What's the news?

An order for composite body and trim components worth £15 million is going into production at Prodrive - the biggest composites contract in the company's history. The work is being done for an unnamed supercar from 'one of the world's most prestigious vehicle manufacturers'. In order to fulfil this and other recent orders an additional 40 production technicians have been recruited and are being trained.

Dominic Cartwright, managing director of Prodrive Composites, described the complexity, size and finish required as being something that only a handful of companies could deliver. Cartwright added, "Our long term relationship with this customer and successful track record of high component quality, technical support and reliable delivery timing has led to our selection as a key technology partner."

The most complex component being manufactured is the front body assembly, which brings together parts from sixteen separate pieces of tooling to form a single structure. Producing interior parts with a particular, tactile surface finish has led to the development of a new proprietary technology described as a first for a production vehicle interior.

Anything else?

There have been plenty of new supercars announced recently that use composite body and trim parts. In particular the LaFerrari has a very complex-looking front end but it is possible that other vehicles such as the new Pagani Huayra could be even more intricate under the skin. Closer to home, Prodrive has an established relationship developing competition cars and running the race programme for Aston Martin. We may never know who Prodrive's customer is, but it does represent good news for UK manufacturing and we're not complaining if it means there's a new supercar too.