I'm currently visiting my brother in London and fancy heading to Woking to visit mclaren. But I can't find much info online about visitor centre(prices and opening times etc.) has any one here visited it?

nope, been to Ilmor racing engines (now mercedes racing engines) and jaguar GP (once Steward GP now Redbull Racing), had an invite to Redbull in March but turned it down 😯 , what a muppet

Do they allow public in? My bro went for a job interview. Thought it was amazing.

Appartently they have a visitor centre. Supposedly it's buried underground with only the roof as a clue to it being there at all. That much I can find online.

If you read this months Evo (Car magazine) they describe visiting it. Don't mention the public though. You enter these big white lifts which descend into a big white corridor. All very Bond Villain

Supposedly it's buried underground with only the roof as a clue to it being there at all. That much I can find online

And a dirty great sign outside saying "McLaren" 😉

I can assure you that they would not allow the sign to be dirty.

and they spell their name correctly, too. (unflagged edit from me!) 😳

Guess the visits are for corporate hospitality etc.

If they wanted Joe Public in I reckon they'd be letting us know.

My wife works at Mercedes Benz world which is a fun day out and only over in Brooklands. Worth a trip.

If you read this last months Evo (Car magazine)

There, sorted that for you 😉

Did some work over the years for a well known team, very interesting for engineering and petrol heads a like. Awesome stuff, the effort and commitment of all in the team to get those two cars on the grid is incredible.

If it's your thing and you get a chance of a factory tour take it.

I don't think they let the public in – that said there is a foot path that goes round the lake, you can 'accidentally' wander off that and have a look through the windows at all the old F1 cars if you want…. they don't seem to care. Either that or they weren't swift enough to catch me (I was out on a run)…

what's so interesting about seeing pushchairs get made?

I've been, albeit a few years ago, courtesy of a major curtain walling manufacturer who happen to be a sponsor. Top day, get to see the GP car collection and F1's, they were making SLR's at the time, pretty much complete tour of factory including where they make the GP cars and the carbon bits. Spotless, crisp, efficient, beautifully detailed building with immaculate uniformed staff – very sci-fi feel in keeping with Foster ethos and Ron Dennis. Also very expensive to the extent I don't think they've ever disclosed the capital build costs!

VIP trip a few weeks ago – first school trip into the inner sanctum – the kids were goggle eyed! It was a genuine "if carling did school trips" moment! Driving the minibus along the VIP road into the VIP carpark and squeezing it between to Mazaratis was an interesting experience.

Simply amazing – got to sit in Sennas'MP4/4 that was being prepped for the Goodwood festival of speed (& Hamiltons trip to topgear). Senna was a short arse so all seating had been pulled and replaced with camping mat so Button (and me!) could get in. We got to play with the ill-fated improvement components being prepared for Silverstone and some of the kids now have a shot of them holding a Monaco winners trophy. The simulator that the drivers spend a day in each prior to each race is quite amazing – all the right advertising hoardings for the current year and details right down to drain covers exactly in place. We stood in the wind tunnel – so much energy used that until they got their own power station they had to inform the local station they were switching it on it uses so much energy! Morally I'm not sure what I think of the whole thing – especially now I have a better picture of quite how small a tip of the iceberg what you see on telly is – very cool though! It does help that one of the Kids' father is the director of marketing when organising such trips!

ps – building cost (Norman Foster Design – almost worth the trip on its own) – a cool £300m.

My wife works at Mercedes Benz world which is a fun day out and only over in Brooklands. Worth a trip.

lots of people seem to think Merc world is MTC… doh! you hear people on the train when it goes past saying ohh that is where Lewis's car is made… erm no.

I went to Merc world a couple of months ago, a good half day out. Spent the next 2 weeks trying to convince the missus we needed a new merc estate….didn't see anything about touring the mclaren factory would have thought it would have been mentioned somewhere if it was available

ps – building cost (Norman Foster Design – almost worth the trip on its own) – a cool £300m.

Agree design is fantastic, but cost a great deal higher than the £300m reported 😉

Anyone know what the new building (for their MP4) is going to look like? Will it, too, be a Norman Foster type bit of loveliness?

Duno, it's just round the corner from me, at the moment it's largely mud with some cranes. I wonder if it'll be a blot on the landscape rather than pretty on the basis that they had to buy a bunch of heathland (well a stinky mushroom farm at least) and gift it to the council in order to get planning permission…

The land was actually gifted to Horsell Common Preservation Society. It was quite a nifty move on McLaren's part for them to get permission to build, plus it stops all talk about building a recycling centre / power station thingy at the mushroom farm.

(I live nearby too. I like the signs they've got up showing the rare nesting "cranes" and the "bull dozer".)

Hanky,

Do you work for Schueco then?