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McLaren Opens Dialogue Between Ancient Oriental Civilisation and Modern British Auto Culture

"Epic McLaren" launched on legendary Silk Road
McLaren Asia Pacific
2014-09-05 11:00 3463

SHANGHAI, Sept. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Very few drivers ever fulfill their dream of driving a McLaren super sports car – and even fewer will ever experience the thrill of driving a McLaren super sports car on the stunning remote roads of Western China. With a clear focus on customer experience, the "Epic McLaren" journey was not only the first installment of long-haul driving experiences launched in the APAC region - but also a unique moment when two legends meet: McLaren and the illustrious Silk Road. With plans to emulate such epic drive programmes across the region in the near future, the exclusive driving experience from Aug 27 to Sept 5, 2014 gave 40 fortunate McLaren enthusiasts the opportunity to drive over 2,500 kilometres of the legendary Silk Road, a route now indelibly marked by varied natural attractions and historical relics.

For over 2,000 years, the "Silk Road" has represented the cultural transmission of East and West, and "Epic McLaren" was the first long distance test drive event initiated by a super sports car brand since it was recognized as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO in June of this year. With the continued Asian expansion of British super sports car manufacturer McLaren, the Silk Road was a natural choice for the first ever "Epic McLaren" journey. The theme of the campaign, "When Legend Meets Legend" clearly illustrated the dialogue between the legendary Silk Road and McLaren's very own legendary brand heritage. This was a collision of ancient culture and cutting-edge technology - both harmoniously fused through their common legendary background.

Starting in Xi'an, the ancient Chinese capital and the starting point of the Silk Road, a diverse range of McLaren enthusiasts and media gathered under the guidance of experienced international instructors for the driving experience of a lifetime. Setting off at a sprint on Thursday 28 August 2014, the awe-inspiring fleet of some of the greatest super sports cars available today moved quickly northward, covering the 340 km to the Gansu city of Tianshui with ease and allowing a comfortable visit to the Maijishan Grottoes the following day. For thousands of years, these 194 grottoes cut into an overhanging red-rock cliff face served to provide pilgrims with a place to pray for the journey ahead - now it would be a very different group of pilgrims stopping at this World Heritage site to seek goodwill for the road to come.

Over the next week, the McLaren guests were able to experience the finest of McLaren performance now available around the world. Following its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March and Beijing Motor Show in April, the McLaren 650S Coupe and Spider were at the forefront of the stunning fleet, with the 12C providing a more than able accompaniment. Each super sports car features a cutting-edge twin-turbo V8 engine, and technology derived directly from the McLaren Formula1™ racing team. The performance figures do not lie - the 650S Coupe and Spider both sprinting from 0-100 km/h in a mere 3.0 seconds, with the 12C only marginally slower at 3.1 seconds to the mark - and while these spine-tingling performance figures were not quite possible on the public highways of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, the thrill of McLaren driving remained always undiminished. Despite offering the performance figures of a stripped out road racer, every McLaren also offers a range of high-calibre luxury equipment as standard and unrivaled in the super sports car class. But so many V8 engines cutting raspy motorsport exhaust notes through an ancient route was not the only stark cultural juxtaposition.

Continuing 315 kilometres southwest into Xining in Qinghai Province and along the edges of Qinghai Lake, followed by a further 600 kilometres northwest into Zhangye Danxia National Geopark, the landscape slowly morphed from pastures of rolling grass plains into a terrain of rising rock formations vibrantly lit by brilliant desert sunrays. This dramatic geography achieved a perfect synchronicity with the acclaimed design of the carbon-fibre monocoque bodies of each McLaren. The lightweight, mid-engine McLaren 650S super sports car is available in both coupe and cabriolet variants, allowing open-top driving that is at home on both Sunset Boulevard or the Cote d'Azur - and even the Gobi Desert. There was no shortage of drivers eager to experience the exhilaration of roof-down motoring even as the McLaren fleet arrived in Jiayuguan and Dunhuang by 4 September.

Representing the far western reaches of the famed Great Wall, Jiayuguan was the ideal location to contemplate the 2,500 kilometres covered by the McLaren super sports cars. Every guest that had sat behind a McLaren driving wheel had gained a unique insight into not only these acclaimed automotive creations, but also the historic heartland of China. On arrival at the UNESCO World Heritage site, Dunhuang Grottoes, Mr. Ian Shen, Sales and Operation Director of McLaren China, was available to present a donation on behalf of all the "Epic McLaren" guests and team members. The donation will go towards the ongoing restoration and future conservation of this unique treasure. First dug by traveling traders and religious pilgrims in 366 AD, the Dunhuang Grottoes were the most revered place of prayer for all travelers and remained the religious and cultural epicenter of the Silk Road for over 1,000 years. Today, this icon of Chinese history contains some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a millennia.

