McLaren hires Frank Stephenson as its new head of design

It has been a long time since Gordon Murray, father of the McLaren F1, left the British firm in 2004, leaving a project unfinished, in addition to having produced one of the most famous and fastest supercars of the 90s. Now, McLaren has decided that Frank Stephenson will be the one to succeed him and possibly complete the development of the P11.

Stephenson had just left the same post at Alfa Romeo in April, and if the name doesn’t ring a bell, the models whose designs he was responsible for will. During his time at the Fiat group, he left behind the successful 500 and the new Mi.To, as well as the Ferrari F430 and the 612 Scaglietti. He also took part in designing the Mini Cooper.

Frank Stephenson is Moroccan but grew up in Spain, and was a student at the renowned Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, which has produced designers of the caliber of Chip Foose and Chris Bangle.

Now, his task is to continue the legacy Murray left behind, and the focus is on that project which is currently on hold, in order to keep the brand’s name alive now that it has separated from Mercedes-Benz. The P11 is rumored to feature a mid-mounted V10 engine, rather than a V12 like the F1, to make it smaller and lighter than its predecessor.

This means its rivals will be more models like the F430 or the 911 GT2, and not others at the level of the Bugatti Veyron. Although in reality, as is already being speculated, the true rival it will face is Mercedes-Benz, which already has future weapons in development.

Via | Motor Authority