McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt believes the “horsepower race” will be replaced with the “weight race” in the future, where manufacturers will focus on using lighter materials and cutting out as much unnecessary weight as possible for better efficiency.
Speaking at the 2018 SMMT International Automotive Summit, Flewitt said this will help brands meet stricter emissions regulations. “We now have a fantastic opportunity for the UK to be at the very forefront of a new automotive ‘weight race’ that can help achieve increasingly tough environmental targets,” said Flewitt.
“While McLaren has a long history in using lightweight materials to boost vehicle performance, it’s something we are also heavily investing in as part of our future with the opening later this year of the brand-new McLaren Composites Technology Centre in Yorkshire. It will lead to innovations in the technology going into our cars and not only provide a significant boost to that region, to jobs and the supply chain but also to the UK’s reputation for innovation,” he added.
The use of lightweight materials must also be in sync with future powertrain development, and Flewitt sees the technology developed by small-scale companies like McLaren eventually trickling down to more mainstream brands and models.
From a performance perspective, stricter emissions regulations could result in the carmakers looking for alternative means to harness performance, and more intense weight savings may be the key. As Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s oft-quoted philosophy goes: “simplify, then add lightness.”
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with the “weight race”,
McLaren will give Lotus UK a run for its money.
What Lotus UK? Lotus has been sold to Geely. So its Lotus China.
Nobody in UK talks about Lotus anymore once Malaysian Proton took over Lotus. It has become like TVR or Caterham…..insignificant car
This was the Lotus philosophy all along haha.
First Lamborghini mentioned they think N/A is the future and now McLaren think weight reduction is also the future.
Seriously I think Mazda is worth mentioning here. They are the one who started these 2 philosophies of weight reduction and N/A.
That is what Colin Chapman and his Lotus is doing for decades :)
Anorexia Car incoming soon!
weight race does not apply on Tesla Roadster since it travels in deep space orbiting solar system now