McLaren Partners With Lockheed Martin Skunk Works on Road Car Technology

McLaren announced a partnership on Monday with Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works team, the famous relatively autonomous unit responsible for secretive aerospace projects like the SR-71 Blackbird and U2. McLaren calls the pairing a "technology collaboration," but details seem to indicate that the pairing will largely be about exploring potential applications of existing Skunk Works software.

McLaren says the partnership will allow them to "focus on deploying a new Skunk Works’ design system, developed for the world of aviation, into the realms of high-performance, cutting-edge automotive supercar design." This, apparently, will allow the company to "[set] the parameters for high-speed systems more accurately and swiftly than traditional design methods."

Given the nature of the pairing, it is likely that the resulting partnership will be more about optimizing the process of developing and maintaining cars rather than anything that McLaren customers will see on their vehicles. However, it did present a great opportunity for a photo: McLaren brought an Artura to the company's headquarters, where it posed next to the fictional Darkstar hypersonic jet from Top Gun: Maverick. That plane famously exploded at speed very early in the movie, so hopefully McLaren is not taking any design cues from it.

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