The McLaren W1's High-Tech Suspension Is Made In America

Oct 23, 2024

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

When the McLaren W1 was revealed earlier this month, there were several highlights to absorb and enjoy. An all-new V8 hybrid powertrain delivers 1,258 horsepower, output goes to the rear wheels only, hydraulic steering and braking are retained, and the F1-inspired design can produce up to 2,205 lbs of downforce. The W1 also boasts highly innovative suspension, and as it turns out, this suspension is made right here in the United States of America, specifically, in California. Divergent specializes in next-generation additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing, and its founder, Kevin Czinger, has already shown how extensively it can be used in his own eponymous hypercars. The Bugatti Tourbillon also bears his company's technology.

Divergent was involved in designing and developing various areas of the suspension setup, including the front upper wishbone, the lower wishbone, and the front upright. Like the suspension components in the Bugatti Tourbillon and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, certain elements have been honed to maximize aerodynamic efficiency; in the W1, each front lower wishbone helps manage airflow.

Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.

Google News

The Holy Trinity has been reborn. Here's how they compare.

While it's somewhat straightforward to design and manufacture an individual component, the benefit of 3D printing is that it allows Divergent to create multiple iterations of a design quickly and relatively cheaply until the perfect balance of size, weight, and shape is found. There's no need to compromise if a shape is too complex for conventional tooling to produce, and if testing in a wind tunnel reveals a fault that simulations did not, creating a refined version is quick.

The new Ferrari F80 also features 3D-printed suspension, and Kevin Czinger has said there are several other automakers that want Divergent's innovations in their cars, even if they won't publicly admit it. At this point in the technology's infancy, it's only high-end hypercars that can take advantage of such advanced suspension components, but trickle-down economics will eventually lead to supercars in lower price brackets getting similar setups.

Fresh from conquering the Goodwood hillclimb, Czinger wants to take more lap and speed records from the hypercar elite next year.

Additive manufacturing may be unusual and out-of-reach tech right now, but the democratization of technologies in the McLaren P1 and LaFerrari paved the way for the Artura and the 296 GTB to go hybrid, and something similar is inevitable here: printed suspension parts will become ubiquitous once production at scale becomes more affordable.

"This cutting-edge technology has enabled us to develop more complex suspension structures in the McLaren W1, which enhance the driving experience for our customers and support McLaren's mission to continually push the boundaries of performance."

- Michael Leiters, McLaren CEO.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.

Your comment has not been saved

This thread is open for discussion.

Be the first to post your thoughts.

Ferrari has a good reason to not use its iconic engine on its hypercar.

The company's test for an experimental aero setup went haywire, but good thing the driver walked away unscathed.

The Ferrari F80 represents a new chapter for Ferrari. It also elevates the performance and engineering standards for the hypercar segment.

Here's a peek under the hood and crazy sheet metal of the most powerful Ford Mustang from the Blue Oval since the Shelby Mustang.

The GTD is our very own homegrown exotic.

This LPG Kia Niro hybrid can drive from one end of Italy to the other without needing to fill its tanks.