's bag), then this is a solid listen. While we're on the subject of women, an old podcast, Dying for Sex, has come back into focus now that it's been adapted for a Disney+ series starring Michelle Williams, which launched this week. You may have seen quotes from Williams saying things like 'I've never masturbated on film before' and wondered what was going on. This is the podcast that will tell you. The show is hosted by real-life friends Molly Kochan (played by Williams in the series) and Nikki Boyer, and though it's ostensibly about sex, it's actually about dying, and living. The two women made the series after Kochan was diagnosed with terminal cancer and decided to end her marriage of 15 years to embark on a journey of sexual exploration. It's an excellent show, funny, touching, properly moving at the end, buoyed throughout by genuine kinship and mordant wit. Kochan realises quickly that many of her hang-ups about intimacy can be dispensed with. 'What's the worst that he can do, kill me? I'm dying!' she says. Online flirtations move to real-life encounters, and an early one involves an up-for-it guy who gets a little too excited when he and Molly are getting fruity in his car. He's forced to quickly open the door and relieve himself on to a manicured lawn outside. Simultaneously, the car alarm goes off. It's a great anecdote made even funnier by Boyer tracking the man down for an interview. There are foot fetishists, those turned on by tickling, and so much more (the last episode features Kochan's mum and is a thoroughgoing tear-jerker). No doubt the TV series will be a smash hit; but if you haven't tried the podcast, I thoroughly recommend it. And if you're interested in women having a life outside sex then you might try new series Inside Counter Terrorism Policing. Our host is Amy, who sounds reassuringly like Alice Levine. In the first episode, Amy speaks to Emma (no one uses their real name, for obvious reasons), and we learn about Emma's job. At one point she's tracking down child-abuse suspects, at another helping agents to follow suspects, but what she does now is work with what she calls 'covert human sources'. Emma finds people who can tell her stuff about other people who might be terrorists and gets them to come over to her side. 'It's about communication,' she says, which is one way of putting it. Due to the nature of this job, Emma can't always talk specifics. But you are left in no doubt that she loves what she does and that it's vital, important work. This series is made by the UK's counter-terrorism policing unit and is, essentially, a long advert for joining, but, you know what? If you're not currently busy embarking on a sexual odyssey or falling for wellness guff, then, ladies, this sounds like really interesting work.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Jay Leno Previews McLaren W1, Praises Precision and Performance
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector Jay Leno recently provided an exclusive first look at McLaren's latest hypercar, the W1, praising its sophisticated engineering and driver-focused design. The W1, McLaren's highly anticipated successor to the acclaimed P1, represents the brand's most ambitious performance project yet. With 1,275 horsepower from its advanced hybrid powertrain, the W1 aims to redefine hypercar benchmarks, combining cutting-edge technology with visceral driving excitement. Leno, a noted admirer of McLaren, owns both the legendary F1 and the groundbreaking P1 models. The comedian emphasized that what sets the W1 apart from other contemporary supercars is its blend of precise engineering, lightweight construction, and aerodynamic innovation. Unlike typical high-powered vehicles, which rely primarily on brute force, Leno noted that McLaren has always excelled at delivering power in a refined and controlled manner. 'It's not just about horsepower, but how you manage and deliver it,' Leno stated during his walkthrough. McLaren CEO Michael Leiters joined Leno to discuss the W1's aerodynamic attributes. Rather than being burdened by excessive aerodynamic add-ons, the W1's entire structure is carefully sculpted to maximize airflow and downforce. Active aerodynamic elements include an adjustable front splitter, side aero pods inspired by Formula 1 technology, and a distinctive active rear long-tail design. The lightweight carbon-fiber structure ensures the W1 weighs just over 3,000 pounds, dramatically enhancing its power-to-weight ratio. Leno found the interior surprisingly accommodating, despite its purpose-driven cockpit, offering excellent ergonomics reminiscent of a Formula 1 car while remaining suitable for taller drivers. Leno humorously remarked that storage space is limited—perhaps suitable only for essentials on brief journeys. However, this minor compromise did not dampen his enthusiasm; in fact, Leno has already secured one of the limited 399 units being produced, underscoring his confidence in McLaren's continuing legacy of groundbreaking automotive achievement. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
McLaren Adapts Space Age Carbon Fiber Tape Process To Car Production
McLaren has been on the bleeding edge of carbon fiber technology for more than 40 years now. It all started way back in the '80s when it started using carbon fiber in the construction of its Formula 1 cars. Throughout the decades, McLaren engineers have led the industry in carbon fiber innovations, and have constantly pushed the limits of what you can do with the tough, lightweight, eye-wateringly expensive material. The company even makes the bodies of its achingly beautiful street cars, rolling works of art like the bonkers W1 hypercar, out of carbon fiber. Never one to rest on its laurels, McLaren recently announced a new frontier in carbon fiber production—carbon fiber tape. This isn't "tape" like hundred-mile-an-hour tape or Honda's spicy, anti-rodent electrical tape. It's no like duct tape or any other kind of sticky tape. No, it's a construction method called Automated Rapid Tape (ART) production, and it was perfected in the aerospace industry. "The aerospace industry uses ultra-precise manufacturing methods to build highly tailored carbon fiber structures for the latest generation of air jetliners and fighter aircraft, particularly for large, crucial parts such as aircraft fuselage and wings," said McLaren in a recent announcement. "This is achieved via the robotic depositing of composite tapes to layer structures, over traditional hand layup using pre-impregnated materials." Read more: ChatGPT, Vinfast, And Awesome Honda Concepts: The Biggest Car News To Come Out Of CES Here's how it works: Traditionally, carbon fiber constructs are made by laying down numerous layers of thin carbon fiber sheets mixed with powerful adhesives and forming them into the shape you want. Kinda like a very expensive papier-mâché. ART, however, combines a huge, fixed robot arm that lays down a continuous stream of thin, flexible carbon fiber ribbon impregnated with adhesive with a jig that moves around the arm. It's essentially a combination of the traditional hand-laid process and 3D printing. This allows the engineers to build lighter, stronger components with less waste. It's also going to allow for more diverse carbon fiber usage in future projects. "The Automated Rapid Tape production method and ART carbon structures also unlock immense possibilities for the next generation of carbon fiber architectures," McLaren said. "Integrating this technology into the structure of an ultra-lightweight, ultra-strong carbon fiber tub – manufactured with minimal waste material generation – that can underpin the next-generation of McLaren supercars is already under consideration." The video embedded above does a pretty good job explaining the ART process and how the machine uses the sticky, carbon fiber ribbon (so, I guess it is a sticky tape after all) to make something solid. It's well worth your time, you should check it out. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
