“With the exception of the engine, virtually every part of a Formula One racing car now starts from a textile, including the bodywork, the tyres and many of the latest fuel systems,” adds Richard Kirkbright, project manager at Leeds-based BTMA member Roaches International. “This has influenced developments in the broader automotive sector, in addition to the aerospace industry.”
McLaren’s influence
Woking, UK-headquartered McLaren was the very fi rst F1 team to introduce a car chassis manufactured entirely from carbon fibre composites back in 1981, setting the ball rolling for the creation of a completely new supply chain. In 2018, McLaren reinforced its commitment to manufacturing in the UK with a £50 million (€59.4 million) investment in the McLaren Automotive Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Sheffield, Yorkshire. Dedicated to advancing the process for creating the lightweight carbon fi bre monocage structures at the heart of McLaren cars, the MCTC is expected to provide an estimated £100 million (€118.8 million) of gross value-added benefit to the local economy by 2028. The MCTC is situated within the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) which opened in 2001 and as part of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult network of research centres works with 70 universities and more than 1,000 companies of all sizes on new multiple industry manufacturing methods. In November 2024, construction was completed on a £20 million (€23.8 million) expansion of the AMRC to house the Boeing-led Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) project.
ART carbon
McLaren has this year unveiled a worldfirst in supercar engineering – aerospace-derived Automated Rapid Tape (ART) carbon fibre – developed at the MCTC. This is being employed to create the active front wings of the W1 hypercar which has a starting price of $2.1 million (€1.8 million).
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