Reflecting on the donations, Mr. Ian Shen remarked, "The Dunhuang Grottoes are an archaeological site that is not only important to China, but important to understanding the ancient social, cultural, and economic ties that bind East and West. Today, as we at McLaren Automotive begin our journey in Asia, it gives us great pride to contribute to the ongoing restoration and conservation of the Mogao Caves for the benefit of people around the world."

As a further message of thanks to the region, a second donation was also made during the journey to a local orphan school in Qinghai. The donation went to the provision of much needed and new sports equipment for the students, serving to display the humanistic care and to fulfill the corporate social responsibilities that remain among the core goals of McLaren on the road.

The "Epic McLaren" drive event has been a complete success with the support by Mobil 1, Pirelli, Castel and La Roche-Posay. "We extend our sincere appreciations to the valued sponsors for their great support in making this event a reality," commented Mr. Mirko Bordiga, Regional Director of McLaren Asia Pacific.

"The great attraction of 'Epic McLaren' on the Silk Road of Western China is that this outstanding event builds a closer tie between our customers, the McLaren brand, and our unrivaled super sports cars," Mr. Bordiga added. "There is no greater way to learn the unique capabilities of our super sports cars, than by driving on the wide open highways that stretch across this truly breathtaking landscape. We are committed to ensuring that China remains a key market for McLaren - and I hope we have demonstrated that with our donation to the charity school, Mogao Caves and the Dunhuang Grottoes. In the future, we plan that 'Epic McLaren' will bring the McLaren legend to other legendary sites around the region in the years to come. But right now, the first 'Epic McLaren' journey has been one of the most thrilling test drive events in the world and will leave us all with memories to last a lifetime."

Please visit http://we.tl/kXqJ4wjVcg for the official photos of the "Epic McLaren" drive.

McLaren China

McLaren Automotive is a British manufacturer of luxury, high-performance sports cars, located at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, Surrey.

Following the company's global launch in 2010, McLaren Automotive launched the groundbreaking 12C and 12C Spider and, in keeping with its plan to introduce a new model each year, recently unveiled the McLaren 650S. The brand continues to expand, operating through a dedicated global network of retailers in every major automotive market.

Founded by Bruce McLaren in the United Kingdom in 1963, McLaren has developed a reputation as one of the leaders in motorsport. A total of 12 Formula 1 Drivers' World Championships and a further eight Formula 1 Constructors' World Championships, place McLaren at the pinnacle of the sport. In over 50 years of elite competition, McLaren has won numerous Can-Am titles, Indy 500 victories, a Le Mans 24 hour race triumph, and been on the podium on average once in every three Formula 1 Grand Prix in which the team has competed.

McLaren has pioneered the use of carbon fibre in vehicle production over the past 30 years, and since introducing a carbon chassis into racing and road cars with the 1981 McLaren MP4/1 and 1993 McLaren F1 respectively, McLaren has not built a car without a carbon fibre chassis. Today, McLaren is bringing this unrivalled reputation to a new generation of sports cars that prove performance and efficiency can be perfectly combined. The new McLaren 650S is the latest in a range of "pure" McLaren sports cars.

McLaren officially launched in China in September 2013 with headquarters in Shanghai. McLaren currently has nine dealerships in China - Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Tianjin and Kunming.

McLaren Shanghai
No. 208 Hubin Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai

McLaren Beijing
No. 48 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing (Ground Floor of the Four Seasons Hotel)

McLaren Chengdu
No. 3, Floor 1, C Block, Maoye Center, No. 28 Tianfu Avenue North, Chengdu

McLaren Guangzhou
No. 22 Xiancun Road, Pearl River New Town, Tianhe District, Guangzhou (Ground Floor of the W Hotel)

McLaren Shenzhen
L1-31A\L1-31B, 1/F, IFC Great China, Futian District, Shenzhen

McLaren Chongqing
No. 22, Xihu Road, Yubei District, Chongqing

McLaren Hangzhou
No. 272, Nanshan Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou

McLaren Tianjin
No. 160, Zhangzizhong Road, Heping District, Tianjin

McLaren Kunming
Ground Floor, Yiqingyuan Business Building, No. 1045 Dianchi Road, Xishan District, Kuming

McLaren Automotive Partners

To support the development, engineering and manufacture of its range of innovative and highly acclaimed sports cars, McLaren Automotive has partnered with world leading companies to provide specialist expertise and technology. These include Akebono, AkzoNobel, ExxonMobil, Pirelli, SAP and TAG Heuer.

Visit cars.mclaren.com for more details.

Media website: www.media.mclarenautomotive.com 
McLaren Weibo: http://weibo.com/mclarenchina

Source: McLaren Asia Pacific
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