McLaren turns UK’s city of steel Sheffield into carbon capital to build ‘tubs’ for its supercars
SHEFFIELD. Steel City. Home to the Blades and the Master Cutler.
Turn over any knife or fork in the UK in times past and you would see “Made in Sheffield” etched into the silvery steel.
Every time Britain made a cup of tea, Sheffield was there to help.
You’ll have seen The Full Monty, so you don’t need me to tell you what happened next.
But fast-forward to today and Sheffield is enjoying a renaissance as a hotspot for hi-tech firms relocating to the area. The Steel City is now our carbon capital.
McLaren has built a hi-tech manufacturing plant at Catcliffe making ultra-lightweight yet ultra-strong chassis, or “tubs”, for its supercars.
These carbon-fibre tubs — previously imported from Austria — then get shipped down the M1 to McLaren’s HQ at Woking in Surrey, where the engine, gearbox, body panels and so on are added by hand.
In other words, Sheffield’s materials expertise is once again at the core of British innovation, 100 years after engineer Harry Brearley invented stainless steel — the steel that doesn’t rust.
Which is why you see me here touring my adopted home city in a McLaren GT.
Unsurprisingly, this thing is fast. As in “two postcodes a minute” fast. As in “zero-to-lose-your-licence in less than seven seconds” fast.
Just a quick dab with your right foot and you will be grinning like a dog with two appendages. And it sounds awesome.
I have absolutely no idea how McLaren makes 5,000 parts work so gloriously as one. But I do know this, if you cut a McLaren road car in half, it will bleed Formula One tech. As for looks, that’s your department but I’m smitten.
I think it’s delicate and dramatic and beautiful, especially that rear.
And the cabin feels so clinical and precise and expensive. Mind you, it should at £163,000 basic. Most customers will spend another £40k ticking boxes.
Random fact: The McLaren GT has an electronic front-lift system that gives it the same ground clearance as a Mercedes C-Class for speed humps.
But is the GT really a grand tourer for crossing continents? Er, not really. McLaren will tell you it has 570-litres of luggage space — more than a Ford Focus — but you can’t really use it.
Clever insulation materials designed with help from Nasa mean the mid-mounted V8 shouldn’t melt your stuff in the back.
But the first time you brake hard, anything not trussed up properly will end up in your lap. That said, you can fit two flight bags under the bonnet.
To be honest, no one buys a McLaren for practicality.
You buy a McLaren because you’re a speed junkie and you like race-car tech and lightness and you’re rich.
You buy a McLaren because it’s reet good.
KEY FACTS: McLAREN GT
Price: £163,000
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp, 630Nm
0-62mph: 3.2 secs
0-124mph: 9 secs
Top speed: 203mph
Economy: 23mpg
CO2: 270g/km
- CUTLERY provided by The Sheffield Cutlery Shop, a family firm spanning four generations. Thank you, Lee.
Revved up for the class of 2020
OH yes, 2020 is going to be mega for bike fans. Here are just a few I will be riding.
SPORTS BIKES: The Honda Fireblade is the undisputed grandaddy of the sports market. The 1992 model wasn’t just a game-changer – it shaped generations of sports-bike fans for decades to follow.
This latest model has a lot to live up to. It will be the most expensive production Fireblade ever but will also be dripping in the kind of kit that gets riders frothing at the mouth. This bike is going to be special.
NAKED BIKES: Why ride a naked 1000cc machine when you could have a supercharged one?
The Kawasaki Z H2 will be a mechanical marvel, as well as something else to ride.
The faired version is just six years old but has already secured its place in motorcycling folklore.
If you like speed, brute strength and the colour green, look no further.
Priced from £15,000 and in Kawasaki dealerships from the spring, the 200-horsepower Z H2 will have the same connectivity as the Z900, which we rode in November.
It will also be really, really fast . . . and we like that.
If I can tempt Rob into racing one of his fancy cars against a bike in 2020, it will be one of these I ride to give him a whooping.
ADVENTURE BIKES: Bigger is not always better, especially when it comes to adventure bikes. You can have all the room for frying pans and spare shoes in the world but at some point you are going to have to wrestle your bike down a muddy track and all that weight will come back to haunt you.
That is where the mini-adventure bike starts to shine. The KTM 390 Adventure will punch above its weight in every sense.
We are riding it in March, so make sure you check back for the review.
- John is the editor at SuperBike and presents Bike World on YouTube.
MOST READ IN MOTORS
ASK ALFIE: USED CAR Q&A
Q) WHEN my wife bought a car last year, we put down a £3,500 deposit and never missed a payment. Sadly, she died and now the company wants the car back. Am I eligible to get my deposit back, as we only had the car for seven months? I asked to take on the debt but they refused.
Phil Reed
A) The fact the finance company wants to take the car back suggests your wife was on a lease deal, rather than PCP. There are different methods for paying money back in the event of a death. I hate to be the bearer of yet more bad news but if it was a lease then it is just a rental contract and you are not entitled to any money back. Seek proper legal advice. You need to be 100 per cent certain about your rights.
Q) CAN you give a value for my Spitfire mk3, first registered in 1969? It is a soft-top with roll-bar and seatbelts. It’s had extensive work carried out and is very reliable. I am thinking of selling it.
Peter Walker
A) A good, solid mk3 Spittie like that ought to be worth eight to ten grand. Stick it on for £9,750 and see how the land lies. You might be better waiting until the spring before listing it.
Q) I have a Citroen C4 automatic with 127,000 miles on the clock. In 2016, at 50mph, it would ram into third and not change up or down. The garage said it was a build-up of pressure in the box and fitted an electronic hydraulic control unit. I asked if it would ever happen again. They said no and if it did, they would repair it for free. But now it is doing it again.
Nigel White
A) A deeper problem with the gearbox could be causing the recurring issues. I bet the 2016 repair won’t have been warrantied for three years. You might be best off getting rid but see what the diagnostics say.
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