Otto Explains — Brand History
The History of McLaren
Short Answer
McLaren began as a racing team. Bruce McLaren, a racing driver from New Zealand, founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing in Britain in 1963 and planned a road car, but he died in a testing accident in 1970. McLaren Cars presented the F1 road car in 1992, McLaren Automotive was formed in 2010 to build a full range of sports cars, and since April 2025 the road-car company has belonged to investors from Abu Dhabi, separately from the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team.
Who was Bruce McLaren?
Bruce McLaren was a racing driver from New Zealand. As a 13-year-old he assembled a modified Austin Ulster, and in 1958 he came to Europe to race. In September 1963 he founded his own company in Britain, Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd, which McLaren describes as the company that evolved into today’s McLaren. His team entered Formula 1 at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix.
How did racing shape McLaren’s early years?
Racing came first. The M6A dominated the 1967 Can-Am sports car series and introduced the Papaya Orange colour still linked with McLaren. In 1968 Bruce McLaren won the Belgian Grand Prix in the M7A, and became the second driver to win a Grand Prix in a car bearing his own name.
What happened to Bruce McLaren’s road-car plan?
In 1969 Bruce McLaren built the M6GT, a road-legal version of the M6A racer, and drove the prototype, registered OBH 500H, himself. He agreed with Peter Agg of Trojan to build 250 cars. On 2 June 1970 Bruce McLaren died in a testing accident at Goodwood, in a Can-Am car, seven years after founding his team. The road-car plan ended with him: only one M6GT and two Trojan customer prototypes were built.
How did McLaren change from 1980?
On 18 December 1980 Ron Dennis merged Team McLaren with his own company, Project Four, to form McLaren International. Project Four had developed the MP4/1 of 1981, the first Formula 1 car with a moulded carbon-composite monocoque. TAG Group invested in McLaren in 1984, and in 1988 the MP4/4 won 15 of 16 races and both Formula 1 championships.
How did McLaren start building road cars?
The idea came in 1988, when four McLaren racing directors waiting for a flight home from Milan discussed building the ultimate supercar. Ron Dennis gave a small team the go-ahead in 1990. McLaren Cars presented the McLaren F1 at the Sporting Club in Monaco on 28 May 1992, as the first McLaren production model, with Gordon Murray as technical director. The F1 was built from 1993 to 1998.
What did McLaren build with Mercedes-Benz?
McLaren’s automotive division built the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren from 2003 to 2009, around a carbon fibre monocoque. It was presented at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show and was the first car assembled at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, which opened in 2004.
When was McLaren Automotive created?
McLaren dates the formation of McLaren Automotive to 2010. Its first car, the MP4-12C, had been announced on 9 September 2009, when McLaren Automotive was described as the independent car division at the McLaren Technology Centre. The first production 12C was built there in early 2011, ahead of the new McLaren Production Centre next door. By 2015 the company had organised its cars into the Sports Series, Super Series and Ultimate Series, and it sold 1,654 cars that year.
How did McLaren’s ownership change after 2017?
In June 2017 a new holding company, McLaren Group, agreed to buy Ron Dennis’s shares after his 37 years at the helm; the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company and TAG Group remained the majority shareholders. Michael Leiters led McLaren Automotive from July 2022. In April 2025 CYVN Holdings, an investment company based in Abu Dhabi, completed its purchase of McLaren Automotive and combined it with the British start-up Forseven in a new McLaren Group Holdings, led by Nick Collins.
Is McLaren Automotive the same company as the McLaren Formula 1 team?
No. The Formula 1 team, McLaren Racing, is a separate business that grew from the team Bruce McLaren founded; it won the 2025 Formula 1 Constructors’ title. McLaren Group Holdings, established in April 2025, brings together McLaren Automotive, McLaren Licensing and a minority stake in McLaren Racing. The two still share history and a site: McLaren road cars are assembled by hand at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, on the campus that is also home to McLaren Racing.
Where does McLaren Automotive stand today?
In September 2026 McLaren named its shareholder as L’IMAD, a sovereign investor of the Government of Abu Dhabi, and announced a £500m investment in Britain. The plan includes engines and transmissions designed and built in-house for the first time, a new assembly plant and a performance SUV. McLaren also revealed a new brand identity shared with McLaren Racing, and the McL 6GT concept, a tribute to the M6GT, with a production version planned for 2028. Its range already combines combustion and hybrid power; Otto explains the difference in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric cars explained.
Common Questions
- When was McLaren founded? In September 1963, when Bruce McLaren founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd in Britain. McLaren Automotive, the road-car company, dates from 2010.
- Who owns McLaren cars today? Investors from Abu Dhabi. CYVN Holdings completed its purchase of McLaren Automotive in April 2025, and in September 2026 McLaren named its shareholder as L’IMAD, a sovereign investor of the Government of Abu Dhabi.
- Where are McLaren cars made? They are assembled by hand at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, England. Carbon fibre structures come from the McLaren Composites Technology Centre in the Sheffield region.
- Why is McLaren orange? Papaya Orange was introduced on the M6A, the car that dominated the 1967 Can-Am series.
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