McLaren celebrate 50 years at Goodwood Festival

Goodwood Festival of Speed

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It is 50 years since Bruce McLaren founded his racing team. McLaren enjoyed success in Can-Am, IndyCar, Le Mans – an above all Formula One.

The team brought a collection of their cars to the Goodwood Festival of Speed including some of their most successful machines.

McLaren M1A (1964)

Bruce McLaren began building racing cars in 1963. This 1964 sports car began the McLaren racing car dynasty. Examples with Oldsmobile and Chevrolet (5.7-litre V8) engines appears at Goodwood; the car was also built to accept Ford power plants.

McLaren-Cosworth M7A (1968)

Bruce McLaren achieved the rare great of winning a Grand Prix in a car bearing his own name at Spa-Francorchamps in 1968, at the wheel of a Cosworth-powered M7A.

McLaren-Chevrolet M8D (1970)

McLaren dominated the spectacular Can-Am series with the M8D. But tragically the team’s founder was killed while testing one of the cars at Goodwood in 1970.

McLaren-Cosworth M23 (1974)

With the M23 McLaren enjoyed sustained success in the mid-seventies. Emerson Fittipaldi defected from Lotus to drive the car in its second year of service and delivered the title. Following his departure at the end of 1975, James Hunt took it to another title after an epic duel with Niki Lauda. That chapter in the M23’s history is told in the forthcoming film Rush.

McLaren-Offenhauser M16C (1974)

McLaren scored two triumphs at the Indianapolis 500 with the turbo-powered M16. Johnny Rutherford’s 1974 win was scored with a factory-run car, unlike Mark Donohue’s 1972 victory for Penske.

McLaren-Honda MP4-4 (1988)

McLaren enjoyed a successful run with Porsche power in the eighties. But its F1 apogee came in 1988 with the devastating Honda-powered MP4-4. Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost laid waste to the opposition, winning all bar one of that year’s 16 races.

McLaren-Peugeot MP4-9 (1994)

After Honda’s 1992 departure McLaren spent a year using Cosworth engines, then tried and rejected a switch to Lamborghini power. Peugeot came on board for 1994 bit the partnership was not a success: McLaren endured their first winless season since 1980. The following year Peugeot were replaced by Mercedes.

McLaren F1 GTR (1995)

While their F1 team endured a fallow spell McLaren scored their first win in another classic race: the Le Mans 24 Hours, ironically using a race version of their iconic ‘F1’ road car. JJ Lehto, Yannick Dal and Masanori Sekiya were the drivers.

McLaren-Mercedes MP4-13 (1998)

A rewrite of the F1 aerodynamic regulations and the hiring of Adrian Newey from Williams put McLaren back on the path to championship success. This is their most recent car to win the constructors’ championship.

McLaren-Mercedes MP4-23 (2008)

Ten years later McLaren’s home-grown hero Lewis Hamilton won the drivers’ title in his second season, having narrowly missed out in his rookie campaign.

McLaren MP4-12C GT3 (2013)

The latest racing derivative of a McLaren road car compete in GT racing.

McLaren P1 (2013)

The P1 is McLaren’s successor to the iconic F1, and will be one of the top performing road cards in the world when it goes on sale. It goes up against Ferrari’s latest top-of-the-line model – the LaFerrari.

Goodwood Festival of Speed

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Images © F1 Fanatic / Joris Meuffels

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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17 comments on “McLaren celebrate 50 years at Goodwood Festival”

  1. Keith, what tyres are they using? They look like rain tyres?

    1. They are. I imagine it’s because the wets don’t need to be pre-heated to work effectively.

    2. The tires on the M23 almost remind me of dirt track oval racing tires.
      http://hostingbytes.us/images/3/6869494.jpg

      1. that’s the way those tyres were back in the day.

  2. Mark McDonald
    14th July 2013, 19:55

    How I would love to see McLaren race an orange car in 2014!

    1. Well, Mclaren already have a lemon in 2013.

      1. Haha great one!

        On a more serious note, I can picture a “Gulf” Mclaren F1…

      2. warning : graphic images may cause the viewer to gape at the screen . Fantastic pictures :O

  3. M1A I want one. Please.

  4. 1990’s F1 cars were so beautiful.

  5. who is driving the MP4-23? Is that an old pic?

    1. @webbo82 Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren development driver and current points leader in Formula Renault 3.5.

      1. Thanks Keith. The helmet reminded me of a former McLaren driver!
        Anyone else wish drivers would use something other than these ‘distinctive’ yellow helmets?!

  6. Is there a reason why McLaren have removed all the Marlboro branding? I can see the other cars still have their tobacco sponsors on so I’m curious why McLaren don’t have theirs

  7. Indeed… F1 cars are beautiful! Also to be so close and hear the engines rumbling! Sublime! I nearly passed out after I saw Senna’s car and the one Lewis Hamilton won his 2008 championship driving his heart out to the very limit to the last corner! ;-) I’m so happy i did ‘threaten’ my Dad to bring me there, he must have been thinking within himself why daughter was going so mad!!
    I like this sport but the Pirelli talk is ruining it, tyres it’s all about tyres! I miss F1 seasons like 2007 or the year after! Drivers were always on the edge! sigh1

  8. Second driver of the winning McLaren F1 GTR at Le Mans in 1995 was Yannick Dalmas.

    Thanks for the great photos. :-)

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