Bruce McLaren’s earliest competitive driving experience came at the wheel of a modified 1929 Austin Ulster. Bought in bits by his father who had planned to restore and sell it, 13-year-old Bruce convinced him they could turn it into a race car.

Involved in every stage of the Ulster’s restoration, the experience proved vital for the future race car designer. Two years later, in his race-prepared Ulster, 15-year-old Bruce set the fastest time in the 750cc class at the Muriwai Beach hill climb.

Having left New Zealand for England, Bruce’s Austin Ulster was housed in a small museum until 1989, when it was found and bought by the McLaren Group. Maintained in original condition, the little legend now takes pride of place alongside its faster and more illustrious successors on the boulevard at the MTC.

  Designed and hand built by Robin Herd and Bruce McLaren, the M1B was the official 1965 McLaren team car. Painted a distinctive red, the all-alloy prototype made its debut at the Canadian Grand Prix. Leading for 96 of the 100 laps, Bruce and the M1B had to settle for second place after a thrilling battle with Jim Hall. 

   A major turning point in McLaren’s fortunes, the M6A was the most successful car Robin Herd designed for the team in 1967. One of the finest handling machines of its time, the M6A helped Bruce and Denny Hulme dominate the 1967 Can-Am series, winning five out of six races.

The M6A was also the first McLaren to be painted in the team’s trademark papaya orange – or McLaren Orange as this definitive hue became known.

Designed by Robin Herd and Gordon Coppuck, the elegant M7A was the first McLaren powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV engine. Second in the Constructors’ title in ’68, the impressive M7A won the Italian and Canadian Grand Prix with Denny Hulme at the wheel. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Bruce emulated Jack Brabham as the second man ever to win a Grand Prix race in a car bearing his own name.

Successive Cam-Am victories brought funds into the company, and Bruce – always more than a driver – was keen to test his skills as an innovator, designer and entrepreneur. Bruce’s intention was to build the ultimate sports car, and to build it to the highest specification possible. An approach echoed decades later with the awe-inspiring McLaren F1 project.

As a McLaren, the proposed car would be based on the latest developments in race car engineering. It would also be the fastest road car in the world, and the fastest accelerating. Bruce used the prototype M6GT on his commute to work and to attend race meetings. Sadly, the dream to build 250 production cars a year died with Bruce.

The M16’s radical wedge shape, while familiar in Formula 1™, caused astonishment at Indianapolis. The Gordon Coppuck design, however, proved ideal for the continuous high-speed running that characterised Indy racing.

In all its various guises, the M16 concept would go down in motorsport history as one of the most successful cars in the long and illustrious history of the Indianapolis 500. Competing in 11 races and taking three victories, four second and two third places, it laid the foundations for an astonishingly fruitful adventure for what was still a small team.

Arguably the most significant car in McLaren’s long history, the John Barnard designed MP4/1 was the first carbon composite Formula 1™ car. Light, strong and stiff, the carbon construction methods introduced by Bernard produced the greatest single contribution to driver safety of any innovation in the sport’s history.

Top ten finishes at the start of the season showed promise. By the Spanish Grand Prix, driver John Watson had found his form. A third in Spain and second in France was followed by a win at the British Grand Prix. It was McLaren’s first victory in 4 years, and the first ever win for a carbon composite race car.

When Watson crashed the MP4/1 doing 140mph at Monza, the controversy surrounding carbon fibre’s safety was put to rest. The car split in half. The engine and gearbox were torn off, but the carbon monocoque structure remained in tact. Unscathed, John Watson walked away.

After five test laps in the new MP4/4, Alain Prost told Team Principal Ron Dennis the car would win the World Championship. It won 15 out of 16 races. Senna won 8 races to take the World Championship. Senna and Prost also took first and second place an astonishing 10 times.

In the Constructors’ Championship McLaren accumulated a phenomenal 199 points. Almost three times the tally of the runner up and just two points off the combined total of every other team on the grid.

According to Neil Trundle, McLaren’s Chief Mechanic, the MP4/4 was the perfect package. Lightweight, outstanding downforce, highly efficient brakes, fantastic suspension and a fabulous V6 Honda engine made it McLaren’s best-ever car.

Beautiful to look at and exhilaratingly quick, the record slaying McLaren F1 changed super car history. A technological masterpiece, it was the world’s first carbon fibre road car, the world’s fastest production car and is still the fastest naturally aspirated road car ever built.

