Tag Archives: McLaren

McLaren Racing & McLaren Automotive Get a New Look

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Both companies share heritage, but no longer common ownership

By Gary S. Vasilash

Although this is a bit tricky in terms of names and history, McLaren was founded in 1963 by Bruce McLaren as an F1 racing team, Bruce McLaren Motor Racing. It had a name change in 1981 to simply McLaren Racing.

McLaren Cars was established in 1985. It had a name change to McLaren Automotive in 2010.

McLaren Group, an umbrella organization, was established in 1985, encompassing both operations.

However. . .

In March 2024 McLaren Group was acquired by Baharain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat Holding Company.

In December 2024 CYVN Holdings, based in Abu Dhabi, purchased McLaren Automotive. So it is out of the Group but the racing team is still in the Group.

All of that said, McLaren has revealed a new brand identity that encompasses both McLaren Automotive and McLaren Racing.

There continues to be the boomerang like Speedmark:

But there is a new wordmark, which is based on a sign that was used at Bruce McLaren’s parent’s service station in Remuera, Aukland, New Zealand:

In announcing the new visual identity both firms made statements:

“There is something uniquely special about McLaren. Throughout our history, we’ve never been content to follow established paths. We’ve always looked ahead, driven by a restless desire to innovate, create and push beyond expectations. This evolution of our visual identity captures that spirit. It’s a reflection of the journey we are on as a company. It marks the beginning of a new chapter for McLaren, giving a physical expression to the ambition, creativity and forward momentum that is shaping our future.”
David Woodhouse, Chief Creative Officer, McLaren Automotive

“McLaren has evolved enormously over the years, but looking back through our shared history across Racing and Automotive, it’s poignant how much of Bruce’s original vision and spirit still runs through the business today. This evolved identity perfectly bridges that proud heritage with our future ambition. It celebrates the symbols and stories our fans, partners and team mates already know and love, while giving us a more connected expression of where we’re heading next. It feels unmistakably McLaren.”
Lou McEwen, Chief Marketing Officer, McLaren Racing

It is interesting how the two companies, owned by different companies, apparently continue to share a notion of what they are about.

Bruce McLaren, incidentally, died in 1970 while testing his team’s new McLaren M8D Can-Am car at the Goodwood Circuit.

He was 32.

Money for Mass or Specialized? (Or Maybe No One.)

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Where will the UK government put its funding?

By Gary S. Vasilash

McLaren Automotive produces amazing rolling sculptures that (1) go exceedingly fast and (2) cost a non-trivial amount of money.

Supercars.

Not your run-of-the-road hybrid: the McLaren Artura (price tag: ~$237,500). (Image; McLaren)

Like all OEMs, McLaren is pursuing electrification.

Its CEO, Michael Leiters, thinks that the UK, where McLaren is based, needs to do more to facilitate the creation of a supply chain that would be more EV-intensive:

“Today, our hybrid McLaren Artura powertrain has 64% UK content. If this car was a pure EV, the UK content of the powertrain would reduce to 13% because we cannot currently source the relevant componentry in the UK,” Leiters says.

He argues that because the UK has specialization in vehicles that are at the top end—“Today it remains home to some of the world’s most admired performance car brands, as well as the majority of Formula 1 racing teams”—it would be beneficial were the UK government—which, incidentally, will get a new leader on July 4—to develop a plan for electrification:

“A clear industrial strategy, led by investment in the domestic supply-chain, will deliver growth, support jobs, help decarbonise the economy and secure a vibrant future for the UK performance car industry.”

Metaphorically waving the Union Jack:

“We must harness the skills, knowledge and ingenuity of the UK motorsport and performance car industry to create a global, high-performance centre of excellence.”

Leiters points out:

“UK-based luxury and sports car brands command tremendous pricing power thanks to their rich histories, intrinsic brand value and class-leading performance attributes.

“As a result, the productivity gross value added of McLaren employees is 51% higher than that of the UK automotive manufacturing sector as a whole.”

But here’s the thing:

McLaren sold just over 2,000 vehicles in 2023.

Highly productive McLaren workers notwithstanding, it probably isn’t making the Chancellor of the Exchequer overly exercised.

Leiters also pointed out:

“The UK was once the world’s largest vehicle exporter.”

While that’s not going to happen again, the question that should be asked by the next UK government is whether it should be investing to benefit the supercar manufacturers in the country or create a supply chain so that companies like Stellantis, which threatened earlier this week that it may stop producing vehicles in the UK (among its brands are Vauxhall, which was founded in London in 1857) due to EV rules, would consider it better to build in Britain than not.