**The Legacy of McLaren: A Journey Through Time**

Being a racing company, McLaren made a racing variant called the F1 GTR and entered it into competition. This included the 1995 24 Hours at Le Mans. Every other company was entering purpose-built race cars. The F1 GTR was just a lightly modified street car. As in, they added a rear spoiler and race tires.

Nobody expected McLaren to do very well, but against all odds and helped out by a rainstorm and a blistering performance from the drivers, the F1 actually won. This made McLaren the first company ever to win in Formula 1, the Indy 500, and Le Mans.

The McLaren F1 remains one of the most famous cars ever made, and continues to be a top-tier collector's car today. And don't forget, Mr. Bean wrecked one. McLaren went mostly dormant for the next 15 years. A partnership with Mercedes did produce the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren in 1999. A Grand Tourer with over 600 horsepower.

But this was really more of a Mercedes project that McLaren helped out on. In 2010, a brand new spinoff company was created, McLaren Automotive. A kind of spiritual successor to McLaren Cars, which had made the F1. Obviously, people got excited, and I had a boner for nine weeks.

What could the new company possibly do to follow up one of the all-time great machines? The new company's first effort was the MP4-12C. A normal supercar built to compete with the Ferrari 458. The car was fantastic, as smooth performance machinery with pinpoint precision. If anything, people faulted it for being a little too engineered, without the soul that Ferrari and Lamborghini were famous for.

I.e., it started every time. The 12C was not only McLaren's reintroduction to the world's roads but the first McLaren that even mere millionaires like me could buy. The McLaren badge had come down to earth. Until it rocketed right back up into space, that is.

Because McLaren then announced its next car, and it was just a hybrid, ya know, like a Prius. But it had a total of 900 horsepower. It's made almost entirely out of carbon fiber and it goes zero to sixty in two point eight seconds. The P1 flipped the book on what hybrid technology could do for cars.

Combined with the P1's lightweight and dynamic suspension, the result was one of the most ballistic cars ever made. At long last, the F1 had an heir. While the P1 was busy gracing billionaire garages the world over, McLaren hadn't forgotten about us poor millionaires.

For the 2015 model year, the 12C was replaced by the 650S, more or less just an updated version of the same car. And then they opened the floodgates. The 2016 season saw no less than three new McLarens released. The 570S is an entry-level McLaren. I'm so rich.

The 540C was meant for the Chinese markets but still available elsewhere, and the 675LT is a high-end long tail version. A Grand Tour variant, the 570GT came the following year, and for the 2018 season, the 720S was released as a replacement for the 650S.

Clearly, someone at McLaren thinks this strategy makes sense. But in general, these are all great machines, tailor-made for different purposes and purses. Assuming your purse is really big, and mine is. Donut pays me $1 million dollars for every Up To Speed video.

McLaren Automotive has finally delivered on the vision its founder had almost 50 years ago. The F1 reset the bar for cars forever, the P1 did it again. Ron Dennis did the badge proud but in 2017 Dennis sold the last of his shares in the company and stepped away.

McLaren goes into the future under new leadership but what a start Dennis had given them. That's everything you need to know to get up speed on McLaren. Hit the subscribe button, the more subscribers we get, the more cool stuff like this that we get to do, and we'll bring you guys along for all of it.

Thanks to McLaren of Newport Beach for letting us come down here and look around and shoot this. This thing's got two turbos on it. You wanna know how those work? Watch this episode of Science Garage.

