Woking based McLaren races ahead of rivals as its road car sales surge

McLaren saw strong demand for its road cars in the first three months of the year despite the crisis facing the rest of the car industry.

After eight years of building cars to drive away from the race track, the Woking-based group built 1289 vehicles in the first quarter, with revenue up 17% on a year ago.

Its 20,000th car rolled off the production line this month. Demand was strong in all regions although economic conditions in the Middle East continued to be weaker, the company said.

The group said it hoped sales would accelerate with the launch this month of its £165,000 McLaren grand tourer.

Overall group turnover including racing rose from £241 million to £284 million with underlying profit rising from £8 million to £22 million.