The Bruce McLaren Trust
The Bruce McLaren Trust was publicly launched at Wings & Wheels, Whenuapai, Auckland in March 1997. 
In July 1990 a small memorial trust had been formed to honour Bruce. Upon its closure in 1995, it was realised by the McLaren family and Ross Jensen that there was a need to form a permanent trust. Therefore in response to repeated demands to commemorate Bruce McLaren’s achievements and honour him as one of New Zealand’s international heroes, the new Trust was formed by Ross Jensen and Bruce’s younger sister Jan McLaren. The overall purpose of the Bruce McLaren Trust is to be a living working memorial to Bruce McLaren and the McLaren Team heritage. Bruce McLaren was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1937 and was killed tragically whilst testing one of his cars at Goodwood circuit, England in June 1970. From the young school boy with Perthes Disease, strapped to a metal frame at the Wilson Home in Takapuna, Auckland, to a world class international motor racing driver, engineer and designer whose name is still used in Formula 1 motor racing today, is a remarkable achievement. With fellow New Zealanders, Denny Hulme and Chris Amon, Bruce took on the might of the international motor racing world and triumphed with enormous success. It was all about team work and there is no doubt that Bruce and his team did for New Zealand and New Zealand motorsport in the 1960s and 1970s what Sir Peter Blake and Team Black Magic have done for New Zealand and New Zealand yachting today.
News/Events
Waitematā District Health Board
Today is the anniversary of Kiwi motor racing legend Bruce McLaren’s death. Check out our little video tribute to Bruce and his special link to our DHB. Our thanks to the Bruce McLaren Heritage Centre for permitting the use of the historic images in our clip.
McLaren M12 Toyota last day to view is Today Monday 3rd we are open 10am to 4pm 🏁☺
Stunning car in every respect. Perfectly restored by the master Duncan Fox.
Today we remember the passing of Bruce McLaren on 2nd June 1970. One of New Zealand’s greatest motorsport legends.
Pictured below is Bruce McLaren in the German GP at Nurburgring 5th August 1962 driving a Cooper T60 where he finished fifth.
Thanks for the memories Bruce,RIP.
Found this today (Weekly News, Jan 1964) Wonderful memories and what a legacy!
Elizabeth Barton
Loved cousin a humble man , who's success never changed him . Memories of his visits to our parents farm especially that laugh .
Great pic. He had had a close shave at the same venue a year later. One of his very few incidents.
I remember that morning, we had torrential rain and our news paper was soaked and Bruce was on the front page.
One of my prized models of Bruce’s winning cars
Christina Engkebølle
Fred Hamlett
RIP Bruce
Thinking of you Amanda xx
McLaren M12 Toyota has arrived we are expecting alot of happy visitors over the next 5 days 🏁🏁
A very nice collection you have there.....
Great view
Richard Gardner
Dylan Chappell
Ethan Hemi remember the Toyota off gt4 etc
We are honored to be able to offer you a "Special Viewing" of the newly restored Toyota McLaren M12, we have this car for only 5 days before it is sent overseas to its permanent home.
Please RSVP your interest to [email protected]
This car looks absolutely amazing in person and in my opinion, a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a car like this in the flesh Duncan Fox you are incredibly talented we are all in awe of you and so proud to see the masterpiece you have created over the past years, with every single detail finished to an absolute T
From yesterdays test session
Great looking car!
Would love to and bring some Mclaren cousins and descendants
Danielle Collins can me, ur dad and grandad go today maybe?
When is the viewing window? The next 5 days or later? Weekend? Thanks
David Wood, Joanne Wood, Dianne Wilson, Melissa Lockerbie, Josh Anderson
Karen Elliott
Bruce McLaren Heritage Centre - what email address do we send this to, sorry?
Henk Bruekers interesting car
Philip Cheer damnn
My goodness that M12 is hormone inducing.😈😈
Emailed now 🙂
The race was on the 22nd of May 1966On this day in 1966, McLaren Racing made its F1 debut at the Monaco Grand Prix with founder Bruce McLaren behind the wheel.
What a journey it has been! 🧡 #FearlesslyForward
True Fact: The movie, "Grand Prix," was filmed during the 1966 Formula One season. Director John Frankenheimer needed a team to play the part of the "Yamura Motors" team. They chose the fledgling McLaren team, hence the white-and-blue "Yamura" cars "winning" all those races, and eventually the "world championship." Another fact about that movie: The star, James Garner, who played "Peter Arons," wore a helmet with Chris Amon's red-and-blue on white colour design.
