McLaren, BMW team up to make internal combustion engines great again
These two automakers are not about to let the traditional gas engine go gently into that good night. Not yet, at least.
Two automakers are not about to give up on the good ol'-fashioned internal combustion engine.
BMW and McLaren have announced a partnership, wherein the two companies will collaborate with others on "new combustion technology." Specifics aren't flowing forth just yet, but McLaren promises that this work will both increase engine output and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.
If you think Macca's current crop is impressive, just wait, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
Each company in the collaboration has a specific job. McLaren will manufacture the technology with its current manufacturing partner, Ricardo -- which is a whole company, and not just a man named Ricardo -- and BMW Group. Grainger and Worrall will be in charge of casting components, Lentus Composites will work with (you guessed it) composite materials and the University of Bath will provide research and development.
The technology developed from this partnership will eventually head into McLaren's next-generation combustion engines. The project is supported by the UK government's Advanced Propulsion Centre, which exists to keep the future of transportation clean.
McLaren has not hidden away its aspirations to increase efficiency. Part of the company's Track 22 program involves adding hybrid capabilities to several of its models by 2022, and adding a new, more efficient gas engine into the mix will only serve to increase efficiency. McLaren, a green supercar manufacturer? It sure seems that way.
