Ian Gorsuch interview - McLaren MP4-12C Australian launch
"Pushing the edge beyond the edge"
McLaren Automotive's MP4-12C has been the most keenly anticipated high performance car for some time. With the initial production run, including the Australian allocation, already sold out, the MP4-12C looks set to be just as iconic as its 'F1' predecessor. Ian Gorsuch, McLaren Automotive's Regional Director for the Middle East, Africa & Asia-Pacific was present for the Australian launch of the MP4-12C on May 5, and spoke to JUST CARS about the car, the company and more.
JUST CARS (JC): You've been with McLaren Automotive for almost two years now. Can you tell us how the position came about and what the role has entailed over the past two years?
IAN GORSUCH (IG): Basically, (McLaren Automotive) are doing something that no-one else has ever done before, which is not only launch a car and build a factory, but also set up an international dealership network of 35 dealers in 19 countries. My role is to set up the meeting teams, and then with the meeting teams I've recruited, then to implement the dealerships that we've appointed in my area, which is Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. It does mean that my team and I spend most of our time on the move. Weekends don't really exist and there's a lot of late nights, but it's been very exciting, very engaging.
JC: You joined McLaren Automotive shortly after Ron Dennis, formerly of the McLaren F1 team, was announced as Chairman. Have you had much contact with Ron and what's been your impression of him?
IG: Yes, I've had a few meetings with him. You go in, you get your message across. He asks questions, you answer briefly and succinctly. If you want something from him, you make your pitch - briefly and succinctly - and you instantly get a decision. So it's actually very refreshing to have someone like Ron. At McLaren, we don't have a lot of time for peripheries. We have to focus on getting the job done, and that's Ron's way.
JC: Has the Australian reception to the MP4-12C and McLaren in general been everything you could have hoped for so far?
IG: Yes. It's pretty much been in keeping with the experience we've had elsewhere. Here, we've had our first exposure to the customers and prospects today, but even before we launched the car here, we're sold out well into 2012.
JC: On your role, have there been many challenges in finding those 'right' dealer partners and building the McLaren brand?
IG: Yes, that's been a challenge. I think our biggest challenge has been finding the right people and the right dealers. We seem to have got it right so far. Someone was doing some analysis the other day and worked out that to get to our 35 dealer partners worldwide, we've had over 700 business meetings. So, we've gone through a very thorough process in appointing our dealerships. In our way of working, we want to be very different from a lot of other people, we're very open with them. We see it very much in the spirit of partnership, so we have to find the right people who could not only do the job right, but also have the same sort of "chemistry" and "wiring" as us.
JC: Getting on to the 12C, the initial reports all seem to agree it's a winner. With that box ticked, do you feel McLaren will be under additional pressure to ensure the next model releases are as good, if not better?
IG: The people that challenge us the most are ourselves. We don't look at our competitors and say 'we can do better than them at this', because the best makers of a Ferrari are Ferrari, the best makers of a Lamborghini are Lamborghini. What we do is make McLaren road cars, not our version of someone else's car, so we challenge ourselves to achieve the very best. Therefore, future models will reflect that challenge we give to ourselves, to be better and better.
JC: Can you give us a preview of what the next model McLaren road car will be?
IG: All I can say is that we're launching a business that's going to take us a long, long way into the future, and you can't do that with one model. It has to be viable, not only for ourselves, but also for our dealer partners. Therefore, we will have multiple models and multiple derivatives. The key to the model range is that they will be all be carbon chassis, mid-engined, two seat, high performance sports cars. They will look distinctive and they will do slightly different jobs, but that's all I can say really!
JC: Looking ahead to the future of McLaren Automotive, form your perspective what do you think will be the important things to focus on and get right in the coming two to three years?
IG: The ownership experience. I know it's a phrase that every manufacturer says, but we understand that no matter how good the car is, it's the whole dealership and ownership experience. That includes how they're looked after while they're on a waiting list, how they're looked after when they're ordering the car. To give you an example, many manufacturers launch (a new model) with two or three colours, because they don't want complexity at launch. We're launching with seventeen colours, and then you can choose any bespoke colour. The way the (McLaren) customer can configure the car to make it bespoke for themselves is much wider than the competition, so we're using that to engage with the customers. Then there's the ownership experience when they have the car. Our research showed that one of the big frustrations with the high-performance car market is that customers hate being told the dealer is waiting for parts. So we're making sure our dealers, before the first car is delivered, have 100 percent of parts in stock, so they're not going to be waiting for parts, either. We know that the first car is bought because the media and so on tell them how good the car is, but they won't buy another car if the ownership experience is not good. We're breaking into the market that's dominated by really good people, with well-established, emotionally-engaging brands. So we have to be better in every way to keep breaking into that market.
JC: That leads into my next question. The MP4-12C will inevitably be compared to Ferrari, Lamborghini and so on. What do you think the McLaren offers that those existing brands don't?
IG: We don't look at them and say 'we can build better than them.' We're building a McLaren, not a McLaren version of a Ferrari. But I think the thing that will most engage people who are used to those brands is the car's usability. It sounds rather bland, but compared to a Ferrari 458, for example, the MP4-12C is faster, lighter and more powerful. It's rarer. But the thing that will most impress is how wonderful it is to drive, not only on the open road and on the circuit, but also through town, where a lot of owners will drive them. It's actually very relaxing. That's due to a unique suspension system that's not found on any other car. It's relaxing and it's as easy to drive and as comfortable to drive as an executive saloon. So that's the thing that'll make people go 'gee, I can really use this car every day.'
JC: Going back to your past experience in the automotive field, you spent time in a similar Regional Director role with Bentley. How much of what you learned there have you been able to transfer across to the McLaren experience?
IG: In the luxury segment, emotion is a big part of the buying psyche. You have to engage people emotionally. You can't do it formulaically, you can't do it by doing one job well. You have to do so many jobs very, very well to emotionally engage people at that luxury level. So I think that's the biggest thing I learned.
JC: Coming back to the McLaren MP4-12C, can you give us a snapshot of what you think the 'typical' 12C buyer is, if indeed there is such a thing?
IG: What we've found is that they tend to be very well educated on the technologies in the car. They've done their research. They tend to be people who are not just buying a 'badge'. They ask pretty thorough questions, they really engage with the technology and understand it.
JC: Finally, if you could some up McLaren Automotive in a word or a phrase, what would that be?
IG: Pushing the edge beyond the edge. Using technology in a way that's usable.
All images courtesy of Lucas Boyd Photography.
