So after a busy few months of work here at the shop in Boston, I was very relieved to be afforded a vacation for a week in mid July. The fact that I would be lucky enough to visit the McLaren Technology Center and be their guest at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed was just icing on the cake! As if that wasn't enough, I would be traveling to Cheshire and the Isle of Man afterwards to take in the Land Rover off road experience and drive the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy course which I will detail in a later post.
McLaren had a full itinerary for its guests and were amazing hosts...
Before my journey started I had some items to finish up here in the shop. Mainly, the finishing touches on the Mercedes Wald CL parts and parktronic repairs and a full suspension refurbishing on a 1999 BMW M Roadster (not an easy job as it requires modifying stock strut housings to fit Bilstein inserts). By about 15:00 on July 10th, I had finished up everything and quickly showered and packed for the United Kingdom. By 20:00 I was on my flight to London Heathrow in eager anticipation of the week's activities.
99 BMW M Roadster Bilstein strut insert installation process...
Welcome to LHR:
After a short flight, only 5 and a half hours, in which I was not able to grab much sleep we arrived in London Heathrow. I am pretty well versed in airports as I have done my fair share of world traveling, but I honestly found Heathrow quite poorly designed in terms of signage. After about a half hour of searching, I finally found my subway or tube line and headed into London to meet my friend T.,who had invited me along for this journey. Well as luck would have it, my Tube line got shut down due to an accident and I ended up having to cab it to our meeting point. While it was great to get a ride in a classic British cab, the cab fare of almost $50 wasn't so hot. Either way, I arrived in plenty of time to meet T, take a shower, grab some lunch and a pint, and meet our driver to head out to Tylney Hall out in Rotherwick where we would be staying for McLaren MTC and Goodwood. After an hour car ride we arrived in Rotherwick, which to be honest, looked exactly like Tyngsborough. A lot of trees and animals...
Tylney Hall Estate, a classic British manor in the countryside...
Ivy everywhere...
our cottage for the 3 days at Tylney Hall
looks like Tyngsborough, even has ducks that woke us up every morning at daybreak...
immaculate grounds and landscaping...
rear lawn to the back of the manor...
Tylney Hall was a gorgeous estate where we would be spending 3 days while we visited McLaren and Goodwood as it offered a central location to both locals. Our first afternoon we had free time until dinner so we decided to take a tour of the grounds (66 acres) on some bikes provided by the hotel. Absolutely incredible landscaping and grounds that included an air raid shelter from World War 2 and other buildings that helped explain the history of manor throughout its years. With an early wake up the next morning at 06:00, we decided to eat an early dinner go to bed in order to rest up for the next few days.
Well, the local mallard woke us up at 05:30 with his squawks from outside our room and we prepared for our journey to Woking to visit McLaren headquarters. After grabbing a quick breakfast at Tylney Hall we were picked up around 07:15 and chauffeured to Woking (about a 35 minute drive).
group gathering for the MTC tour in front of Tylney Hall, notice the gorgeous cars everywhere for Goodwood...
The UK is actually quite rural outside of London and our trip to Woking proved this. A quick jaunt on a Motorway followed by mostly B-roads and we soon arrived in the small city of Woking. A roundabout later and we were pulling into McLaren's Headquarters. After a quick security checkpoint we were right outside the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC)...
McLaren Technology Centre
Very modern infrastructure that goes 6 stories underground...
After arriving and being greeted by out Tour Guides, we were politely asked not to take any photos once inside the MTC due to the Formula 1 team actively working in the facility and working on many of their new updates for the MP-28 McLaren Mercedes for the Hungarian Grand Prix. I was able to take a few quick shots of some of their cars on display on the main floor, but unfortunately no more.
McLaren Mercedes MP-27 next to a special one off chrome MP4-12C made to match the F1 livery
Actual MP-27 steering wheel worth $40,000 USD. All custom made and wired...
Jenson Button's Bell helmet on display...
Usually when you are told not to take photos at an event like this you think its just precaution by the host to avoid embarrassment down the line. But I was absolutely shocked what McLaren showed us in terms of their Technology Centre. We saw the inner workings of their Formula One Facility including guided tour through their fabrication department of carbon fibre and magnesium hardware. For me, this was the highlight of my entire trip. The amount of craftsmanship and skill put into every part is mind boggling. Complete transmission cases made out of carbon fibre that not only support the gears but also act as a ridge point for the cars suspension. A whole nose section with wing weighs possibly 5lbs and actual clutch engagement pieces weighing ounces compared to lbs in a normal street car.
Towards the end of the tour, we were also able to see Jenson Button's race car apart while they were doing upgrades and tests before the Hungarian Grand Prix. To see the craftsmanship put into these vehicles was amazing. Even the air guns for lug nuts are custom made out of carbon fiber to weigh under 2lbs and generate more than 640lb ft of torque! It really makes me appreciate the work that the team's engineers and mechanics put in to make these cars 100% safe and dialed in for the drivers. These guys deserve every bit of the team championship money they get at the end of the year.
After visiting the MTC, we took a quick tour of the McLaren Production Facility where we got to see the MP4-12C being assembled and the production line for the new McLaren P1 being set up. These are both hand built vehicles and to see the teamwork and organization going into the building of all of them was great to see. With the body panels off, you can really appreciate all the technology taken from the MTC carbon fibre and fabrication department being used in the McLaren road cars.
At the end of our Tour we headed towards the Hakkinen Room were we were treated to a fantastic lunch (especially desert) with two of the lead designers of the McLaren P1, Paul Howse and Mark Roberts. After about 3 minutes one thing became clear- these guys are die hard car guys. After doing to normal talk about the P1 and answering our typical questions of speed, performance, why no central driving position; the talk quickly moved to car adventures they had both been through. It is this type of joy and infatuation with the automobile that makes a great design team for people who love cars. And this love for cars is seen everywhere throughout the building. It was an amazing experience that I cannot thank T and McLaren enough for the opportunity to experience it.
Later on that evening we were invited to a Champagne dinner at Tylney Hall where we met more of the McLaren team, including CEO Mike Flewitt, Operations Director Alan Foster, and Design Director Frank Stephenson. Again the conversation started on the P1 and quickly moved to personal experiences with both. From amazing drives through the French Alps to the real story behind Chris Bangle at BMW and his retirement gift from BMW, laughs were had all evening. These guys basically get to play in a toy box all day long with the technology and skill present at McLaren and they are promising to put it to full use in the P1 and the upcoming baby McLaren to compete with the Porsche Turbo... After a filling meal, we all headed to our rooms to get some rest for the next day's journey to Goodwood...
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