Michael Satterfield
McLaren Automotive is returning to the historic Monterey Car Week, starting August 15, 2016, with the U.S. debuts of the McLaren 570GT road car, the 570S GT4 race car and new activations which will showcase McLaren’s strong heritage and current model line-up. This is the seventh year McLaren Automotive will have a significant presence at The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, bringing enthusiasts and owner’s together year-after-year since 2010, when McLaren used the venue to show the concept form of its first modern-era road car.
Over the course of Monterey week, McLaren will introduce the US to the 2017 570GT with several examples of the car to be found around the peninsula. The car will make an appearance at McCall’s Motorworks Revival on Wednesday evening. It will then be on display and doing drives at the McLaren Driver Experience Thursday – Saturday, followed by a presence at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday.
The new McLaren 570S GT4 race car will also be displayed for the first time on U.S. soil. The latest McLaren race car, which already has one race win to its name, is currently completing the final development stages in real-world race environments in Europe and is eligible for all GT4 competition globally with customer teams for the 2017 season. In Monterey, it will be shown alongside a McLaren P1TM GTR and M8F Can Am race car on August 17 at McCall’s Motorworks Revival at the Monterey Jet Center. This trio will also appear August 19 at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, as a result of a partnership with the Petersen Automotive Museum.
Beginning Thursday, August 18, at the Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, McLaren Automotive will host The McLaren Driver Experience, providing 30-minute 570S and 570GT test drives along Laureles Grade Road for prospective owners and enthusiasts*. The Bernardus Lodge will also house an array of iconic heritage race cars, several of which will all have their engines started at various times during The McLaren Brand Experience hosted by Amanda McLaren, daughter of founder Bruce McLaren. The heritage cars include:
- M2B/1– 1966 – Formula 1™, the very first McLaren Formula 1™ Grand Prix car.
- M8D/4 – 1970 – Can-Am Championship, an evolution of the Can-Am Championship-winning M8B that won all 11 races through the previous season, crowning Bruce McLaren as Champion for the second time and completing a clean sweep of three successive Can-Am Constructors Championships.
- M23A/9 – 1975 – Formula 1™, the car that led Emerson Fittipaldi to his second Formula 1™ Drivers’ Championship and gave McLaren its first Constructors Championship.
- MP4-2/2 – 1984 – Formula 1™, which won three Drivers Championships and two Constructors Championships and is still considered the most successful chassis in Formula 1™ history.
At the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, August 21, McLaren Special Operations will also reveal a unique project on the concept lawn, the details of which will be announced shortly.
*Consumers interested in test drives at the Bernardus Lodge or the McLaren Brand Center on Sunday must register via their local McLaren dealer in advance. A full list of retailers can be found athttp://www.retailers.mclaren.com/
