McLaren has announced it will open its first dealership in New Zealand.
The announcement comes as McLaren celebrates its 50th anniversary, with the Auckland-based dealership set to become the brand’s 50th retail location. New Zealand was chosen because it was the birthplace of the company’s founder, the ‘Speedy Kiwi’, Bruce McLaren.
Automotive import specialists, the Giltrap Group, will operate McLaren’s venture into the New Zealand market for the first time. The Group’s executive chairman, Sir Collin Giltrap, is a patron of the Bruce McLaren Trust – set up in 1990 to commemorate “one of New Zealand’s international heroes” – and knew Bruce McLaren personally before he moved to the UK.
“It is a great privilege for me to be involved in the continuation of the McLaren story here in New Zealand … the Giltrap Group was instrumental in the importation of two McLaren F1 road cars to New Zealand,” Giltrap said.
“Bruce McLaren was the quintessential New Zealand pioneer, with a vision of combinding sportsmanship with solid engineering practice and cutting-edge technical expertise. It is a real honour for the Giltrap name to bring the range of groundbreaking cars bearing the McLaren name back to the founde’s home country.”
McLaren’s Auckland showroom will be located in Grey Lynn, with first deliveries expected to commence next month. The dealership will house examples of McLaren’s full model range, from the MP4-12C and 12C Spider, to the special edition McLaren 50 12C and 673kW P1 hypercar.
