Lamborghini, McLaren and Others Help During Coronavirus Pandemic

Lamborghini re-commissions design departments to manufacture surgical masks and and plexiglass medical face shields while McLaren and other Formula One Race Teams work to create ventilators to help local hospitals during Coronavirus pandemic.

As it stands there is barely a country that coronavirus has not affected. According to data collected by John Hopkins University, at least 938,000 people have now been infected globally and deaths due to coronavirus have surpassed 47,000.

In these unprecedented times, companies like Lamborghini and McLaren have put down their tools for building supercars and F1 racing vehicles and are instead turning their attention to the immediate needs at hand.

Over in Sant’Agata Bolegnese, Italy, one of the hardest hit countries, Automobili Lamborghini have been re-commissioning  design departments to instead produce surgical masks and protective plexiglass shields that will be donated to the Sant’Orsola-Malpighi Hospital in Bologna.

Under normal circumstances the saddlery department are responsible for producing the detailed Alcantara interiors of Lamborghini models like the Aventador or Huracán but will now be looking to produce 1000 surgical masks per day while both the Research and Development team and the carbon fiber production plant are aiming to produce 200 3D printed protective plexiglass medical face shields.

In a statement Stefano Domenicali, Chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, said: “During this emergency, we feel the need to make a concrete contribution. The S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital is an institution with which we have had a collaborative relationship for years, through both professional consultancy in promoting programs to protect our workers’ health, and in research projects. We will win this battle together by working in union, supporting those who are at the forefront of fighting this pandemic every day.”

The Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences will oversee validation testing of the medical devices made by Lamborghini prior to their delivery to the hospital.

Meanwhile, over in the UK a consortium that includes engineering teams and specialists from companies like Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Formula 1 Racing teams including Mclaren, Mercedes AMG, Red Bull Racing, HAAS, Racing Point, Renault and Williams Racing are all working hard to produce 30,000+ much needed ventilators for the government as part of the VentilatorChallengeUK.

The consortium brings together a significant number of UK industrial, technological and engineering firms from across the automotive, aerospace and medical industries to develop and produce medical grade ventilators that can be produced quickly, to help hospitals cope with the increasing demand of patients in need of assisted breathing aid.

Dick Elsy who chairs the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium and is the CEO of High Value Manufacturing Catapult Companies (a group of manufacturing research centres in the UK) shared, “This consortium brings together some of the most innovative companies in the world. Every day, their highly-skilled staff collaborate to create solutions that help millions of people, and this project is no different. They are working together with incredible determination and energy to scale up production of much-needed ventilators and combat a virus that is affecting people in many countries. I am confident this consortium has the skills and tools to make a difference and save lives.”

Companies and Groups involved include:

• Airbus

• BAE Systems

• Ford Motor Company

• GKN Aerospace

• High Value Manufacturing Catapult

• Inspiration Healthcare Group

• Meggitt

• Penlon

• Renishaw

• Rolls-Royce

• Siemens Healthineers and Siemens UK

• Smiths Group

• Thales

• Ultra Electronics

• Unilever

• UK-based F1 teams: Haas F1, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Racing Point, Renault Sport Racing, Williams

Key enablers:

• Accenture

• Arrow Electronics

• Dell Technologies

• Microsoft

• PTC