McLaren goes back to the future with design DNA
Tobias Sühlmann previews new design language for McLaren's expanding portfolio
Tobias Sühlmann has a problem. Following notable stints at Volkswagen, Bugatti, Aston Martin and Bentley, the designer has returned to McLaren (he was previously responsible for the Solus GT) as its Chief Design Officer. The problem is that McLaren, having finally ironed out all the kinks in its capital structure thanks to the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain (which took full ownership of the brand last week), stands at the edge of a brave new world - one where it will be required to think not just about the form a battery-powered supercar might take, but also what an entire range of hybrid and fully electric McLarens might look like. Including those with back seats.
The thing is, Tobias Sühlmann doesn’t come across as a man with a problem. And that’s because in the couple of hours PH spent in his company earlier this week, he wore a huge grin. Yes, it is the grin of a chap who has landed in his ‘dream job’ - but also of someone who evidently feels like they’ve been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. Sühlmann’s CV is notable enough to include several efforts worthy of any designer’s greatest hits, but he has never been tossed the ball at such an early stage in the genesis of an entire portfolio - nor, one suspects, been given such free reign to stamp his ideas on what a bunch of world-famous cars are going to look like for at least the next decade.
Unsurprisingly, then, having arrived in Woking last September, Sühlmann has been busy. His previous work on the V10-powered Solus GT means he is no stranger to McLaren’s way of working, but he admits that car was more a case of ‘seeing how extreme we could make it’, rather than pointing to where the firm might be headed. Now, with the weight of history firmly on his shoulders, the designer has spent a lot of time roaming the foyer and workshops at the McLaren Technology Centre and imbibing not just the automotive legacy since 2010, but also 60 years of extraordinary racing heritage.
His job now is to mesh that existing DNA with the future requirements of a brand that has occasionally struggled to differentiate between its products. This will be more challenging in some respects than others. You would imagine McLaren already has a decent handle on what its next hypercar will look like (just last week it was busy trademarking names) but beyond this year the challenges and possibilities afforded by secure long-term investment and the increasingly likely prospect of a new technical partnership are myriad. This is precisely what a design philosophy is for. And why you hire a designer of Sühlmann’s calibre to create one.
“Racing is in our DNA, and beauty flows from this relentless pursuit of performance. We are deeply inspired by six decades of McLaren history, but we are not rooted in our past,” noted Sühlmann. “Our Design DNA will build McLaren into a brand that delivers 60 years of motorsport heritage in incredible lightweight supercars and beyond. A new era, with new vehicles, more product differentiation, and with Performance by Design at the heart of it.”
‘Performance by Design’ might not be the most invigorating description the manufacturer has ever rolled out, but its straightforwardness is likely intentional. Certainly, the five theoretical pillars that underpin it make a lot of sense (Epic; Athletic; Functional; Focused; Intelligent) when considered in the light of McLaren’s long-running preoccupations, although Sühlmann is at his most animated when discussing the three design signatures that have resulted from his deep-dive into the soul of MTC.
The design image above is worth a thousand words, but in essence they break down into a front view defined by ‘two main, symmetrical elements with horizontal orientation and a low nose’ - almost always manifested as large air intakes in McLaren’s back catalogue - and, to the side, the so-called ‘Performance Line’, that downward slope of a shoulder line recognisable in everything from a Cam-Am racer to the McLaren F1. To the rear, there’s the concept of an ‘open back end’ (i.e. what tends to happen when you’re keen for very hot air to exit a car as quickly as possible) although it’s the straight-line graphic that people tend to notice.
Not exactly a step-by-step recipe for creating era-defining cars of any stripe, you might think - but the whole point is that the signatures deal in very broad strokes. Sühlmann is defining an ethos here, not showing us the small print. That will come later; for now, McLaren clearly wants to underline that its hitherto unbreakable focus on ‘purity of purpose’ will not leave the building just because the cars it builds are about to evolve. And to listen to its new Chief Design Officer talk ardently about simplicity and engineering authenticity and the need for driver-centric solutions (especially the idea that analogue elements are worth hanging onto) is to hear the beginnings of a solution. Let’s hope the smile says it all.
Yes I can tell the difference between them and I think they look more cohesive in design than some of the latest Ferraris.
All subjective I know…. But I quite like their current range and recent cars.
but I'd have to agree with his:
Yes I can tell the difference between them and I think they look more cohesive in design than some of the latest Ferraris.
All subjective I know…. But I quite like their current range and recent cars.
Personally I like the 720 and 570 but they don't quite do it for me - but the 650 is perfect to me. That in itself tells me that they don't all look the same. Not sure where the notion that they look the same comes from tbh, as if Lambos and Ferraris don't all share a styling language (which, arguably is less signature than that of mclarens). I suppose every brand has to have their 'typical criticism' and that is just one of McLaren's
but I'd have to agree with his:
Yes I can tell the difference between them and I think they look more cohesive in design than some of the latest Ferraris.
All subjective I know…. But I quite like their current range and recent cars.
Personally I like the 720 and 570 but they don't quite do it for me - but the 650 is perfect to me. That in itself tells me that they don't all look the same. Not sure where the notion that they look the same comes from tbh, as if Lambos and Ferraris don't all share a styling language (which, arguably is less signature than that of mclarens). I suppose every brand has to have their 'typical criticism' and that is just one of McLaren's
The funny thing is if you look at any contemporaneous ovfferings from almost any manufacturer - you can say similar. The difference between McLaren and ferrari for example is more that ferrari have been doing road cars for longer. Look at ferraris of a given era and the styling is all similar, there's simply more eras and therefore evolving design languages to pick from.. The current offerings do all look the same to me (read - very similarly styled), the same can't be said comparing a Roma to a 430 however.. (compare a 360 to a 430 however and you see the similarities again.)
But anyway, good luck to him. I like McLaren as a manufacturer and race team.
But I’m not a designer, so what do I know?
I do know that I thought Pagani had thrown all design language in the bin with the Huayra when it came out, but many years later saw it side by side with the Zonda and a lot of the design really made sense, there was pretty clear evolution to my eyes.
Maybe I’ll feel that way with new McLarens one day.
Remember Gordon Murray didnt design the look of the F1, Peter Stevens did........
Remember Gordon Murray didnt design the look of the F1, Peter Stevens did........
I love the styling of the current McLs, I just think they need to stabilise what they are currently doing, and get some maturity into their engineering so that the owners don't feel they are doing the development.
But I’m not a designer, so what do I know?
I do know that I thought Pagani had thrown all design language in the bin with the Huayra when it came out, but many years later saw it side by side with the Zonda and a lot of the design really made sense, there was pretty clear evolution to my eyes.
Maybe I’ll feel that way with new McLarens one day.
On the other hand, the F1 is perfection to my eyes and i can see its essence in the design image.
For me, the design image of the 720s/750s is more F1-like in its side profile than the real 720s/750s; i remember when the MP4-12c came out and i thought they already had the perfect template (looks, size and proportions) in the F1 and couldn't understand why (ignoring 3 seater layout and V12), Mclaren didn't carry on using this design language, albeit obviously with ongoing improved aerodynamics. I've thought this about every Mclaren since.
Peter Stevens was very much on form when he sketched the F1.
The LM just adds that lovely level of hardcore racer/don't mess with me look,
compared to the much softer (but still stunning) standard car.
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