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Ian Gorsuch has a vision ... one day he will have a grandson who will cut out a picture of his dream car and stick it on his bedroom wall.
That car will be a McLaren.
Mr Gorsuch, 50, may be some way off from realising his dream; for one thing, babies and nappies are currently the last thing on the minds of his children - Charles, 22, and Olivia, 20 - who are busy studying at university in the English Yorkshire city of Leeds.
So, whilst he and his wife, Jo, may have to wait a while until they become proud grandparents, dad will be motoring on to ensure the high-performance sports car becomes what every young child will dream of one day owning.
"And, when that moment happens I'll feel so good about having been at the very start of the adventure," he said shortly after the press conference last week at the Capital Club at Bahrain Financial Harbour, as he lit a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial cigar.
Moments earlier McLaren Automotive had announced the establishment of its regional head office in Bahrain. All distributor-side management, marketing and support functions for the premium sports car manufacturer will be managed from its new Manama office.
The British car company, which was launched in March, will begin sales in 2011 with the MP4-12C.
With only a few weeks to go before the company announces its first dealerships in the region, Mr Gorsuch, McLaren Automotive's newly-appointed regional director for the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, said the company had chosen the kingdom for its regional office for a number of strong reasons.
The link up with Bahrain comes as no real surprise; GulfWeekly suggested this outcome several months ago. Mr Gorsuch admitted: "With a Formula One racetrack, an excellent business environment and its close proximity to one of our major shareholders, Manama was the obvious location for our regional head office."
The Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir has hosted the Gulf Air Grand Prix for the past seven years and has excellent facilities for performance testing and hosting events. Last year, McLaren Automotive subjected its 12C-prototype to hot-weather testing in the dust and humidity of the Gulf summer. Testing was conducted at the BIC as well as on the island's desert roads as part of the million miles of testing that also takes in other extreme conditions such as the Arctic cold.
Also, the competitive cost and ease of setting up in the kingdom, in addition to the attractive lifestyle offered by Bahrain, were major factors in deciding on establishing the office in the kingdom, he added. On the whole, it was felt that the Bahraini commerical environment was 'very conducive' to doing business on the island.
And, with Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the kingdom's investment company, having a 42 per cent stake in McLaren Group as well as a 50 per cent stake in McLaren Automotive, the kingdom was considered 'a home away from home' by the company. As such it made good business sense to be based nearby to maintain close contact between the two partners.
"This is a very positive decision by McLaren Automotive," said Mr Gorsuch, who now lives in Adliya. "We have had close links to the island for some time through our partnership with Mumtalakat, and last year successfully conducted hot-weather testing for the forthcoming 12C here. And now we will be able to take further advantage of the number of excellent opportunities that come from establishing an office in Bahrain."
The Middle East is McLaren Automotive's first regional retail network and Mr Gorsuch brings with him a wealth of experience from the premium car market. The former British Army officer was regional director for Bentley, based in Dubai, for 10 years before a short foray into the hospitality sector as vice-president of a hotel group before being headhunted for the McLaren position.
He is now responsible for appointing retail partners to market the exclusive cars while assembling a sales and marketing team at the company's new regional base.
The new range of high performance sports cars will be launched with an initial annual production of 1,000, increasing to around 4,000 when the range is complete. These cars will be mid-engined and highly-efficient, the designers say.
There are currently more than 2,000 'validated' (which for the layman means that they have been checked out and can well afford a car likely to cost in the region of BD100,000) customers registering an interest.
McLaren Automotive will soon be announcing its retail partners in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE once Mr Gorsuch is convinced that they can provide the 'highest levels of customer service' ensuring that the brand stands out from its competitors.
