New McLaren dealership opens in Melbourne

British sports-car brand McLaren has shifted into new premises in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond.

Setting up on Swan Street, literally right next door to Lamborghini, the new exclusively McLaren retail outlet supersedes the shared premises from which the brand was formerly sold, in City Road South Melbourne.

"This really demonstrates the growth and the ambition that we have as a company – and how we see Australia really being a part of that," said George Biggs, Managing Director for McLaren Automotive Asia Pacific, during the official opening today.

"So having this stand-alone facility, with the see-through that we can get into the workshop really starts to demonstrate to our customers the dedication and commitment that we show in terms of looking after their cars, also servicing them and making sure that we can sell the cars in the right way, and make sure that the experience is correct.

"Australia really does form a part of Asia Pacific's fundamental strategy. We have a large interest in how the Australian market's moving. We've been very pleased with the response we've had from the customers, and we're certainly very happy with how we've performed so far."

On display for the official opening were the 570GT and two customer cars – a heavily optioned 675LT and an original F1 GTR, which is believed to be one of just two in the country... and the only one actually complianced and registered for the road.

At the rear of the open-plan retail area is a glass wall fully revealing the facility's three-bay workshop, emulating the see-through areas of McLaren's Production Centre located in Woking, England.

Being a brand sold in Melbourne by the Zagame Automotive Group, McLaren's new premises is in the same block as Ferrari and Maserati – and Lamborghini, as noted above. In coming months Zagame will also bring Aston Martin into the same cluster of prestige brand outlets.

Asked whether being located in such close proximity to its rivals was a benefit or a hurdle for the brand, Geoff Tink, McLaren marketing manager for the Asia/Pacific region, told motoring.com.au during the opening that the company doesn't see those other brands as direct competitors.

"For us, we're very happy to be here, and we know where we sit," he said. "We do think we have a very unique product offering, but we don't necessarily find that we compete directly with some of our competitors anyway."

Tink didn't rule out a stand-alone dealership in Sydney, where the existing operation – McLaren's first dealership in Australia – is run by Trivett. But there's no sign that McLaren will open doors to a second such premises within the immediate near future.

"Time will tell... [but] not in the next 12 months," he said.

"A stand-alone dealership is a real commitment from a car dealership... and the Zagame Group has really shown confidence in the brand, to build this facility."