McLaren Automotive, the high performance sports car manufacturer based at the home of McLaren’s world-famous Formula 1 racing team, has unveiled ambitious plans for the Middle East region.

The company is seeking retailers in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the countdown to the 2011 launch of the first in its range of next-generation road cars.

Ian Gorsuch, who has been named McLaren Automotive’s regional director for the Middle East and Africa, has already begun the process of setting up the regional office.

He is appointing a retail network across the Middle East to market its range of relatively low-volume, lightweight, technologically advanced sports cars.

Gorsuch said he was excited about the challenges ahead. “This is a terrific opportunity to launch a new range of high-performance sports cars in a territory that will be a major market for McLaren Automotive,” he remarked.

"There is huge appreciation among the region’s car aficionados for these types of models, linked to a huge interest in motorsport," he stated.

McLaren Automotive is also looking at the possibility of establishing a service centre in Lebanon to provide support for owners who might want to ship their cars to the country for the summer months.

The Middle East is on track to host McLaren Automotive’s first regional retail network, bringing to the market what is expected to be one of the world’s most desirable cars.

"The new range of high-performance sports cars will share the same headquarters that today hosts over 50 years of McLaren motorsport and performance sports car heritage, from Bruce McLaren’s 1954 Austin 7, to the record-breaking and legendary McLaren F1 road car of the ‘90s, and the most successful supercar ever in its price bracket, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren."

McLaren is the leading name in the world of motorsport. Since its foundation in 1963, it has won all major motor races, including Le Mans and the Indy 500.

Most notably, it has become one of the most successful teams in Formula 1 history, winning 12 drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ titles, counting such greats as James Hunt, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen and Lewis Hamilton among its drivers—world champions all.

McLaren Automotive also has a rich and seamless heritage in producing premium sports cars for the road.

The McLaren F1 road car, which was launched in 1992, set the world land speed record for a production car, and is regarded as one of the best examples of supercar exotica. A recent example sold for £2.5 million pounds at auction.

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, one of the fastest cars on the streets today, is also the most successful, with over 2,000 cars sold since its 2003 launch.

The SLR signs off this year with the Stirling Moss model, the most extreme version of the hand-built supercar and, with a run of just 75 models (all pre-sold to existing SLR owners), one of the rarest cars on the planet.

“Our aim for the network is quality over quantity. We recognise that there has been a tendency for dealer service to have been lacking in this region," Gorsuch noted.

"We want to offer every one of our customers the level of service that matches the performance of our cars. McLaren Automotive plan to stand out from its competitors in all aspects of its business," he added.-TradeArabia News Service