Like F1? Check out my son Nolan's show. Follow me on Instagram, @JamesPumphrey. Follow Donut on Instagram, @DonutMedia. I love you. I love him.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(shouting)- In 1953 at the age of 15,Bruce McLaren retrofitted an Austin Ulsterinto racing spec by himself.At age 22 he became the youngestFormula 1 Grand Prix winner in history.So with all that success 1963 he was like,I'mma start my own company,and I'mma call it McLaren Motor Racing.In time the McLaren badge would becomeone of the most famous andstoried in all of racing.But that was it, it was a racing company.They didn't build cars for the street.But Bruce, ever the dreamer,thought that they could.Tragically in 1970 whenthe project was stillin the prototyping stage Brucedied doing what he loved.Testing a new race car.He was 32 years old,a year younger than me.The M6GT prototype was shelved,and so was the dream of theworld's greatest street car.Sometimes a dream can survive the dreamer,and sometimes a companycan aim for the moon,and actually hit the mark.This is everything you need to knowto get up to speed on McLaren.(80's chiptune music)We're at McLaren Newport Beachsitting in front of about3 million dollars worth of P1.(hip-hop beat)Thanks guys.Back to the story.Ron Dennis took control ofthe racing company in 1980,merging it with his own Project 4 racing.McLaren thrived under Dennis' stewardship,as their cars dominatedcircuits throughout the 80's.But the decision that would launcha bold new direction for the companydidn't start in a boardroom,or even a track.No a legend was born when Dennis,technical director Gordon Murray,and shareholder MansourOjjeh got stuck in an airportwaiting for their flight.And when they got bored theystarted to talk about things.Crazy things.Like that old idea ofmaking a McLaren street car.It was just a conversationto pass the time.But the idea stuck around.(laughter)Dennis had alreadycreated a sister companyto McLaren Motor Racingcalled McLaren Cars,and up until this point the companydidn't really haveanything to actually do.They had a formal meetingin 1990 to come up witha general idea of a McLaren street car.It lasted for 10 hours.Nobody went to the bathroom.They didn't even buy them lunch.- What about elevenses?Luncheon?Afternoon tea?- Everyone agreed that ifthey were gonna do this thing,absolutely nothing would be compromised.The engine would have tobe naturally aspirated,because even the hint of turbolag would be unacceptable.The car would have to be light,lighter than every other super car.It would have to be fast,not only the fastest car on release,but the fastest car for years to come.(engine roaring)To make a basically impossible engine,the British company turnedto the German masters at BMW.Using nothing but sheer will and wizardry,not to mention money,BMW's engineers craftedthe kind of fantasy enginethat got them into engineeringin the first place.A six point one liter V12that could make over 600 horsepower,without a turbo in sight.Meanwhile McLaren had to figureout how to build an enginebay that could handle the rawheat that the V12 produced.They realized that thebest material to usewould be (bleep)-ing gold.Ya know, gold gold.So what did the execs sayto this ludicrous request?- Alright, great.- But believe it or not goldisn't even the coolest part.McLaren's racing divisionhad already innovatedthe use of carbon fiber in Formula 1.To achieve the desired lightness,McLaren chose to use this exotic materialto build the body of their new street car.Making it the firstproduction car ever to do so.Carbon fiber has a betterstrength to weight ration thanaluminum, plastic, steelbut it costs a fortune.So McLaren spent a fortune.Last but not least the team decidedto put the driver seat in the middle.Why?Because that's the way itis in race cars, that's why.Even so McLaren managed tosqueeze in two passenger seatsbehind and flanking the driver,which meant that on top of everything elsethe new McLaren had three seats.And ya need all three seats,cause if you're driving an F1,you're definitely leavingthe party with twins.Perhaps it wasn't a surprise that McLaren,famous for their Formula 1 carsnamed their new rocket ship the F1.And you could buy oneyourself starting in 1993for a bargain bin price ofjust over 1 million dollars.Given the price tag itshouldn't be surprising thatonly around 100 F1's were ever made.But no matter how few of them there were,the F1 accomplished its mission.McLaren's first road car was hailedas the greatest performancemachine of all time.Exactly like Bruce had always wanted.It is still the fastestnaturally aspirated production car ever.And this (bleep) was made in 1993.Being a racing companyMcLaren made a racing variantcalled the F1 GTR andentered it into competition.This included the 199524 Hours at Le Mans.Every other company was enteringpurpose build race cars.The F1 GTR was just alightly modified street car.As in they added a rearspoiler and race tires.(engine revving)Nobody expected McLaren to do very wellbut against all odds andhelped out by a rain storm anda blistering performance from the drivers,the F1 actually won.This made McLaren the firstcompany ever to win inFormula 1, the Indy 500, and Le Mans.- Damn!- If it were possiblethe halo around the carhad gotten even brighter.The McLaren F1 remains one of the mostfamous cars ever made,and continues to be a toptier collector's car today.And don't forget, Mr. Bean wrecked one.McLaren went mostly dormantfor the next 15 years.A partnership withMercedes did produce theMercedes Benz SLR McLaren in 1999.A Grand Tourer with over 600 horsepower.But this was really moreof a Mercedes projectthat McLaren helped out on.In 2010 a brand new spinoff company was created,McLaren Automotive.A kind of spiritualsuccessor to McLaren Cars,which had made the F1.Obviously people got excited,I had a boner for nine weeks.- TMI, TMI my friends.- What could the new companypossibly do to follow upone of the all time great machines?The new companies firsteffort was the MP4-12C.A normal super car built tocompete with the Ferrari 458.The car was fantastic, asmooth performance machinewith pinpoint precision.If anything people faultedit for being a littletoo engineered, without the soulthat Ferrari andLamborghini were famous for.I.e. it started every time.(mass cheering)The 12C was not onlyMcLaren's reintroductionto the worlds roads, but the first McLarenthat even mere millionaireslike me could buy.The McLaren badge had come down to earth.Until it rocketed rightback up into space that is.Because McLaren thenannounced its next car,and it was just a hybrid,ya know, like a Prius.But it had a total of 900 horsepower.It's made almost entirelyout of carbon fiberand it goes zero to sixtyin two point eight seconds.The P1 flipped the bookon what hybrid technologycould do for cars.Combined with the P1's lightweight and dynamic suspension,the result was one of themost ballistic cars ever made.(engine roaring)At long last the F1,had an heir.While the P1 was busy gracingbillionaire garages the world over,McLaren hadn't forgottenabout us poor millionaires.For the 2015 model year the12C was replaced by the 650S,more or less just an updatedversion of the same car.And then they opened the floodgates.The 2016 season saw no lessthan three new McLarens release.570S is an entry level McLaren.I'm so rich.The 540C was meant forthe Chinese markets,but still available elsewhere,and the 675LT is a highend long tail version.A Grand Tour variant, the570GT came the following year,and for the 2018 seasonthe 720S was releasedas a replacement for the 650S.Clearly someone at McLarenthinks this strategy makes sense.But in general theseare all great machines,tailor made for differentpurposes and purses.Assuming your purse isreally big, and mine is.Donut pays me 1 milliondollars for every Up To Speed.McLaren Automotive has finallydelivered on the visionits founder had almost 50 years ago.The F1 reset the bar for cars forever,the P1 did it again.Ron Dennis did the badge proud,but in 2017 Dennis soldthe last of his sharesin the company and stepped away.McLaren goes into thefuture under new leadership.But what a start Dennis had given them.That's everything you need to know,to get up speed on McLaren.Hit the subscribe button,the more subscribers we getthe more cool stuff likethis that we get to doand we'll bring you guysalong for all of it.Thanks to McLaren ofNewport Beach for letting uscome down here and lookaround and shoot this.This thing's got two turbos on it.You wanna know how those work,watch this episode of Science Garage.You like F1?Check out my son Nolan's show.Follow me on Instagram, @JamesPumphrey.Follow Donut on Instagram, @DonutMedia.I love you.I love you.I love him.