Carbon fiber is essential in delivering supercars with the best possible combination of attributes on road and track. Every single McLaren production car since the first, the McLaren F1, has been based on a chassis made from this composite material.

Oct 12, 2023 · McLaren have announced that they will be trialling the use of cutting-edge recycled carbon fibre (rCF) on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s cars at this year’s United States Grand Prix.

Forty-two years on, the McLaren MP4/1 is still considered one of Formula 1’s most influential cars, as it was the first to run a carbon fibre chassis, an innovation that has vastly improved the safety of motorsport.

Mar 6, 2025 · For McLaren, carbon fiber innovation began with the MP4/1, over 40 years ago in 1981. It changed the world of Formula 1 by being the first race car to utilize a full carbon fiber monocoque chassis.

Mar 14, 2025 · Deployed at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Sheffield, UK, the new ART (Automated Rapid Tap) method produces carbon-fiber structures that can be optimized for lighter, stiffer, and stronger parts via advanced structural optimization produced with less waste-material generation.

Nov 1, 2021 · B ut McLaren has been consistently building road cars with carbon fiber chassis for decades and Reinforced Plastics spoke to Wes Jacklin, plant director of the McLaren Composites Technology Centre, to hear about its secret.

McLaren has been a pioneering force in carbon fiber technology since introducing the first carbon fiber monocoque chassis in Formula 1 in 1981. This innovation has had a profound impact on the entire automotive, aerospace, and composite materials industries, influencing both racing and road-going vehicles as well as other high-performance ...

Mar 20, 2025 · Of the many groundbreaking design features of the McLaren F1, the utilisation of a carbon fibre monocoque chassis and a full carbon fibre body were among the most important, emphasising minimal weight and maximum structural rigidity.

Mar 6, 2025 · This marked the beginning of McLaren’s mass-produced full carbon fiber tub supercar range, bringing the benefits of carbon fiber to a wider audience. The MonoCell’s torsional rigidity allowed the 12C Spider to forgo additional chassis strengthening, a hallmark of McLaren’s convertible designs.

Sep 30, 2020 · Overall, following the resin-transfer molding and CNC-machining, McLaren’s carbon fiber is 45 percent lighter than aluminum, and some 80 percent lighter than steel.