McLaren Composites Technology Centre delivers its first carbon fiber chassis prototype

The McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC, Yorkshire, U.K.), which opened last year, has produced its first prototype carbon fiber chassis. The first MonoCell, the tub that forms the main structure of McLaren’s cars, has been shipped from the innovation and production center to the McLaren Production Centre (MPC, Surrey, U.K.) where it will be involved in crash testing.

The MCTC is part of McLaren’s plans to increase the rate of innovation of its lightweight carbon fiber chassis that are at the heart of all its cars and will aid the firm’s designers and engineers to find further weight savings as the company works to develop its next generation of vehicles.

Wes Jacklin, plant director, MCTC, McLaren Automotive, says: 

“The delivery of the first prototype carbon fiber tub by the new MCTC to McLaren HQ is not only an exciting day for everyone who has directly worked on the project but also a significant milestone for McLaren Automotive’s ambition to be world-beaters in lightweight and composites technology which goes hand-in-hand with our move to hybrid powertrains as part of our Track25 business plan.

“We never innovate for the sake of it; we innovate to continually fulfill our promise to create iconic sportscars. It’s increasingly clear that with future heavier powertrain requirements, exploiting innovative lightweighting techniques and technologies is going to be a significant key to unlocking all the handling and agility characteristics that our customers demand.”

According to McLaren, lightweighting which will become ever more important as cars move towards hybrid powertrains which are generally heavier than their traditional petrol counterparts. The company says all of its sportscars and supercars will be hybrid by 2024.