Celebrations often include bunting, cake, and champagne, but not for McLaren. To celebrate 30 years of the brand’s iconic 1995 Le Mans victory, three supercars, driven by McLaren pro and Trophy drivers, drove 3,867 miles across eight U.S. states.
The cars in question were a 750S Coupe & Spider, and an Artura Spider. Beginning in Monterey, California, the start-line for this journey included the North American debut of Project: Endurance at Monterey Car Week.
Pit Stops in collaboration with McLaren retailers included events in Newport Beach, Scottsdale, Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando and the final stop in Miami. Each one offered supercar enthusiasts and motorsports fans the opportunity to engage with McLaren’s States of Endurance drivers and cars, while owner convoys joined parts of the journey.
“Endurance racing represents McLaren’s tenacity, and the States of Endurance journey is a perfect intersection of our endurance heritage with the cutting-edge engineering, technologies and uncompromising standards that make our supercars capable of experiences that still resonate with the driver long after the journey ends. We have brought our community of passionate fans and clients together to experience the thrill and resilience that defines McLaren, while our States of Endurance drivers have discovered for themselves how endurance can transcend beyond the track, to be a feeling; a mindset to live by,” said Henrik Wilhelmsmeyer, chief commercial cfficer, McLaren Automotive.
The events also provided a chance to experience the legacy and future of McLaren in endurance racing, with displays of the 750S Le Mans that marks three decades since iconic victory, and the Project: Endurance car, which represents the customer car programme associated with McLaren’s re-entry into endurance racing’s top class from 2027 onwards.
McLaren says its road-car line-up is produced from racing DNA that enables the brand to compete across a spectrum of motorsport, from Formula 1 to endurance racing and beyond. The McLaren 750S is the lightest and most McLaren ever.
Endurance racing, and the Le Mans 24, are the ultimate test of resilience in the racing world – a tale of resilience told firsthand by Justin Bell, who drove a McLaren F1 GTR in the 1995 race. The driver featured as one of several people who met with our States of Endurance drivers along the route, ranging from ranchers, astronauts, and world-record-holding athletes, each one with their own story of what endurance means to them.
McLaren’s latest supercar, the W1, is close to finishing its test and validation programme.