Five Lesser-Known Facts about McLaren
Renowned for producing innovative racing supercars, the British automaker McLaren was founded in 1963 by driver Bruce McLaren. The manufacturer has created incredibly fast and mechanically impressive cars ever made. McLaren is a household name in every NASCAR team as they are dependent on the brand’s electronics and the company saw its maiden LeMans victory with Bruce McLaren driving the Ford GT40. The company has competed with mainstream supercar automakers like Lamborghini and Ferrari since the introduction of MP4-12C. We, at McLaren Chicago in Chicago, IL, bring you those five lesser-known facts about McLaren in this blog.
- First LeMans victory with Bruce McLaren behind the wheels
McLaren founder Bruce McLaren drove the first Ford GT40 to win the 24 Hours of LeMans racing competition by sharing with Chris Amon. They were the first-ever to win the legendary endurance-focused race in an American car.
- Pioneering Carbon Fiber Chassis
McLaren creates some of the lightest road cars that rely heavily on the company’s racing technology. McLaren is known for developing composite materials that are light and agile to its car. The first Formula One car to feature a carbon fiber monocoque chassis was built in 1981 by McLaren, which saw its first win at the British Grand Prix. The company brought this technology to road cars with its F1 road car.
Read: How Does the 2020 McLaren Senna Provide an Innovative Driving Experience?
- McLaren provides parts supply to NASCAR
NASCAR is the second-largest motor racing after Formula One and McLaren has its hands on both. NASCAR saw a change where carburetors left racetracks in favor of electronic fuel injection in 2012. By the end of 2012, every race car had a McLaren electronic fuel injection and even bagged a five-year contract to supply the ECU and non-mandated parts to engine manufacturers and race teams.
Read: Watch the 2022 McLaren GT in Action
- Bruce McLaren tried a road car before Murray’s F1
F1 is renowned as the first production road car of McLaren. But Bruce McLaren had already tried building a road-legal race car even before Murray’s F1. Bruce wanted to make a road-going version of the championship-winning race car – M6A Can-Am, for the 1969 series. After facing an initial setback, Bruce revived the project by building a road-going prototype by mixing an M6B chassis with an M6 GT body and a BARTZ-tuned Chevy engine. He used the M6GT as his daily driver’s car and it was speculated for mass production. It could not happen as Bruce McLaren died on June 2, 1970.
- Animation TV series produced by McLaren
Many might not be aware of this, but McLaren has once produced an animated TV series with three seasons. The cast included drivers Jenson Button, and Fernando Alonso along with British racing commentator Murray Walker. The fun and entertaining three-season series consisted of thirty episodes for McLaren’s YouTube channel and was aired on Sky Sports 1 TV before the Grand Prix events.
Read More: What was the McLaren cartoon called?
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