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
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! 🙂
Excellent. Thanks for sharing!
Great little museum - keen staff, good swag 🙂
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
Hey - we were just there, and they didn’t say a word.....
Fred Hamlett
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 last book dedicated to Bruce McLaren
My motor racing books
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
The original start/finish structure remains there today along the entrance to the club
Been meaning to tell you before, do you know about this amazing life-size sculpture?
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.
And Chris Amon came 3rd driving the M1B team car which Bruce drove in the earlier part of 1966.
not a bad prize for second and the cash helped
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.
Where is this? Thanks.
Nick Purvis
Fantastic day today with car enthusiast driving their "Fraser Cars" on a run and stopped by for a visit, Fraser Cars is New Zealand's largest car manufacturer now ☺
I will be there someday
Scott Dixon day 24 September 2018.When you’re a 5x IndyCar Series Champ, #Indy500 winner AND it’s the Born Racer Movie premier day, you get an entire day dedicated to you.
Happy #DixonDay, Scott Dixon!
Just don't hold your breath waiting for the NZ goverment to do anything!!
Scott Huntley
Fred Hamlett
Awesome 👍 🇳🇿🏁🇳🇿🏁🇳🇿🏁 Go Scotty 👌
Huge thanks to John Ellerslie Jewellers for his support of our Heritage Centre by providing the polish that makes the trophies shine, sparkle and reflect - everything that Bruce accomplished.
Congratulations Scott Dixon who has just won his 5th IndyCar title — the first person to win five titles since AJ Foyt more than 50 years agoYou can always #BankOnThe9!
Scott Dixon is your 2018 IndyCar Series Champion!
Congratulations Scott and Team ya bloody LEGENDS!😁
Congratulation's Scott dixon Well Done Great Wheelin,
Some fantastic footage about a replica of Bruce McLaren's first race car a 1929 750cc Austin Ulster on display at Southwards Car Museum. Trustee Duncan Fox talks about the car and the movie the car was built to feature in.
Bruce McLaren's replica race car on display
radionz.co.nz
The replica of the first car raced by Bruce McLaren featured in last year's documentary about the legendary Kiwi-born Formula One driver has just gone on display at the Southward Car Museum, nort...What most folks dont realise is that the Heritage Centre has the actual Austin 7 that Bruce learnt to drive in gifted by past trustee Graeme McKenzie.
Here it is at the Bruce McLaren Heritage Centre
Fred Hamlett
Trophy of the Month for September. In 1961 Bruce McLaren & Jack Brabham drove for the Cooper Car Co. based in Surbiton near London. The Surbiton Town Kart Club awarded a trophy to the 'Winner of the Silver Jubilee Race' held at Riverhill on the 24th Sept 1961. The full inscription on the Trophy reads "Surbiton Town Kart Club The Cooper Silver Jubilee Cup Donated by the Cooper Car Co. of Surbiton to the winner of the Silver Jubilee Race at Riverhill 24th Sept 1961. The photo is of Bruce on the left with Jack on the right. Caption! Rubbing is racing!
McLaren
Remembering our inspirational founder, Bruce McLaren, on his birthday with this exclusive footage from our first F1 win in 1968.
Happy Birthday, Bruce.
What a magic piece of history, stirring to see it even today. Thank you.
Happy Birthday Bruce McLaren. Bruce was born on 30th August 1937 and would have been 81 today. The picture I have chosen is of Bruce leaving for the first leg of his trip as 'Driver to Europe' in 1958 - and the beginning of his international success.
We were visited yesterday by the Mens Club from Possum Bourne Retirement Village - 3 van loads of guys. Great to see you all thanks so much for the fascinating stories and your wonderful feedback about our centre.
Neat. 😀
McLaren Auckland
The Project NZ filmed a short interview piece with Amanda McLaren last week exploring the links the brand has between New Zealand and the UK, along with the rise of McLaren Automotive – The Official Page in carrying Bruce’s legacy forward.
"We are a British company but the Kiwi heritage, New Zealand heritage is still absolutely there"
This was great to see on National TV, but found it incredible the hosts didnt even realise about the little Kiwi still on the cars and other links, what is wrong with our own people knowing our heritage. More exposure like this please.
Dean Tee
McLaren Auto have become the anti-thesis of BMMR & McLaren Racing in my humble opinion. While that is a wonderful opportunity for 1 (only 1???) NZ engineer, why oh why is NZ and the McLaren legacy, glarringly missing from history and not supported by this now "british" company... I will gladly admit I am an incredibly biased NZ'er and astonished it has taken till 2017 to discover and learn about our NZ car racing/engineering/design/innovation history, provided by Bruce (Pop Les, Jack Brabham etc), which (IMHO) is the basis of ALL motor sport (and I'd say industry) today... Thank you Bruce McLaren Heritage Centre. 🙂
Amazing 👌 fantastic to see 🏁🇳🇿🏁🇳🇿🏁🇳🇿
Jed Fitzharris
check out the Bruce Bruce McLaren Heritage Centre a great snapshot on the team
Tony Thacker
We have so much priceless memorabilia that we need to keep safe and secure . To help with this SLS Security Group have very kindly donated a fantastic large fire proof document cabinet. Thanks to David Morrrissey at SLS Security Group. www.slsgroup.co.nz Thanks also to Giltrap Prestige for covering the cost to deliver the safe to the Heritage Centre. We are always extremely grateful for people thinking of us and supporting our Heritage Centre items like this will become part of the furniture (pun intended).
