McLaren MCL 6GT Joins the Past with the FutureMcLarenBruce McLaren once said, "To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one's ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone."56 years after the New Zealander died just before his 33rd birthday while testing a McLaren Can-Am car at the Goodwood Circuit in England, those words ring truer than ever. McLaren is still achieving amazing things, even though the man himself left the scene more than a half-century ago. The racing team he founded is the defending Formula 1 champion, winning both the driver's and constructor's titles in 2025. And McLaren Automotive continues to bring out some of the most beloved road-going supercars in the world.McLarenDuring Monterey Car Week on Thursday, August 13, McLaren Automotive unveiled its latest: the MCL 6GT. The company plans to do a small production run of around 500 customer cars, set to roll out starting in 2028. The GT has a carbon fiber monocoque and bodywork, and while the company is planning a V-8 engine for it, no more information on the powerplant is yet available. But the M6GT will be McLaren's first manual transmission automobile since the F1 of 1992.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe new car's origin story is as engaging as the vehicle itself, as the company has mined its heritage in an effort to supercharge its future. In 1969, Bruce McLaren built a swoopy road car that he drove as his personal vehicle, and he planned to build a network of partnerships and bring out a production run of customer cars. He called this vehicle the M6GT, and photos abound of him driving the thing, which was painted a shade of red as loud as the vehicle's small block Chevy engine. Today, McLaren calls this 1969 supercar "the genesis of McLaren road cars." Bruce McLaren did not live long enough to see his dream of a production run come true. Now, the company has revived it and built a new car inspired by his original vision.McLaren"I knew of the original M6GT," says McLaren Automotive chief design director Kemal Curic, who started at the company just six months ago, after this project had already started. "This was the car that started it all. This was the first dream for Bruce McLaren, that he wanted to create a roadgoing racecar, super-functional, the most comfortable race car for the road, and he was extremely ahead of his time. I always thought to myself, this is the original. This is what McLaren is all about."For maximum impact, McLaren debuted the new car next to Bruce McLaren's original road car, along with 1968 engineering blueprints of what would have been the production car decades ago. Sitting on a dais together, the two machines clearly look like father and son. The MCL 6GT's headlights are inspired by the original, as is the red paint, which one company official simply called "Bruce's Red." Both cars feature dihedral doors. Both have blades built into the bodywork at the back of the doors. Both share the same taillight design (they are cleverly shaped like oval racetracks) and placement of the dual exhaust pipes in the back. Both share what the automaker calls Bruce McLaren's "maverick spirit."McLarenAnd, naturally, both have manual transmissions. The new car's gear shifter is a work of art in itself, a unique unit designed just for this car with exposed titanium shift linkage.AdvertisementAdvertisementMcLaren's goal was not just to realize the founder's dream, but to mainline it with six decades of innovation and technology. "It is symbolic of the bold, provocative and hugely exciting future we are preparing to realize," says the company's chief executive officer Nick Collins. It's hard to imagine any scenario other than a mad dash of McLaren customers around the world lining up to get their hands on one of these cars, if plans to begin selling it in 2028 come to fruition. If Bruce McLaren were alive, he would be 89, and very pleased.You Might Also LikeIf You Can Only Own One Car, Make It One of TheseThese Are the Most Popular Cars by State
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