Between two McLarens: Q&A with Design Director, Frank Stephenson

When it comes to working with the Playdoh on the next step,

“The advantage of clay is that if you put too much clay on you can take it off, and vice versa. And unlike a computer program, you can feel the subtle transitions from a soft radius to a hard radius, wherein on screen the subtlety could be lost,” says Stephenson.

“It’s almost like you could work blind on the car and come away with a finished piece that you would know is right or wrong based on feel alone.”

When asked about design influences Frank goes old school on your ass. “My favourite car designs for the most part came from the 1950s and 60s when cars were seen as works of art and not regimented to the bureaucratic standards of today.” Here here! I concur with the Moroccan gentlemen with the Stretch Armstrong.

With a deep passion and curiosity for evolutionary biology, Stephenson also looks to nature for further inspiration via ‘biomimicry’. For those unfamiliar, biomimicry is a relatively new science that analyzes select design aspects in nature and works to best emulate, then reproduce and incorporate these key traits into real world applications.

Cueing off some of the fastest animals, birds and fish in nature, Frank closely follows the kung fu teachings of the biomimicry. “The Peregrine Falcon for instance can reach 200 mph in a dive by changing its wing formation, closing nostril passages, optical membranes cover the eyes, all in the name of increasing speed and reducing drag,” says Stephenson. “The sailfish on the other hand can reach speeds of 80 mph in the water, and so what we at McLaren try to do again is bring specific evolutionary aspects into say the engine duct work to reduce drag while also optimizing engine cooling.”

Stephenson goes on to note “Biomimicry is an inspiration that I find important in design, because in nature there is no room for excess.

Any design related elements are there for function and efficiency, not for excess or show.” Just recently released at the Pebble Beach Auto Show the 12C Spider’s evolutionary influence is evident throughout. Drawing on the company’s long-standing Formula 1 experience in its concept and development, the 12C is promoted as lighter, faster, more powerful, more fuel efficient than its key competition….according to the marketing speak.

With the 12C Spider, in order to maintain legendary performance characteristics, and stay lean, certain design requirements had to be met. “By adding stiffness to the 12Cs carbon fibre tub you increase torsional rigidity, and reduce scuttle shake, the unfortunate byproduct of cutting the roof off.” Because with a lightweight, twin-turbo V8 developing a ridiculous 600+ bhp the last thing you want at speed is an embarrassing case of scuttle shake. I had scuttle shake once, a rather painful inflammation of the scuttle, cured only by an intense diet high in carbon fibre root.

The carbon fibre tub also acts as the critical foundation for the rest of the car. The engine supports, front end frame, interior, etc. are all built off this new production method that is premised around the tub as the key anchor point. This method apparently not only delivers high performance architecture to the game but does so at a third of the price.

Power is delivered via a mid-engine conflagration hooked to a 7 Speed SSG dual-clutch transmission that all works nicely together to put out 0- 100 kph times in the blisteringly quick 3.1 second range. In getting to 200 kph you’ll need a mere 9.0 seconds. 329 kph is the car’s top speed in case you need to get to Banff in hurry.

Other unique design related infographics include a super fast, custom designed RHT folding roof system. “We minimized the fold-up roof requirement in order to save or attain luggage space, of which the car does come with a custom bespoke designed set,” notes Stephenson. “To retain body integrity we only had to add another 40 kg to the car via a carbon fibre roof mechanism, as the carbon fibre tub already has inherent stiffness qualities.” Taking less than 17 seconds to raise or lower, the 12C’s roof can be operated while the car is moving at speeds of up to 30 kph. When asked about visual aesthetics and budgetary concerns Frank points out that, “It takes just as much money to make a car look ugly as it does to make it look beautiful.” This Frank fellow, he makes a good point.

In the meantime, with the help of a few sailfish and falcons, Frank Stephenson will continue on to sketch and zoom HotWheels about his office as McLaren continues to push out F1 influenced hyper-exotics to their orange design limits.

TEST DRIVE
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Source: McLaren