McLaren Celebrates 50 Years of Racing in 2013

McLarenMcLarenUnited Kingdom, 1963 > present92 models
1883 photos
12 videos
is celebrating 50 years of racing history since a 26-year-old Bruce McLaren founded the company that bears his name. For this year, McLaren's factory racing crews will wear at patch with "McLaren 50" to celebrate the anniversary. It is also planning a celebration on September 2 for the anniversary. 

It will reveal the 2013 MP4-28 Formula 1 car with Jenson Button and Sergio Perez on January 31. 

McLaren entered Formula 1 in 1966 and has taken 182 wins, 155 poles and 151 fastest laps in its career. It also took its 58th consecutive points-scoring finish in 2013, which is a record in Formula 1. 

The team entered what became CanAm series in 1964 and won consecutive championships from 1967 to 1971. It won 43 races in its history in the series. 

McLaren entered the Indy 500 for the first time in 1970 and won the race twice in 1974 and 1976. 

The McLaren F1McLaren F1United Kingdom, 1992 > 19986 versions
21 photos
brought the brand back to sports car racing. It won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Its latest car the MP4-12CMcLaren MP4-12CUnited Kingdom, 2009 > present15 versions
46 photos
6 videos
returns McLaren to the auto marketplace with a McLaren-branded car. It is already available as a coupeMcLaren MP4-12CUnited Kingdom, 2012 > present544 photos
and convertibleMcLaren MP4-12C SpiderUnited Kingdom, 2012 > present10 photos
1 video
, and the GT3McLaren MP4-12C GT3United Kingdom, 2011 > present1 photo
2 videos
version is in its second year as a customer racing car. It took 19 race wins worldwide in 2012.

McLaren showed the supercar successor to the F1, the P1McLaren P1United Kingdom, 2012 > present3 photos
, last year, and it plans to put the car on sale in 2013. The car will push the limits of supercar design with a complete carbon fiber chassis and body and active aerodynamic elements. 

Over time McLaren has become as much of a component supplier as a racing team. Its ECUs are used in Formula 1, the Indycar Series and NASCAR. 

“Bruce McLaren wrote the beginning of the story, and the legend is going to continue for many years to come. I’m only a chapter, not the book, and I want other people to come in and write their own chapters as time goes by," said McLaren Executive Chairman Ron Dennis.