RACING HERITAGE
STEEPED IN HISTORY
STEVE NICHOLS - CO FOUNDER AND TECHNICAL DIRECTOR NICHOLS CARS LTD
As a teenager, Steve had wanted to be a F1 designer. The path wasn't obvious as a young man growing up in Utah. This meant a degree in aeronautical engineering and a first job at Hercules designing rocket motors and familiarising himself with a new material, carbon fibre, years before its introduction in motorsport.
Steve then spent two spells at Mclaren. The first bringing his experience of carbon fibre to the McLaren MP4/1, working alongside John Barnard in a design department initially consisting of just three people! When John left to go to Ferrari he became Chief Designer and saw at first hand the triumphs and tensions of the Senna/Prost pairing, whilst also acting as Ayrton's race engineer.
Nichols was the Chief Designer of the McLaren MP4/4, the most successful car of all time which won 15 out of 16 races during the 1988 season in the hands of the legendary Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Steve followed Prost to Ferrari, but returned to McLaren several years later at the request of CEO Martin Whitmarsh in a broad and hugely satisfying role covering all aspects of the F1 team.
A direct link with Ayrton Senna can be seen in the car. The gear lever comes from his 1989 Monaco-winning car. Production versions of the N1A will feature a design inspired by this item.
“When I was looking for a project to keep me amused in my old age, the idea of taking a fresh look at the very first McLaren, the “M1A”, had great appeal. Initially intended as a prototype but time and registered interest has meant pursuing it with the aim to turn it into a beautifully finished vehicle worthy of my design philosophy.”
