介绍:
Aston Martin and McLaren Speed merchants
How two similar carmakers evolved into a luxury-goods firm and a tech company
FEW countries are as adept at making luxury cars as Britain. Plutocrats and footballers queue to buy Rolls-Royces and Bentleys. Speed freaks in want of a sports car are also well served. At the Geneva Motor Show, which opened on March 1st, two leading British supercar firms launched pricey new models to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini: Aston Martin unveiled the DB11 (pictured) while McLaren showed off its 570GT. The two brands offer similarly expensive toys, yet under the bonnet are very different firms.
1 adept |əˈdept| 内行的；熟练的；擅长的 2 plutocrat |ˈplu:təkræt| 有钱有势的人；财阀 3 rolls-royce [ˌrəʊlz ˈrɔɪs] 劳斯莱斯，adj 最佳的 4 Bentleys 宾利 5 Speed freaks 速度崇拜症
6 Geneva Motor Show [dʒiˈni:və] 日内瓦城 7 pricey (informal) expensive 昂贵的 Ferrari 法拉利 lamborghini 兰博尼基8 unveil |ˌʌnˈveɪl| 解开 9 bonnet [ˈbɒnɪt] （用带子系于颏下的）童帽，旧时女帽引擎盖
The pair are alike in some respects. Both make only a handful of vehicles. McLaren turned out just 1,650 last year; Aston around double that. An entry-level Aston costs nearly £100,000 ($140,000), whereas the cheapest McLaren costs another £30,000, but their flagship models cost around £150,000-200,000. Each firm has built hypercars that sold for around £1m. And both have recently announced expansion plans, to take advantage of a sales boom at the top end of the car market (IHS, a consulting firm, reckons that global sales of the priciest cars will triple between 2010 and 2020). Aston will open a new factory in Wales to make SUVs; McLaren plans to spend £1 billion over six years to widen its range to 15 models and 4,000 cars a year.
The two have taken different routes to this destination. Aston, 103 years old, is well known thanks to the James Bond films but has struggled of late. It was a “basket case” which limped from one car to the next, losing money, according to its boss, Andy Palmer. Since taking over in 2014 Mr Palmer has won backing from private-equity firms to launch four new models and struck a deal to use Mercedes engines.
1flagship 旗舰 （某组织机构的）最重要产品，最佳服务项目，主建筑物，王牌 2 hypercars 超级跑车 3 reckon |ˈrekən| 估算;估计 4 basket case 经济状况极差的国家（或机构).精神失常的人；无适应能力的人 5 limp |lɪmp| 瘸着走；跛行；蹒跚 6 private-equity 私募股权 7 mercedes 默西迪丝（女子名）; 梅塞德斯（奔驰） 8 triple [ˈtrɪpl] 三倍的 9 sport utility vehicle 运动型多功能车；运动型多用途车 10equity [ˈekwəti] 股票的; 股市的
By contrast, McLaren’s sports-car business took off only six years ago. Though it had made road cars in small numbers it was mostly known as a Formula 1 motor-racing team. McLaren diverted its British engineers, good at the speedy innovation and advanced manufacturing needed for racing, to making sports cars.
1 divert |daɪˈvɜ:t| 使转向；使绕道；转移
A glance at the cars gives a clue that they do things differently. McLarens are wild-looking mid-engined sports machines that harness the firm’s skills in engineering to adapt racetrack materials, such as carbon fibre, and high-tech gizmos to make a car as at home on the circuit as the open road. Aston’s DB11 is more conventional. An aluminium body and engine at the front are typical of a “grand tourer”, designed to whisk drivers in comfort over long distances on public roads.
1 clue 线索;提示 2 harness |ˈhɑ:nɪs| 控制 利用； 给（马等）上挽具；用挽具把…套到…上 n 背带，保护带。 3 racetrack |ˈreɪstræk| 跑道，赛道。4 carbon fibre, 碳纤维; 碳化纤维;
5 gizmo |ˈgɪzməʊ | 小玩意小装置 6 aluminium |ˌæljəˈmɪniəm | 铝的 7 grand tourer高性能豪华旅游车 8 whisk [wɪsk] 匆匆带走；迅速送走 搅打，搅动（液体、鸡蛋等）
Aston is first a “design company”, says Mr Palmer. Performance and handling are important but the aim is to make the “most beautiful car on the road”. To do so Aston has remodelled itself as a luxury-goods firm, emphasising design and craftsmanship that are a British speciality, while trying to extend the brand. The Welsh factory will make the DBX, an SUV that Aston hopes will broaden its appeal, especially among women, who buy few of its cars.
1 craftsmanship |ˈkrɑ:ftsmənʃɪp | 手艺；技艺 2 speciality 专业；专长 British speciality 英国特色 3 the abbreviation for sport utility vehicle 运动型多功能车；运动型多用途车
4 appeal 吸引力；感染力；魅力
McLaren, meanwhile, strives to make its cars the most technically advanced. Last year the firm renamed itself the McLaren Technology Group to emphasise the importance of innovation. Although racing and supercars will remain important, Ron Dennis, the firm’s boss, is convinced that its tech business will be its biggest and most important part in years to come. It already serves oil-and-gas, health-care and financial-services firms. Using skills honed in analysing the vast quantities of data generated by motor racing, it is developing analytics software for the likes of GlaxoSmithKline and KPMG.
1 strive 努力；奋斗；力争；力求 2 hone |həʊn |磨练，训练 3 analytic |ˌænəˈlɪtɪk| 分析的分析型的
Both carmakers are in the business of hurtling drivers towards 200mph. Yet with their respective focus on luxury and advanced engineering, they are relying on contrasting British strengths.
contrasting 极不相同的，迥异的 hurtle |ˈhɜ:tl| （向某个方向）飞驰，猛冲
