时间:2025-04-03 17:22:33 来源:网络整理编辑:探索
From the outside, McLaren's ultramodern supercar factory looks like a giant mirror in the horizon, s
From the outside, McLaren's ultramodern supercar factory looks like a giant mirror in the horizon, splitting water and sky. It's an unexpected sight in the English town of Woking.
Is it any wonder that it was built by the same architects behind Apple's Campus 2? Like Apple, the sublime philosophy here is all about supreme hygiene – in shape, color and design -- and an obsession for detail and minimalism.
SEE ALSO:McLaren has a sweet job offer for the world's fastest gamerI was invited inside the facility to hear about McLaren's latest experiment to find the next generation of racers. They're on a mission to hire a super fast online gamer for a year as a F1 simulator. It's a bold move and McLaren is the first racing team to try it.
But let's get back to the actual building for a moment.
The water outside the building was a particularly spectacular sight on the sunny day of my visit. But it's not just for aesthetics. It serves as a coolant for the massive climate control system for the entire factory. It's also home to some aquatic species.
The glass wall is designed to take in the most natural light possible, while reducing solar gain, keeping the incoming heat to a minimum. The rubber roof -- used to collect rain water for the lake -- is covered with recycled tires. With the perfect symmetry outside and the seeming uniformity and discipline inside, the McLaren building felt like a giant ant hive. There are around 1,000 workers inside, which makes McLaren the largest employer in Woking.
The building is basically a futuristic hospital, but for supercars. Inside, lies the design studios, labs and production centres, spread out in galleries.
Along one of the many white and gray corridors, was the simulator room, where McLaren does its tests before a Formula 1 race. Because of restrictions on test laps, these simulators are becoming increasingly important in preparing for a race. And they're becoming more and more like the real thing. This is the first time journalists were allowed in and we got to watch a dizzying test lap around a virtual Monaco performed by one of McLaren's all-time star racers, Jenson Button.
Apart from the absolute spotlessness, the exceptional silence inside the factory was so extraordinary. That's because McLarens are built by hand. There are no huge machines or robots making churning or swooshing sounds. Only a quiet murmur. It's very Æon Flux, reminiscent of the glass churches or temples epitomized in dystopian Hollywood films.
This is no assembly plant, the kind we may be inclined to imagine when we think about traditional car manufacturers. The workers are all dressed in black uniforms, with some white overcoats. They rush along the perfectly polished white tiles, in preparation for the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. Throughout the tour I only saw male workers.
Right outside the production centre is a glass wall at least 15 metres long, stacked with trophies. Each of them is polished to perfection. To the right of this display lays another, called the 'boulevard'.
It's an impressive arrangement featuring some of McLaren's signature racing and high-performance street cars. Each and every car (since 1981) is made with a carbon fiber chassis. Back then the switch was revolutionary. Today it's part of a long-lasting philosophy at McLaren that puts technology and innovation first.
The latest pitstop in McLaren's drive towards the future lies at the intersection between gaming and racing. They are embarking on a first of its kind competition to hire the "world's fastest gamer" on a one-year contract. That person will be tasked with the very important job of F1 simulator. They will not only need essential online racing game skills, which offer pretty high-quality simulations like the real deal used by the F1 teams. The perfect candidate will also need to demonstrate knowledge in engineering.
For Jenson Button, Monaco was his big return to F1. And McLaren's simulator played a huge part. After a six-month hiatus, he declined the chance to test an F1 car before the race, relying entirely on the simulator.
Button -- who crashed while we were watching inside the simulator -- said he "hoped" it would fare better for him in the actual race. Unfortunately, he crashed IRL, too, during the Monaco Grand Prix colliding with another F1 car.
But McLaren is playing the long game. Just like in the 1980s when they made the historic switch to carbon fibre chassis, the first to do so, McLaren are trying to set the trend today once again.
It is no wonder then that so much emphasis is being placed on their desire to hire a gamer. The competition they've set up is the first of its kind, but according to McLaren Technology Group Executive Director Zak Brown, it is only a matter of time before it becomes a thing.
It's fascinating how far things have come – it's been 20 years since the classic racing game Gran Turismo was released. Within these two decades, the gaming industry has almost caught up with the simulators used by professional drivers. It's a convergence, that after a closer look, seems very logical.
But, with the ongoing troubles McLaren faces on the F1 track – the team was dead last in the season and that was before the Monaco disappointment -- it's only natural that they are turning to innovation for a set of new gears.
McLaren is bridging the gap between the physical and the digital, just like its space-age building is merging the gap in the horizon between the sky and its shallow lake. The quest to define the future is here, albeit a bit uncertain.
TopicsEsportsCars
How Hyperloop One went off the rails2025-04-03 17:07
廣州隊VS申花首發:韋世豪先發蔣光太替補 吳曦出戰2025-04-03 17:07
河北VS三鎮 :斯坦丘領銜四外援首發 劉殿座出戰2025-04-03 16:35
山東泰山小勝迎開門紅固然可喜 衛冕任重道遠2025-04-03 16:30
U.S. pole vaulter skids to a halt for national anthem2025-04-03 16:11
曝卡爾德克老東家有意邀其加盟 100萬雷亞爾月薪成阻礙2025-04-03 16:02
馬內薩拉赫皆向利物浦索要40萬鎊周薪 紅軍不願滿足2025-04-03 15:49
曝博格巴加盟尤文進入最終階段 皇馬造抓馬一幕?2025-04-03 15:45
Make money or go to Stanford? Katie Ledecky is left with an unfair choice.2025-04-03 15:24
吳金貴:把老隊員當外援用 選擇最有勝利欲望的球員出場2025-04-03 15:13
MashReads Podcast: What makes a good summer read?2025-04-03 16:55
強勢衝擊世界杯!巴西4場轟17球 內馬爾逼近貝利2025-04-03 16:45
格納布裏拒絕拜仁1900萬歐年薪報價 稱不隻考慮錢2025-04-03 16:37
痛擊強敵!德佩15分鍾連入兩球 獨占隊史射手榜第32025-04-03 16:35
Airbnb activates disaster response site for Louisiana flooding2025-04-03 16:23
格納布裏拒絕拜仁1900萬歐年薪報價 稱不隻考慮錢2025-04-03 16:19
海港主帥談賽季目標 :先做好立足工作 遠未達到最佳狀態2025-04-03 15:42
粵媒 :全新廣州隊首輪惜敗 打出自信也付出代價2025-04-03 15:05
Give your kitchen sponge a rest on this adorable bed2025-04-03 15:02
區楚良:廣州隊丟點球有運氣成分 未必就是降級熱門2025-04-03 14:54