McLaren supercars are set to be unbelievably light due to a new partnership with an American hypercar maker.
Divergent has the cutting-edge technology to create lightweight, 3D-printed vehicle parts.
And it is Divergent’s Adaptive Production System (DAPS) that McLaren will use to create their chassis components.
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What does this mean for McLaren?
McLaren is hoping that the new partnership with the California-based brand will lead to an uptick in car performance.
With lighter components, vehicle performance will be improved – and production will become more efficient.
It will also allow for more intricate future designs.
Founded by the owners of Czinger, it’s also hoped that the collaboration using additive manufacturing (3D printing) will also result in more sustainable and efficient production techniques.
And with McLaren already boasting elaborate and complicated exterior designs made from carbon fiber and groundbreaking lightweight materials – the sky’s the limit.
The 3D-printed chassis components and the vehicles they’ll go into remain unspecified.
However, it’s thought that it’s likely to be the successor to the P1, which will use a hybrid V8 engine.
Hybrid and electric cars can be heavier due to battery packs and electric motors – so this technology is all about balancing that out.
Per a statement from McLaren, the new manufacturing system will allow it to ‘further reduce weight and improve dynamic performance’.
These are, of course, already key tenets of the Woking-based brand.
Light cars of the future
Divergent is a startup founded by Kevin Czinger, who’s responsible for the most power-dense production engine in the world.
The company previously partnered with Bugatti for the new V16-powered Tourbillion – which is a stunning vehicle.
It 3D printed the lightweight suspension components, weighing 45 percent less than the steel elements of the Bugatti Chiron.
This allows the Bugatti Tourbillon to weigh very little, despite its plug-in hybrid system.
What’s more, its performance is impressive – here’s how long it’d take the new Bugatti Tourbillon to go round the world at top speed.
Divergent hopes their new aspirational partnerships will pave the way for DAPS to be adopted throughout the automotive industry.
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