McLaren supercar plans unveiled (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

McLaren supercar plans unveiled

12:23pm Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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Details of a new £40 million production facility and an "affordable" £150,000 supercar have been announced by McLaren Automotive.

A 32,000 square metre plant at Woking in Surrey will be completed in 12 months to produce the high-performance MP4-12C car as well as creating up to 300 new jobs.

Using a one-piece carbon-fibre chassis is enabling McLaren to offer the car for around half the £300,000 price tag that would normally be expected.

McLaren said it expects to make up to 1,000 of the 12C cars in 2011 with annual manufacturing of cars at the new centre reaching around 4,000 by the middle of the decade.

The company plans to sell the 12C through McLaren retailers in 19 countries, with North America expected to account for around 30%-40% of the market.

McLaren Automotive chairman Ron Dennis said: "We have long held the dream of building a range of McLaren high-performance sports cars that take the raw elements of Formula 1 principles, processes and performance and forge them into a unique package - one that offers customer-focused requirements of quality, efficiency, comfort and reliability.

"Today's announcements confirm our intention to challenge convention at the highest levels of automotive design, from a hi-tech home that I am proud to say will deliver jobs, expertise and innovation in manufacturing and engineering."