It was The Beatles' George Harrison who suggested that Ganesha would make suitable logo for Lanzante. The Hindu deity with an elephant's head is said to bring luck- not that Lanzante appears to need it, judging by its salubrious Hampshire headquarters. Ganesha is also believed to be the remover of obstacles, which might have more direct relevance to the elite car restoration and preparation business. Nothing seems to be too difficult or beyond the small band of technical wizards and artisan engineers who populate this place.
Lanzante is a familiar name, sewn into the rarefied, telephone-numbers-for-budgets end of the British car industry. But beyond its association with McLaren, we don't know a great deal about it so we've invited ourselves down to Petersfield to set that right.
We meet Dean Lanzante, son of founder Paul, who has run the business for the past 15 years.
Select is the word to describe Lanzante's work. "On full-scale projects, we do one a month," says the boss. Servicing McLarens remains core: "Last year, we had 25 F1s through here." th
There's ambition here, as well as a deep knowledge and passion for fast cars and motorsport - and, as we discover, a refreshing lack of a grand plan. What exactly does Lanzante do? The short answer is a bit of everything.
"My father started the business in the late 1970s, restoring and preparing historic cars," says Lanzante. "I joined in 1993, and two years later we had expanded into modern GT racing, running a Porsche 911 GT2. Prior to that, we had done some stuff for McLaren, before McLaren Heritage was formed. We restored two Indycars and a Can-Am car. When we failed to get an entry for the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours, McLaren approached us. They had a car and an entry, we had the truck, pit equipment and team kit, so we merged to run the car at Le Mans. And obviously the result was what it was."
Esta historia es de la edición March 29, 2023 de Autocar UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición March 29, 2023 de Autocar UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
MG 4
An EV changes your driving style - but not to the detriment of pleasure
PEUGEOT E-208
Time with our French hatch is up. Is it good riddance or au revoir?
In the hot seat
Is the best automotive job in the world actually in miniature scale? Hot Wheels' design boss assures STEPHEN DOBIE it is
Correcting the record
Autocar invented the road test back in 1928 - or did we? KEITH JONES trawls the past to find the true starting point
Road test rebooted
As the Autocar road test forges into its second century, its brief is expanding and it's returning to a familiar place. MATT SAUNDERS explains
Cyber attack
MG is back on the international stage and now trying to return to its sports car roots. MATT SAUNDERS sees if the Cyberster EV can match up to a rival from the present and a relation from the past
KIA PICANTO
As rivals fall by the wayside, Kia's popular city car gets a makeover
MASERATI GRANTURISMO
Latest coupé in a long line of Maserati GT cars hits the UK with V6 power
PORSCHE CAYENNE GTS COUPE
New V8 model gets all the goodies
TOYOTA PRIUS
Back by popular demand with a cool new look and greater driver appeal