Monaco again this weekend 👍 Let's hope McLaren do something a kin to this 🤨
look how empty the harbour was then!
So sad to see the current team in a state of disarray
Trophy of the Month
Large Copper Jug with handle
Bruce & Tony Maggs driving for John Ogiers Essex Racing Team, this was a 1000km sportscar endurance race.
They finished 2nd driving an Aston Martin DRB1 at Nurburgring
Gestiflet Von Der D.A.S. V111 Internatioinales ADAC 1000km Rennen – 27 May 1962 - (words on trophy)
(ADAC translated is General German Automobile Club)
John Ogier was a colourful chap. He was a chicken farm magnate with country estate. When he was Major Ogier in WW2 he worked in Churchill's war department. At dinner one evening at a race meeting he plonked two bottles of wine on the table. Someone went to pour themselves a drink, Ogier grabbed the bottles, with a robust '"eff off, those are mine , get your bloody own". 🧐
What a fantastic day we have had with 2 very different car clubs come to visit us here at The Heritage Centre, the Humber Hillman Car Club and the Mazda MX5 Club of NZ, as well as several visitors from the UK and Australia.
It was great to hear their stories about watching Bruce, Denny and Chris racing in NZ and abroad.
We are so proud to be a destination on our overseas visitors list and for car clubs to include us during their days outing.
Easter Hours - Yes we are OPEN Friday - Saturday And Sunday. From 10 till 3pm. Other days and times can also be arranged - please get in touch.
1969 Riverside - the year that McLaren cars won all 11 races and Bruce McLaren the Championship#DriverArea
I remember that year. I was a kid back then, and on my birthday, I got to attend the Mid-Ohio Can-Am race. Wonderful memories of watching "The Bruce and Denny Show."
The Trophy of the Month.
This month is the "Goodwood Ton' . Presented to Bruce for averaging 'the ton' 100 mph around the 2.4 mile Goodwood race track driving a Cooper T 55 in the Glover Trophy Race. Bruce finished second with Graham Hill the winner. The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) event held on Easter Monday April 23rd 1962 was a Non Championship Formula 1 race.
The trophy is engraved 'Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 103.6 mph. Easter Monday 23rd April 1962.
Bruce in car 4.
The trophy is 3 inches high, silver pyramid over wooden base.
Trophy of the month.
The Craven Filter Trophy for the Sandown International in Australia on the 11th of March 1963. This was a race for Formula Libre cars and Bruce put his Cooper T62 on pole as well as winning the 60 lap or 190km race. The trophy picture is from the Bruce McLaren Scrapbook.
A One Million Can-Am dollars publicity cheque sent to us from Pennsylvania by Rich McConnell has a permanent home in the Trophy Room. Thanks Rich.
The signature in red on the second line is Sir Stirling Moss.
Fred Hamlett
Great day here at Hampton Downs with MotoFest New Zealand we will be open till late tonight if you want to pop over to see the museum, look out for our sign we are in Industrial unit 3 (The Britten is on display at the racetrack)
We love hearing how much people enjoy our museumHad a wonderful time at Bruce McLaren museum.
hopefully ill visit one day soon
We are always very proud and humbled when someone thinks of us and donates memorabilia that relates to Bruce McLaren and his racing team. This item has the most zeros of anything we have received so far.
All thanks to Rich McConnell who very generously sent it to us so that it can be enjoyed by our many visitors.
This is a publicity cheque presented by Can-Am principle sponsor J Wax to Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd in 1971 - the amount $ One Million Can-Am Dollars.
We have taken the picture in the Bruce McLaren Heritage Centre Trophy Room with the Floatile, which was won by Bruce McLaren in 1968 as the trophy for the Can-Am series winner on the McLaren family couch from Remuera and with McLaren team shirts.
A lot better than the prize money! 🙂
Great little museum - keen staff, good swag 🙂
Excellent. Thanks for sharing!
Trophy Of The Month
A trophy with almost 100 years of Motorsport History in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Motor Cup - first presented at Muriwai in 1921 now the trophy for winning the Auckland round of the Toyota Racing series. We are very proud and honored to display this trophy which has been very kindly loaned to us by NZIGP, and will be here at the Centre for the next three months on display.
