UK car company ‘plunges into administration’ – made McLaren F1 car in 1980s

A UK car firm that worked with top brands such as Aston Martin, Bentley and McLaren has reportedly fallen into administration in a shock blow. HPL Prototypes Limited is a design and engineering company that specialises in the manufacture of concept vehicles and prototypes.

The company works in “state-of-the-art studios”, with HPL listing top manufacturers among their previous clients. According to the firm, major car companies such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lotus and McLaren have been among customers. Although under different ownership at the time, the famous McLaren F1 sportscar was constructed in the same complex.

According to the London Gazette, HPL Prototypes Limited appointed administrators on Tuesday, March 3. However, the news was only shared in the Gazette on Friday morning. According to LinkedIn, the brand has anywhere between 51 to 200 employees, but no details on any job cuts have been revealed at this stage.

However, HPL has previously stated that their staff are “highly skilled engineers and craftspeople” with “unparalleled” collective experience in the motoring industry.

The brand claims to be adept at “delivering a wide variety of programs from pre-concept phase through to completion”. HPL said they can also supply some low-volume bespoke component systems through their manufacturing capabilities.

The business site at Windmill Industrial Estate, Birmingham Road, Allesley, Coventry, has a special place in motoring heritage. The complex was the centre for the Triumph Le Mans team during the 1950’s, before becoming home to the brand’s prototyping division from 1960 to 1980.

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After this, MGA developments manufactured iconic cars at the site, including the stunning McLaren’s F1 concept car. Lotus Prototype Cars also put together the brand’s M250 at the site during the 1990’s before HPL took ownership of the complex in 2000.

Since then, HPL has worked on a range of similarly exciting projects, and was involved in the creation of the Rolls-Royce Dawn Tonneau and Avant Solo models.

Away from motoring, HPL was also involved in the creation of the Smithford fountain centrepiece constructed to celebrate Coventry’s City of Culture status in 2021.

Express.co.uk has contacted HPL Prototypes Limited for further comment.