McLaren Automotive facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 2 December 1985 (as McLaren Cars) 2010 (as McLaren Automotive) |
| Founder | Ron Dennis |
| Headquarters | McLaren Technology Centre, |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Products | Sports cars |
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Production output
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 2,188 units |
| Parent | CYVN Holdings |
| Divisions |
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McLaren Automotive is a British company that makes amazing luxury sports cars. It is based in Woking, England, at the McLaren Technology Centre. The company is owned by CYVN Holdings LLC, which is part of the government of Abu Dhabi.
Contents
The Story of McLaren Cars
How McLaren Started
McLaren Automotive started in 2010. Before that, it was called McLaren Cars, which began in 1985. McLaren Cars made the famous McLaren F1 car in 1992. For many years, McLaren Cars was a "sleeping" company, meaning it wasn't actively making cars. Then, in 2010, McLaren Automotive was created to bring new energy and investments into making cars.
Bruce McLaren: The Founder
The person who started the original McLaren racing team was Bruce McLaren. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1937. Bruce learned a lot about cars and engineering at his parents' workshop. When he was just 15, he started racing cars.
In 1958, Bruce came to the United Kingdom to race in Europe. He joined the Cooper Car Company, a small racing team. A year later, he joined their Formula One team. At 22, he won his first Grand Prix race, becoming the youngest winner at that time! He also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966.
Bruce McLaren started his own company, Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, in 1963. A year later, they built their first race car, the M1. In 1965, the first McLaren Formula One car, the M2B, raced for the first time. Sadly, Bruce McLaren died in 1970 while testing a race car.
Growing and Changing
In 1980, Bruce's company joined with Ron Dennis's Project 4 Racing team. This merger brought back a designer named John Barnard. He wanted to use a new material called carbon fibre to build race cars. McLaren was the first to use carbon fibre in Formula 1 cars. This made the cars much stronger and safer for drivers.
In 1988, Ron Dennis and Gordon Murray started to design a new car. In 1992, they launched the amazing F1 car. Only 106 of these special cars were ever made.
After working with Mercedes-Benz on the SLR McLaren, McLaren Automotive became its own car company again in 2010. They launched the 12C car in 2011. Then came the limited-edition P1 from 2013 to 2015.
McLaren decided to release a new car or model every year. They showed the 650S in 2014 and the new Sports Series cars, the 570S and 540C, in 2015. They even made a special P1TM car for children in 2016!
In December 2024, CYVN Holdings bought McLaren Automotive. This deal helped McLaren financially and allowed them to start building their first electric supercar. In April 2025, CYVN merged McLaren with Forseven, an electric vehicle company. This merger, now called McLaren Group Holdings, helps McLaren make more types of cars, not just supercars. They can now compete with other big names like Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Where McLaren Cars Are Made
McLaren Automotive is located at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. This is where the whole McLaren Group is based. The McLaren Production Centre, where the cars are built, is right next door. These two buildings are connected by an underground path. The production center is partly underground to blend in with the landscape.
In 2017, McLaren also started building a special center in Rotherham called the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC). This facility builds the carbon fibre parts for future McLaren road cars. This helps McLaren control how these parts are made and design them faster. The MCTC officially opened in November 2018.
McLaren Car Models
McLaren's first car built just for the road was the F1. After making the F1, McLaren Automotive took a break from building road cars until 2010. That's when they launched the MP4-12C, later just called the 12C, in 2011.
In 2015, McLaren created a system to organize their cars into three main groups: Sports Series, Super Series, and Ultimate Series. Later, they added the GT Series.
- Sports Series: These are entry-level McLaren cars. Their names often include numbers like 570S or 540C, which relate to their power.
- Super Series: This is McLaren's main group of cars. The 720S is a well-known car in this series.
- Ultimate Series: These are the most high-end and powerful McLaren cars. The P1, Senna, and Speedtail are examples from this series.
- GT Series: This series includes cars designed for grand touring, like the McLaren GT.
Current McLaren Models
| Model | Year introduced | Series | Description | |
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Senna | 2018 | Ultimate | A super fast sports car with a powerful V8 engine. |
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Elva | 2020 | Ultimate | A sports car with a V8 engine, known for its open-top design. |
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Speedtail | 2020 | Ultimate | A hybrid sports car with a V8 engine, designed to be incredibly fast. |
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Artura | 2020 | Sports | A hybrid sports car with a V6 engine. |
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750S | 2023 | Super | A powerful V8 sports car. It's McLaren's last model to use only a gasoline engine. |
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GTS | 2023 | GT | A V8 grand tourer car, great for long drives. |
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Solus GT | 2023 | Ultimate | A V10 sports car made only for racing on a track. |
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W1 | 2025 | Ultimate | The new car that takes the place of the P1. |
Working with Other Companies
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
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In 1999, McLaren worked with Mercedes-Benz to design and build the SLR car. The final steps of making the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren happened at the McLaren Technology Centre.
The SLR had a powerful 5.5-liter V8 engine. It could go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 3.8 seconds! In 2006, they released the SLR 722 Edition, which was even more powerful. A special convertible version came out in 2007. The very last SLR made was called the SLR Stirling Moss, honoring a famous race car driver.
Special Divisions at McLaren
McLaren Customer Racing
McLaren Customer Racing is the part of McLaren Automotive that focuses on sports car racing. It started in 2011 to build and support McLaren race cars for customers. This division makes cars like the 720S GT3 and 570S GT4.
Their first race car was the 12C GT3, launched in 2011. In 2012, 25 of these cars were delivered to racing teams across Europe. These teams won 19 races in their first year! In 2013, McLaren GT customer teams won 23 races and three championship titles. The 650S GT3 was a very successful race car in 2016, winning important races like the Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia.
McLaren Special Operations (MSO)
McLaren Special Operations, or MSO, is McLaren's special division that customizes cars for owners. It officially started in 2011, but its roots go back over 20 years. MSO grew from a program that helped maintain and personalize the original McLaren F1 cars for their owners. They make each car unique for its buyer.
See also
In Spanish: McLaren Automotive para niños
- Aston Martin
- McLaren F1
- McLaren F1 Team