The Trophy is now for the winner of the Auckland round of the Toyota Racing Series.
Hi Cameron yes my mistake
from memory it was won by one of the wilsons from the NZ herald 3 times but gave it back to be used for the Race
Thought the motor cup was awarded at Hampton and was different to the GP race?
Thank you NZIGP
Fantastic
McLaren Auckland
The McLaren Senna has been designed with one thing in mind: to be the most track-focused road car they've ever built. Something we're sure Bruce would have been immensely proud of.
Official Greg Murphy takes a moment with New Zealand's first Senna at Hampton Downs to truly experience McLaren's DNA at its most extreme.
The purest connection between car and driver.
Special thanks to the Bruce McLaren Trust, Giltrap Group and Hampton Downs.
Ronald Lobjoit
Fred Hamlett
Hey - we were just there, and they didn’t say a word.....
Safe travels everyone over the festive season.
Even though we are officially closed if you are driving past and would like to visit please message us and we will see if we are available. Have a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year, Zeta & David
Trophy of the Month. This month it is a brass cup presented to Bruce at Bahamas Speed Week Governors Trophy Race - where Bruce finished second in the McLaren M1 sports car on 6th December 1964.
Pure Epicness!
The trophy for this month is the trophy for winning the six race 1967 Canadian American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) series. The series that year was six races in total and with two wins and two seconds gave Bruce the points to be the overall series winner, he was driving the McLaren M6A-Chev.
Johnson Wax was the principle sponsor of the Canadian American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) and commissioned the cup that the Can-Am Challenge is all about. Not a cup at all, it is an abstract sculpture that seemed too offbeat for a racing trophy when it was first shown. It was called the “Floatile”, and has gained worldwide fame as the symbol of the richest racing series.
The picture is of Bruce & Denny's cars in the pits at the Stardust circuit in Las Vegas.
Epicness!!! Thank you for the description above; wonderful to put times/places/awards together... the M6A was quite the stunner and performer...
and to think some people have two of them
Great to see another successful car run to our Heritage centre this time from the American Muscle Car Club, with so much to see, easy location and parking this is a must do destination over the summer months, Thanks Earl Edwards for the great photos
Trophy this month celebrates the mighty Can-Am series the races for sports cars in North America with unrestricted rules. This trophy is part of the first year the series ran and is for the St Jovite round of 1966, where Bruce came second. The inscription 'Le Trophee Pepsi Cola Trophy Circuit Mount Tremblant St Jovite 1966'
Wow looks awesome, thanks for sending it to us. I don't recall seeing it before where is it?
My motor racing books
And Chris Amon came 3rd driving the M1B team car which Bruce drove in the earlier part of 1966.
Hi everybody !.. I am a 64- Belgian motor racing writer and I just published my 7th book dedicated to one of my sixties idols, Bruce McLaren ! It's a 208 pages album with more than 350 pictures from the best photographers of that golden era ! But the texts are in French... I published this book as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Bruce's victory at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1968. It's also a tribute to the magnificent old Spa-Francorchamps circuit of 14,100 km which was my "garden" when I was young ! I presented this book last September at Goodwood Revival and I had the surprise to be very well appreciated by Ben Horton boss of the Hortons books company. And my friends of course took a picture of me at the Bruce McLaren memorial with the book. Great moment .... Best wishes to all of you. Motor racing books by Serge Dubois
My last book dedicated to Bruce McLaren
This is at the site of Bridgehamton racecourse in The Hamptons, New York. The old track was bought for redevelopment but it was then (as I understand things) rejected by the planning authorities. So the owner built a world-class golf course instead, called ‘The Bridge’. Being a car lover, the clubhouse is amazingly fitted out with automotive art, incl this sculpture in the mens locker room! Quite a story and an incredible venue.
The original start/finish structure remains there today along the entrance to the club
not a bad prize for second and the cash helped
Been meaning to tell you before, do you know about this amazing life-size sculpture?
Our privilege to display a 1969 McLaren M10B F5000 Chev V8. This car was raced by Peter Gethin in the 1970 European Championship which it won. Current owner Poul Christie has very kindly lent the car to the Heritage Centre.
Michael Manning
Where is this? Thanks.
Nick Purvis
