McLaren

McLaren's roots in American motorsports go back to its founder Bruce McLaren, who partnered with Americans Teddy Mayer and Tyler Alexander to build the company in 1963. While McLaren's initial F1 car in 1966 featured a downsized version of the Ford V8 that won the 1965 Indianapolis 500, Bruce always had ambitions to build a street-legal sports car. However, it wasn't until 1981 when McLaren and Ford's SVO group collaborated to produce the Mustang McLaren M81.

It wasn't until the late 1980s that McLaren began developing a mid-engine supercar, the McLaren F1, which ultimately launched in 1992. Despite production delays and a recession, the car proved a hit and won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. McLaren's next venture, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, began in 1999 and ended in 2010, with over 2,000 examples produced, but not without a creative rift between the two companies.

Following the experience with the SLR, McLaren Automotive was launched in 2009 as a dedicated company with its own production facility. The first car to come from the new company was the McLaren MP4-12C, which boasted a carbon-fiber chassis and twin-turbo V8 engine. The production version was set to launch in 2011, marking a new chapter for the British automaker.