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,
Woking, England, UK
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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 | McLaren Group |
| Divisions |
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McLaren Automotive is a British company that makes amazing luxury sports cars. It's based in Woking, England, at the McLaren Technology Centre. The company designs and builds its cars in its own special factories. Since 2017, McLaren Automotive has been a full part of the bigger McLaren Group.
Contents
History of McLaren Cars
How it Started
McLaren Automotive was officially launched in 2010. Before that, there was a company called McLaren Cars, which started in 1985. This earlier company created the famous McLaren F1 car in 1992. For a while, McLaren Cars wasn't actively making cars, but then McLaren Automotive was formed to bring new life into car production.
Bruce McLaren's Dream
The story of McLaren really begins with its founder, Bruce McLaren. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1937. Bruce learned a lot about cars and engineering at his parents' workshop. By the time he was 15, he was already racing cars!
In 1958, Bruce came to the United Kingdom to race in Europe. He joined a small racing team called Cooper Cars. Just a year later, in 1959, he won his first Grand Prix race at only 22 years old, becoming the youngest winner at that time. He continued to win many races, including the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.
Bruce McLaren started his own company, Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, in 1963. A year later, they built their first real McLaren race car, the M1. This car helped McLaren become a big name in racing, especially in the Can-Am championship, where they won many times. In 1965, the first McLaren Formula One car, the M2B, made its debut.
Sadly, Bruce McLaren died in a car accident in 1970 while testing a new car. He had big dreams for making fast sports cars for the road.
Growing the Company
In 1980, Bruce's company joined forces with Ron Dennis's Project 4 Racing team. This merger brought in a designer named John Barnard, who wanted to use a new material: carbon fibre. This strong, lightweight material was used in airplanes but never in a full racing car body. McLaren was the first to use carbon fibre in Formula 1 with their MP4/1 car. This made the cars much stronger and safer for drivers.
In 1988, Ron Dennis and Gordon Murray started to develop a new road car. In 1992, they launched the incredible McLaren F1. Only 106 of these special cars were ever made.
After working with Mercedes-Benz for a short time on the SLR McLaren, McLaren Automotive became its own car maker again in 2010. They launched the 12C car in 2011, and a convertible version in 2012. Then came the amazing P1 hybrid supercar, which was made from 2013 to 2015.
McLaren decided to release a new car or model every year. They introduced the 650S in 2014 and the Sports Series cars like the McLaren 570S and 540C in 2015. They even made a special version of the P1 for children!
Where McLaren Works
McLaren Automotive is based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. This is also where the rest of the McLaren Group is located. Right next to it is the McLaren Production Centre, where the cars are built. These two buildings are connected by an underground walkway. The production center is partly underground to blend in with the landscape.
In 2017, McLaren started building a new facility called the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Rotherham. This center builds the carbon fibre parts for future McLaren road cars. This helps McLaren have more control over how these special parts are made and allows them to design new parts faster. The MCTC officially opened in 2018.
McLaren Cars and Their Plan
McLaren's first car built specifically for the road was the F1. After the F1 production ended, McLaren didn't make road cars for a while. They returned to the market in 2010 with McLaren Automotive and released the 12C in 2011.
In 2015, McLaren introduced a new way of organizing their cars into three main groups: the Sports Series, Super Series, and Ultimate Series.
- Sports Series: These are the entry-level cars, like the 570S and 540C.
- Super Series: These are McLaren's main models, like the 720S.
- Ultimate Series: These are the most high-performance and exclusive cars, like the P1, Senna, and Speedtail.
The names of the Sports and Super Series cars are usually based on their engine power.
Current McLaren Models
| Model | Year introduced | Series | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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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 unique sports car with a V8 engine and no roof or windshield! |
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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, combining power and efficiency. |
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750S | 2023 | Super | A powerful V8 sports car. This is McLaren's last model to be powered only by a gasoline engine. |
| GTS | 2023 | GT | A V8 grand tourer, designed for comfortable long journeys as well as speed. | |
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Solus GT | 2023 | Ultimate | A V10 sports car made only for racing on a track, not for public roads. |
Working with Others
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
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In 1999, McLaren teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to design and build a special car called the SLR. Mercedes-Benz provided the engine for McLaren's Formula One team, so they decided to work together on a road car too. The final assembly of 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, a special "722 Edition" was released, which was even more powerful. Later, a convertible version was also made. The very last SLR produced was a limited edition called the SLR Stirling Moss, named after the famous racing driver.
McLaren's Special Teams
McLaren GT
McLaren GT is the part of McLaren Automotive that focuses on sports car racing. It was created in 2011 to develop and support all of McLaren's race cars for the track. This team designs and builds cars like the 720S GT3 and 570S GT4.
Their first race car was the 12C GT3, which started racing in 2012. McLaren GT customer teams have won many races and championships around the world. For example, in 2016, a McLaren GT team won the famous Bathurst 12 Hour race in Australia.
McLaren Special Operations
McLaren Special Operations (MSO) is McLaren's special division for making custom cars. It officially started in 2011, but its roots go back over 20 years. MSO grew out of a program that helped McLaren F1 owners maintain and personalize their cars. Today, MSO helps customers create unique McLaren cars that are truly one-of-a-kind.
See also
In Spanish: McLaren Automotive para niños
- Aston Martin
- McLaren F1
- McLaren F1 Team
