TimeOut

Visit to Woking

 

I had such a great time on the visit to Dresden (VW Phaeton plant) that I thought about my last great car factory tour in Woking.

Because I worked in publishing books about cars, I've been in my share of auto assembly plants. But this was really special.

WOKING? you might ask, WHAT THE DEVIL IS A WOKING?

Not what but where. Apologies to those who don't follow F1 racing but that's where the McLaren F1 was built. Sadly I am not able to take you through the new facility, but maybe you'll like this anyway.





The story started in 1992 when I spotted an early F1 prototype on the road. Broken down on the slip road, to be exact. With a man half-slid under the car and another with puzzled look - then irritation as he noticed I had a camera. Whoops. Anyway I recognized the car from spy shots and knew it was their $1,000,000 kick-butt car for the road. I promised to keep my mouth shut about it. I think I still have a print of that somewhere (long before digital cameras were in vogue).

Fast forward a few years and while randomly web surfing I came to the McLaren website. They were promoting a book about their new road car. But not any book. A book that included a trip to the factory. A book that cost as much as a 100,000 km service on a Phaeton. Sigh. I signed up. After a 5-month wait (sounds like a watch, right?) I was notified my time had come. Off to England I flew for my book, meeting at the factory in Woking with about 8 other people. lunatic book buyers.

We killed some time in the lobby looking at trophy cases and saying Dare you to climb in and I'm too fat and stuff like that. Didn't bother to get each other's names. We're guys, right?

Our tour guide was attractive and efficient. She told us stuff we mostly already knew. But we were like small boys with toys. Where are the cars?

A wife or two got dragged along (not mine).

Notice the map of the circuit in the cockpit, just in case the driver gets confused about which turn is which (at 300 kmh).

Pretty quickly we were sweating with impatience! We want to see the cars!! we cried.

OK, down boys. Off we go, down a corridor, past a smiling GORDON MURRAY in his office (OMG) and into the back room. Varoom!

Cars everywhere. Open. Undressed. Nekkid. Smelling like cars and oil and money. This one is the prototype and factory car - K4 MCL - the one I saw so long ago (at least the number plate was the same)

Gold clad engine cover blows the eyeballs of our tour guide (maybe she was on something that day)

Padded covers for the mechanics and a nice friendly hoover ready for use

I crawled under the car and got yelled at and chased out. Oops. Snapped a few photos by mistake...of who knows what.

I'm a car guy and I don't know what half these things were for!

This owner had done nearly 70,000 km in his million-dollar car, so brought it back for a "complete service" for about £50,000 if I remember rightly. It was the highest mileage McLaren in the world.

Here's the tech working on the dome light or something. But I don't think you had to take the doors off to replace the bulb.





I think they threw in a set of tires as part of the service too.

Brakes are nice, aren't they? Notice how clean the place is?

Just like the Phaeton engine on stand. They told us this was basically a real engine. V12 naturally aspirated about 650 bhp 20 years ago



I couldn't have held the camera straight enough to get the dashboard shot, so they said Hop in. Now we're talking!  My mind was here ...

Young boy in fighter jet YA HOO or wait - Purist in McLaren YAHH HAH HAH WOO HOO



Fit me perfectly. Smirk. After a few moments it was get out and get your book. Made with Ron Dennis precision, the production of it drove 5 printers and their entire staff to drink

Well cased for shipment and so on. Better than your average watch box.

Some of the books were bound in the actual leather used for the steering wheel of the car. Most of them were leather-like. But we all got number plates in our books, names registered, etc.



I hope you enjoyed the tour. NO, I didn't get to drive one, but I read the book. It's fabulous.

Cazalea