McLaren plans road supercar

In three years time the name of the dominant Formula One team of the Eighties will be seen on a high-performance road car for the first time.

The TAG McLaren group has announced the formation of a new company, McLaren Cars, to begin the project which, it says, will bring current Grand Prix technology to the road. Group chairman Mansour Ojieh and chief executive Ron Dennis will be directors, and the design team will be headed by former Brabham F1 designer Gordon Murray, who will transfer from the position of Technical Director of McLaren International during 1989. Finance will come from the TAG Group.

So far engine choice and layout are still under consideration by the new firm, which will have its own purpose-built facility close to the team’s Woking base. The racing operation itself in unaffected.