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Behind the Scenes at McLaren Special Operations
When most of us buy a new car and want to make it a little special or unique, we might search for the perfect bumper sticker or set of floor mats. If the car in question is a McLaren, there are more options than you might believe, and most of them come from sending the car to McLaren Special Operations. What happens there is some version of vehicular magic, and if you don’t believe us you can take a tour with Harry’s Garage and see for yourself.
Metcalfe, founder of Britain’s Evo car magazine, is no stranger to McLaren, so we’re not surprised that he got the okay to take a camera past the doors clearly marked with “no photography.” In this detailed walk-around, he shares a behind-the-scenes look at McLaren’s high-performance and custom area, which is filled with interesting projects. From increased performance to bespoke interiors, colors, and materials, there isn’t much on a McLaren that MSO cannot alter to the customer’s preference.
The history of MSO is relatively brief. The branch’s first project was displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2010, but long before the custom builds, MSO served as the customer-care division for the F1 model. Now, the division works on both current and heritage models, as exemplified by the abundance of SLRs in the workshop. On the lifts are cars getting upgrades and custom touches galore, but one that stood out was the silver F1, which was getting a thorough inspection and also an upgrade to an aluminum fuel tank. It’s fascinating to get a peek at the details of these cars while they’re apart.
Harry’s visit was prompted by his seeking a custom steering wheel for his 650S, which, regardless of the no-doubt significant price of the wheel, highlights just how low the bar to get access to MSO can be. From extensive work on boutique cars produced in barely double-digit numbers to a relatively simple steering wheel upgrade, MSO handles all kinds of work for McLaren owners. I might not be heading there personally any time soon, but the operation looks stunning, and it is neat to see the work that goes into making each of these supercars truly unique.
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Harry went to get a steering wheel because he thought the perforation was too “aggressive”. First world problems. Pretty cool place with all those SLR’s there.