McLaren Production Centre opened by Prime Minister David Cameron

His visit marked the official opening of the McLaren manufacturing plant, which is to create 700 jobs, likely rising to 1,000 in the coming years. (Video shows McLaren Group executive chairman and McLaren Automotive managing director Ron Dennis present the new McLaren Production Centre; the birthplace of all future sports cars from McLaren Automotive.) The £50 million state-of the-art factory, based on the outskirts of Woking, Surrey, will provide the platform for the Formula One car maker's road cars, putting it in direct competition with companies such as Lamborghini and Ferrari. McLaren has already produced 100 of the MP4-12C sports car models, which have a minimum starting price of £168,000. The initial run of 100 has already been shipped to customers across the world, including Japan, America and Germany. The company has plans to produce 4,000 of these vehicles by 2015, however. McLaren hopes to create a new model every year from the new Woking factory. Ron Dennis, referring to the country's industrial heritage, said: "In the UK, there has been an over-reliance in the past on the financial and service sectors. Now, industry is realising that Britain's grand manufacturing tradition is a solid platform upon which to build – and I want the McLaren Group to play its part in the crucial recalibration of UK plc. "I'm delighted that the government is embracing that initiative too: we need to encourage young people to embrace the STEM subjects, by which I mean, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "This should not trigger the abandonment of the arts – of which I am also a keen patron. However, I firmly believe it is the role and duty of British industry to offer STEM graduates the appropriate destination jobs – the provision of a worthwhile career path that ensures that our brightest scientists, technicians, engineers and mathematicians aren't lured into finance or banking – simply because they feel that engineering cannot compete to offer equal satisfaction or reward." Image: L to R - Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, David Cameron and Ron Dennis