For car enthusiasts who also love high-speed jets, McLaren and Lockheed joining hands is an exciting event, promising to bring impressive super products in the near future. McLaren Automotive has been known for building some of the fastest cars on the planet. Now, the automaker is teaming up with Lockheed Martin Skunk Works to find new ways to design the supercar of the future.
Anyone with a modicum of aviation knowledge needs no introduction to Skunk Works. This brand has participated in manufacturing super aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, F-117 Stealth Fighter, U-2 spy plane or SR-71 Blackbird. The plane photographed with the McLaren Artura is the Darkstar, a supersonic jet designed by Lockheed’s Skunk Works, appearing in the opening scenes of Top Gun: Maverick – the highest-grossing movie of 2022 .
The focus of this collaboration is to turn the aerospace company’s design software into something that can be applied to supercars, with an eye towards aerodynamic designs for high-speed cars. The SR-71 Blackbird still holds the world absolute speed record for an air-burning machine.
McLaren technical director Darren Goddard said: “McLaren is a pioneering company that always pushes boundaries and seeks new innovative and groundbreaking solutions to create the ultimate supercar. Working alongside an iconic company like Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, known for its visionary focus on the future, is a great fit. We hope this is the beginning of a long-term and deeper collaboration that will benefit our customers in the long run.”
Of course, McLaren is no stranger to speed records. In 1998, eight years after the SR-71 Blackbird was retired and at that time, Andy Wallace drove the McLaren F1 to an average top speed of 387 km/h. This record stood for several years until the Bugatti Veyron broke the speed record in 2005. The F1 remains one of the fastest production cars in the world, 30 years after its launch.