McLaren Automotive and Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® announce technical collaboration to explore futuristic design methods

12 Dec 2022

Luxury supercar and hypercar maker McLaren Automotive is collaborating with Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® to assess a futuristic design methodology.

The project will focus on deploying a new Skunk Works’ design system, developed for the world of aviation, into the realms of high-performance, cutting-edge automotive supercar design.

The pioneering software sets the parameters for high-speed systems more accurately and swiftly than traditional design methods.

McLaren scientists and engineers will work alongside counterparts at Skunk Works to test and explore how this cutting-edge technology could be employed commercially in the automotive design world.

“McLaren is a pioneering company that has always pushed boundaries and sought out new innovative and disruptive solutions to making the ultimate supercars. Working alongside an iconic company such as Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, renowned for their visionary focus on the future, is a natural fit. We hope this is the start of a longer and deeper collaboration that will benefit our customers in the long-term.”
Darren Goddard, Chief Technical Officer, McLaren Automotive.

To mark the start of the technology collaboration, both companies showcased some of their latest projects at Skunk Works headquarters in the California High Desert. Alongside the conceptual Darkstar hypersonic aircraft – star of the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick movie – was a McLaren Artura hybrid supercar.

As McLaren’s first-ever series-production High-Performance Hybrid (HPH) supercar, the Artura is the brand’s first model built on the all-new McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA) which is uniquely optimized for HPH powertrains, and features an all-new twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 petrol engine with an E-motor.        

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Notes to editors:

A selection of high resolution images accompanying this release is available to download from the McLaren Automotive media site – cars.mclaren.press

About McLaren Automotive:
McLaren Automotive is a creator of luxury, high-performance supercars.

Every vehicle is hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, England.

Launched in 2010, the company is now the largest part of the McLaren Group.

The company’s product portfolio of GT, supercar, Motorsport and Ultimate models are retailed through over 100 retailers in over 40 markets around the world.

McLaren is a pioneer that continuously pushes the boundaries. In 1981, it introduced lightweight and strong carbon fibre chassis into Formula 1 with the McLaren MP4/1.

Then in 1993 it designed and built the McLaren F1 road car - the company has not built a car without a carbon fibre chassis since. As part of the Ultimate Series, McLaren was the first to deliver a hybrid hypercar, the McLaren P1™. In 2016, it announced a new hybrid hyper-GT and confirmed in 2018 that the next Ultimate car would be the Speedtail.

2019 saw McLaren launch the 600LT Spider, the new GT and the track-only McLaren Senna GTR. It also unveiled the 620R and McLaren Elva before launching the 765LT the following year.

Most recently, the company unveiled its all-new high-performance hybrid supercar, the McLaren Artura.

The Artura is the first McLaren to benefit from the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA). The MCLA is designed, developed and manufactured at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre in the Sheffield region of England using world-first processes and will spearhead the brand’s electrified future.

McLaren Automotive also chooses to partner with like-minded, world-leading companies and organizations who push the boundaries in their respective fields. These include AkzoNobel, Ashurst, Bowers & Wilkins, Dell Technologies, Gulf, Infinite World, Pirelli, Richard Mille, Plan International and Tumi.

About McLaren Group:
The McLaren Group is a global leader in luxury automotive and elite motorsports with a focus on its Automotive supercar and Racing businesses.

Founded in 1963 by racer, engineer and entrepreneur Bruce McLaren, the Group is formed of McLaren Automotive, which hand-builds lightweight supercars; and a majority stake in McLaren Racing which competes in the Formula 1 World Championship and INDYCAR in the US.

The Group is globally headquartered at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England.

With a reputation for innovation and technological excellence, McLaren is one of the UK’s largest independent companies.

Further information:

Roger Ormisher
Vice President, Communications & PR, The Americas
+1 714 501 8137
roger.ormisher@mclaren.com 

Laura Conrad
Public Relations Manager, The Americas
+1 765 517 2186
laura.conrad@mclaren.com 

Natalie Riordan
Press Officer, The Americas
+1 (817) 471 6314
natalie.riordan@mclaren.com 

Media website: cars.mclaren.press

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mclarenautomotive 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/McLarenAuto 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/mclarenautomotivetv 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/mclaren-automotive-ltd 

TikTok: @mclarenauto