LOS ANGELES: McLaren Automotive has revealed the McL 6GT at the 2026 Monterey Car Week.
The first McLaren car of its kind, its design connects McLaren’s heritage to the present, using the McLaren M6GT – Bruce McLaren’s original, but unfulfilled supercar dream, as its inspiration.
It also lays the foundations for a newly positioned and highly exclusive type of McLaren supercar beyond the core and expanded portfolio, which will be made real with a production version of McL 6GT in 2028.
The McL 6GT features a lightweight carbon-fibre construction, V8 internal combustion power, and for the first time in a McLaren since the legendary McLaren F1, an authentic manual transmission sending drive to the rear wheels.
“The McLaren McL 6GT imagines what our inspirational founder had wished to complete but with six additional decades of innovation and passion woven through every element, creating a modern icon of driver connection. It is symbolic of the bold, provocative and hugely exciting future that we are preparing to realise,” said McLaren Automotive CEO Nick Collins.
Hydraulic steering, tactile switchgear, and visible engineering details all contribute to a sense of purity of involvement for the driver.
Knurled machined aluminium controls and meticulous ergonomics reinforce the same human-machine connection, including detailing inspired by the M6GT.
The design of the gearstick has been carefully considered for maximum feel and throw, but also incorporates design inspired by McLaren’s heritage, with a three-dimensional Speedy Kiwi set within its upright.
McLaren, via McLaren Special Operations (MSO), honoured Bruce’s in-period vision for the M6GT when it presented a meticulously assembled one-off of the original at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The McL 6GT takes this celebration of McLaren’s road car origins to the next level.
Interpreting the racing-inspired styling and surfacing of 1960s sports prototype racing cars with 21st century execution and packaging, the DNA of M6GT is felt throughout the design of McL-6GT.
The McL 6GT sits exceptionally low and wide with a low nose, echoing the stance of the M6A Can-Am racer upon which the M6GT was based.
The body surfacing is clean, with uninterrupted volumes flowing from the low nose to the distinctive Kammback tail.
The distinctive 'Racing Loop' motif inspired by the M6GT’s original taillights are integrated into the exterior airflow architecture, while Bruce McLaren’s original M6GT number plate is reimagined as a tone-on-tone graphic treatment.
His signature adorns the engine bay, and the Speedy Kiwi – the first iconography developed from McLaren’s original logo – is discreetly etched into the fuel filler cap.
Inside, boxed quilting is reinterpreted for a modern audience, while the new digital instrumentation retains the clarity and emotional appeal of the original.
