McLaren Celebrates Its 50th Birthday Today

Today, September 2, McLarenMcLarenUnited Kingdom, 1963 > present92 models
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12 videos
celebrates its 50th anniversary since a 26-year-old Bruce McLaren incorporated the company that bares his name in New Malden, Surrey, England.

McLaren had begun racing at 14 when he restored an Austin 7Austin 7United Kingdom, 1933 > present1 photo
at his parents’ service station in Auckland, New Zealand. He moved up the ranks to be second place in the 1957/58 New Zealand Formula 2 Championship. He caught the eye of Australian Formula 1 driver Jack Brabham and was asked to join the CooperCooperUnited Kingdom, 1945 > 19689 models
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F1 team. McLaren won his first F1 race in at the 1959 US Grand Prix.

While the McLaren team was founded in 1963, it did not begin racing in Formula 1 until 1966. Before that, the team prepared cars for the Tasman Series in Australia and New Zealand.

The McLaren team made its F1 debut at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, and it has scored 182 wins in that time. The team also was dominant in the early era of CanAm racing in the US and won at the Indy 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Unfortunately, McLaren lost his life at 32 while testing one its CanAm cars at the Goodwood Circuit on June 2, 1970. The car was testing new rear bodywork, which came off the car at high speed. It suddenly lost downforce and hit a flag station bunker.

McLaren launched its first real road car (a few CanAm cars were converted to road duty by owners when they were done racing) with the F1McLaren F1United Kingdom, 1992 > 19986 versions
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in 1993. The car immediately became a supercar icon with record-setting top speed at the time and famously good handling.

“McLaren started as the dream of one man, and it’s since grown to encompass the hopes and dreams of more than 2000 men and women, who work as tirelessly as Bruce McLaren himself once did to ensure that everything we do reflects well when compared with everything we’ve ever achieved,” said McLaren Group Chairman Ron Dennis.

To celebrate the anniversary, McLaren is holding a party for all of its workers at the McLaren Technical Center. This evening, there will be an exclusive showing of the film Rush, which tells the story of McLaren driver James Hunt during the 1976 season.

If you want to wish McLaren a happy anniversary today, you just need to use the hash tag #Happy50thMcLaren. 

McLaren produced a beautiful, haunting film earlier this year showing Bruce McLaren's ghost walking away from his crash. Watch it below.

20 Years of Perfection: the McLaren F1

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