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| McLaren Speedtail |
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<< Prev Page 3 of 3  "The McLaren Speedtail is a vehicle unlike any other, not simply because of the astonishing visual drama, extreme speed and aerodynamic excellence that distinguish it, but because it sets unprecedented standards in technical luxury and bespoke customisation. The same boundless innovation and creativity that drives McLaren to push the limits of physical performance have challenged us to craft an exquisite interior defined by pioneering design and the absolute pinnacle of materials quality."
Rob Melville, Design Director, McLaren AutomotiveA Speedtail driver's seat is positioned - literally - at the centre of the cockpit. This creates an unparalleled sense of space and a perfectly balanced view out of the windscreen. The custom-made carbon fibre seat, inspired by the seat of the iconic McLaren F1, offers the support and comfort appropriate for a 'Hyper-GT' car. Entry into this very special driving position is aided by a newly created directional leather finish that makes it easy to slide into the seat but then subtly holds the occupant in place while they drive. The central seat is flanked by two passenger seats that are integral to the carbon fibre monocoque. The windscreen curves upwards to become part of the roof, meeting a glazed porthole above the driver's head and the glazed upper section of the dramatic dihedral doors. The incredible sense of space continues rearwards with glass rear-quarterlights that stretch back behind the seats to almost level with the rear axle. An extraordinary amount of light streams into the cockpit - unless the occupants choose otherwise, in which case the porthole, glazed upper section of the doors and rear-quarterlights feature electrochromic technology that allows them to independently turn opaque in an instant. Separately, the top of the windscreen is also electrochromic glass, forgoing the need for sun visors. Ahead of the driver is a state-of-the-art control system, with high-definition displays and touchscreens that sweep across the dashboard and remove almost every button and switch traditionally found in a car. The controls to start the engine, turn on the Active Dynamics Panel and engage Velocity mode - as well as those to open the windows and doors - are in panels above the driver's head. These controls and the other switches and dials are milled from aluminium, and then hand-brushed and polished. The beautifully crafted interior fuses contemporary craftsmanship and cutting-edge innovations to push the boundaries of design into a new era. The elegance and material excellence is more akin to high fashion, luxury yachts and bespoke furniture than is normally seen within an automotive environment. The scope for personalisation is extraordinary and every Speedtail will be unique to its owner. McLaren's vision for the Speedtail - to create the ultimate in bespoke vehicle design - begins with carbon fibre, a material that McLaren has pioneered for nearly four decades, with every road or race car it has built since 1981 having a strong, stiff and light composite structure at its core. The Speedtail marks a revolutionary advance in the creation and usage of carbon by McLaren, with state-of-the-art technologies combining with traditional Italian textile knowledge to conceive a 'digital loom' process that delivers an even lighter composite material formed from an intricate carbon fibre weave. Pursuing further innovation, McLaren utilised this digital loom technique to develop a unique carbon fibre and titanium weave, christened Titanium Deposition Carbon Fibre. Traditional methods to change the colour of carbon fibre can compromise the material's structural integrity and visual clarity; for the Speedtail, a micron-thin layer of titanium is fused directly onto the weave and becomes an integral part of the carbon fibre's construction. The titanium deposition process maintains immense strength and low weight and creates a truly remarkable finish of visual carbon fibre with a chrome-effect shimmer. The front splitter, diffuser and side skirts are all finished in 1K Titanium Deposition Carbon Fibre. This material has just 1000 fibres per thread, making it lighter than the 3K alternative and allowing the adoption of a Jacquard weaving process to create an intricate, bespoke pattern in the Visual Carbon Fibre elements. The titanium can additionally be anodised in any bespoke colour or used to create interwoven images, symbols or even words within the carbon - for example, the rear of the driver's seat features the McLaren logo. Working in collaboration with expert Swiss watchmaker, Richard Mille, McLaren used pioneering horology techniques to develop a world-first in the automotive sector: Thin-Ply Technology Carbon Fibre (TPT). The material is comprised of countless ultra-thin carbon layers just 30 microns in depth, each positioned at a 45º angle. The surface is then delicately milled to expose a stratified, shimmering construction that resembles flowing water. This fusion of cutting-edge technology and design with precision engineering is truly unique, and can be integrated into areas of the Speedtail such as the overhead control panel, gearshift paddles and steering wheel clasp. TPT is also used in the McLaren badge on the front of the Speedtail design model, with both this badge and the Speedtail name formed in 18-carat white gold, the letters being individually pressed, clipped and polished. The entire interior of the Speedtail has been designed to cosset and embrace the driver and their passengers, with the finest hides enveloping almost every surface. The driver's seat on the Speedtail design model is trimmed in Dark Glacier and Cool White leathers, the former a full aniline material and the latter a new, semi-aniline lightweight leather, developed by the Bridge of Weir Leather Company. The luxurious thickness and supple finish of the leather - the result of using only the finest hides sourced from the best heritage breeds, combined with generations of hand-finished craftsmanship - is unaffected, but by infusing air beneath the surface during the manufacturing process, material density is reduced and the weight cut by 30 per cent. The result is proof that luxury can go hand-in-hand with lightweighting. The lightweight leather can be treated to render it resilient enough to line the floor of the Speedtail and finished in the colour or colours of the owner's choice; in the design model, Dark Glacier and Black have been selected. The leather then extends in a continuous piece to provide covers for the storage compartments beneath the seats, McLaren's designers drawing on the natural traits of the leather and its inherent rigidity to allow the compartments to open like a piece of luxury luggage. Specially selected Scandinavian hides are used for the full-aniline leather that trims the dashboard and passenger seats. Unblemished and virtually unchanged from its natural state, this leather is the result of a five-week tanning process using vegetable oils the only addition is the chosen colour - in the case of the passenger seats, Dark Glacier - producing a rare automotive material of truly exceptional quality. The finish of the rich leather is almost impossibly soft to the touch and like the grain of a tree or a human fingerprint, the individual patina of the hide is preserved so that every surface is utterly unique in character. Speedtail owners can additionally select unique stitch patterns in whichever colour they wish and bespoke decorative forms can be created within the leather through digital quilting or unique debossed or embossed patterns. Inspired by the finest of furniture and fashion design, the trimmed edges of the leather can even be painted, the colour being hand-mixed, hand-painted and then hand-polished to elevate the leather craftsmanship to the highest possible level and deliver an uncompromised aesthetic. The limited production of the Speedtail has given McLaren the opportunity to push colour and materials design into unchartered territory and owners will experience an unprecedented journey of vehicle personalisation, leading up to the beginning of 2020 when the first deliveries of this rarest of Ultimate Series McLaren will take place. << Prev Page 3 of 3 |
| Article | Image gallery (79) | Chassis (4) | Specifications |
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