Chief designer Gordon Murray and his handpicked team deliberated every millimetre of the F1’s design to create the world’s most thrilling car. Light, strong, safe and aerodynamically sublime, the legendary F1’s engineering was so far ahead of its time that its engineering highlights still feature on today’s McLarens.

McLaren was born and raised on the track, so it was inevitable that we would create a race-ready version of the F1. Modified slightly from the road car, the F1 GTR was entered in Le Mans in June 1995, and achieved a feat no other debutant manufacturer has ever managed. As well as winning, McLaren dominated the podium and occupied four of the top five places. In just 24 magical hours, the greatest supercar of its generation had become the most successful British race car of modern times.

The 12C was the first McLaren designed and built production car since the legendary F1. A pure McLaren, its innovative design and Formula 1™-sourced technologies made it one of the most versatile and potent supercars on the road.

Refined in the city and unmatched on the track, the 12C was built around a superlight carbon MonoCell and pioneered McLaren systems such as Brake Steer, Proactive Chassis Control and active aerodynamic technologies. It also featured a bespoke, McLaren designed engine and stunning dihedral doors.

Intelligent, adaptive and astoundingly quick, the McLaren P1™ is the ultimate expression of our aerodynamic expertise. Sculpted by the wind and engineered to perfection, it’s the most adaptive, responsive and stimulating road car the world has ever seen.

Using world-class Formula 1™ technology, the McLaren P1™ changes its form to optimise its function. The result is a peerless driving experience that is so responsive the car feels like it’s alive.

You feel the thrill of the drive, sense the connection to the road, hear the twin-turbo V8 roar as it hits peak rpm. But it all started with a blank piece of paper and our engineers wondering how they could make the perfect sportscar.

The 675LT features striking carbon fibre bodywork that increases downforce by an astonishing 40 percent over any other model in the Super Series.

Performance is similarly striking. The re-engineered M838TL V8 twin-turbocharged engine produces 675PS (666bhp) and 700Nm (516lb ft) – increases of 25PS (25bhp) and 22Nm (16lb ft) – and the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is now twice as fast.

With the lightest weight in its class and the highest power to weight ratio, it delivers super car punch and thrills that would shame many more expensive rivals.

Smart stowage areas offer carriage for necessary items, while a generous luggage capacity ensures that you can take everything for that weekend getaway.

The 570GT’s panoramic roof makes the roofline slightly taller than the standard 570S, and stretches back further to the rear to offer extra stowage, more headroom and more comfort for longer journeys.

The beating heart of the 720S is a new and fearsomely powerful M840T engine with 720PS. Press the start button and the twin-turbo V8 comes alive with a potent growl that ignites your senses and focuses your mind. Bathed in vibrant red light, every part of this 4.0-litre unit is refined to maximise power, sharpen responses, and increase fuel efficiency.

The front of the 570S Spider is strikingly low, creating a poised stance that emphasises the mid-engined layout. The crisp contours of the bonnet pierce the air and channel it over fluid, sculpted surfaces towards the side intakes and rear of the car.

The McLaren Senna is the personification of McLaren’s DNA at its most extreme, creating the purest connection between car and driver. It is the most track-focused road car we have ever built, and it will set the fastest lap times of any McLaren to date.

Inspired by one of McLaren’s greatest racing drivers, the McLaren Senna is utterly dedicated to allowing the driver to be the best they can possibly be.

To push performance and driving to the absolute edge. This is not a car for the faint-hearted. This is a track animal let loose on the road. Our new sportscar benchmark. The fastest, most powerful and most extreme – yet road legal – Sports Series. Ever.

This is a car for those who see more… who look beyond convention and seek out the extraordinary. The 720S Spider is a full-throttle supercar with a retractable roof – all in one beautifully honed package.

With a pioneering 1070PS hybrid powertrain at its core. It brings together unprecedented levels of innovation and elegance to create a new benchmark in automotive design. And offers owners extraordinary opportunity for bespoke personalisation.

Just like every McLaren that has earned the LT name before, the 600LT Spider is aggressively aerodynamic and obsessively light. In fact, its unique carbon fibre MonoCell II chassis is so light and strong that no extra stiffening was needed to maintain the incredible levels of performance and agility.

In the new GT, these key ingredients are reinvented and applied in new, innovative ways. Then combined with power and performance that is undiluted McLaren. To create the lightest, quickest accelerating car in its class. A Grand Tourer has never been so thrilling. So refined. So engaging.