--- title: "McLaren Partners With Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works To Do…Something" description: "It's currently unclear what the relationship will produce, but the fact that McLaren is partnering with Lockheed Martin is pretty wacky." date: "2022-12-13" modified: "2022-12-13" authors: - name: "Peter Holderith" job_title: "Contributor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/peter-holderith" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/mclaren-partners-with-lockheed-martins-skunk-works-to-do-something" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Manufacturing" - "McLaren News" - "News" - "News by Brand" --- # McLaren Partners With Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works To Do…Something ![]() *\McLaren\* Automaker McLaren is in a near-constant [perpetual state of losing money](). Despite its financial woes, it decided now is the time to enter a partnership with none other than Lockheed Martin's high-tech, high-speed development group called [Skunk Works](). In a statement, the British automaker said the partnership “will focus on deploying a new Skunk Works’ design system, developed for the world of aviation, into the realms of high-performance, cutting-edge automotive supercar design.” McLaren said Skunk Works uses a suite of software to develop aircraft prototypes rapidly—or at least McLaren says it does. I'm not sure what a group like Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works could reasonably share about these engineering processes with any automaker, let alone a foreign automaker. Despite this limitation—they don't mention it, of course—the company wants help from Lockheed Martin to translate this alleged system [into cars](). Exactly what sort of project the Skunk Work's technology might be leveraged upon isn't clear. It seems like the partnership is still in its early days. Despite this, we can safely assume that it will be a supercar. McLaren [only makes supercars](), for now. ![]() **McLaren** Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works has developed a slew of cutting-edge aircraft over the past several decades including the first operational American jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star; the fastest operational air-breathing jet ever, the SR-71 Blackbird/A-12; as well as the first operational stealth military aircraft, the F-117 Nighthawk. More recently, it helped to develop the F-22 Raptor as well as the F-35 family of aircraft. It's getting an unusual amount of mainstream press lately due to its role in assisting in the development of [the Dark Star](), a hypothetical hypersonic aircraft in the movie *Top Gun: Maverick.* The physical mockup is very real, but not capable of flight. The Skunk Works says its capabilities are real, though, and that it used cutting-edge design/engineering techniques to build it. The organization's willingness to play ball with the civilian world in *Top Gun* might've been what gave McLaren the idea to pursue a partnership with the company. ![]() **McLaren** Limitations on what Lockheed might be able to share with McLaren aside, the fruits of a partnership between a legendary automaker and an equally legendary aerospace organization will be interesting. Will world-class aircraft design techniques translate into cutting-edge road cars as we've never seen before? Well, when there's a new McLaren with a cartoon skunk on the back, we'll find out. *Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: peter@thedrive.com* ## Author Peter Holderith is a former staff writer for The Drive. He enjoys covering the regular news cycle, writing reviews, and hunting down long features on obscure pieces of automotive history. ### Author social links [LinkedIn]() [Twitter]()