Bruce McLaren recorded the first Formula 1 win for his fledgling team in the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix held at Spa-Francorchamps.
McLaren Special Operations has completed a three-car retailer edition of 720S Coupés, commissioned by McLaren Brussels to mark and milk a milestone in McLaren history. The 720S trio honors McLaren’s debut Grand Prix victory 50 years ago, with company founder Bruce McLaren at the wheel. The McLaren 720S Spa 68 Collection car is available from McLaren Brussels – two of the three are sold for an undisclosed price – the regular carbon fiber performance edition is a +$300,000. Maybe more should have been built?
Bruce McLaren recorded the first Formula 1 win for his fledgling team in the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, driving a McLaren M7A in its signature Papaya Orange livery.
Each of the three McLaren 720S Spa 68 Collection cars is finished in Anniversary Orange paint, formulated to echo the color of the 1968 race car. The scene of the famous victory – the first of many that would make McLaren a force in the history of F1 – also has a silver outline of the 14 km 1968 Spa-Francorchamps track ahead of the rear wheel arch and embroidered into the headrest.
Extended Carbon Fiber Sill Covers are inscribed with “1st McLaren F1 victory Belgian Grand Prix 9th June 1968 – Bruce McLaren”. The ignition key has Anniversary Orange and silver “Spa 68” text. All three cars also have a dedication plaque.
Bruce McLaren was accomplished at Spa-Francorchamps. He had five top-three finishes in seven starts at the Belgian GP, but victory eluded him. That changed in 1968 when the ’Speedy Kiwi’ returned to the challenging Belgian circuit with a car of his own construction for the first time. Dicing with drivers such as Chris Amon, John Surtees and Jackie Stewart, Bruce McLaren lasted the distance to come home first after what was a race of attrition.
It was Bruce McLaren’s fourth Formula 1 career win, but his first victory driving his own McLaren car, at that time making him only the third driver to win a Grand Prix in a car of his own design and construction. The victory set the McLaren team on a path to eight World Constructors’ Championships and 12 World Drivers’ Championships.
McLaren’s motorsport achievements and its Formula 1 technology is in the design and construction of every sportscar and supercar built in Woking, it’s claimed. Using carbon fiber construction for lightness and strength and innovative aerodynamics, the 212 mph, the McLaren 720S delivers dynamic performance, arguably, on par with the broadest range of supercar abilities in a luxury coupe.
Global sales for McLaren Automotive, a British creator of luxury sportscars, rose to 4,806 cars in 2018 with sales up 43.9% over the previous year. This is another record for the company which has increased sales every year since its formation in 2010.
North America, which represents McLaren’s biggest single market and over a third of global sales, surpassed the 5,000 cars sold mark since sales started in 2011 and achieved another year of record growth.
European sales rose 44.2% but the biggest leap was seen in China at 122.5 per cent growth following the introduction of the 570S Spider and 720S. China now accounts for almost 7% of total global sales.
McLaren’s UK domestic market remained strong, achieving a 49.2% year-on-year growth.
The company celebrated building its 15,000th car in the summer at the McLaren Production Center (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, where all its cars are hand-assembled, and consistently achieved over 20 cars a day with production exported to more than 30 markets.