@McLarenAuto McLaren 50: The Drive – Owners in the Middle East join in the celebrations to honour 50 years of McLaren

• McLaren Automotive continued the 50thanniversary celebrations hosting McLaren 50: The Drive - an event in the UAE exclusively for McLaren owners
• Exclusive event brought together one of the largest gatherings in the world of McLaren owners
• Event in Dubai follows celebrations last week in the UK at the McLaren Technology Centre with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez

(Manama, Bahrain, 11 September 2013) McLaren Automotive this weekend held McLaren 50: The Drive, an exclusive event which brought together one of the largest gatherings of McLaren supercar owners in the world, to celebrate the five decades of motorsport success and road car innovation.
The event saw more than 20 examples of the 12C and 12C Spider, as well as Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren supercars congregate at The Address Montgomerie Dubai before making their way to the exclusive Monte-Carlo Beach Club in Abu Dhabi, then back into Dubai with a drive along The Walk at JBR next to Jumeirah Beach Residence.  The parade turned heads, and gave supercar fans in the UAE a unique glimpse of a fantastic collection of the British brand’s high performance sports cars.
As one of the most successful names in international motorsport, and with a pedigree for building groundbreaking high performance sports cars for the road, this was an exciting and unique opportunity for McLaren owners to be involved in celebrating 50 years of McLaren heritage.
In the UK last week, the 50th anniversary celebrations were marked by current Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, who took part in the display in the two latest models from McLaren Automotive. Perez arrived in the 3,000th production 12C – a 12C Spider finished in striking Volcano Yellow, while 2009 Formula 1™ world champion Jenson Button showcased the McLaren P1™ in front of the entire McLaren Group staff, dressed in Rocket Red t-shirts to honour the landmark occasion.
Ian Gorsuch, McLaren Automotive Regional Director for Middle East and Africa commented: “It was a very proud moment for McLaren Automotive, and personally for me, to see one of the biggest ever gatherings of McLaren supercars in the world in one place this weekend in Dubai.  This event, and the events that have already been held in the UK and across the world to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary, have been about reflecting on our rich and proud heritage, which started with Bruce McLaren.”

Gorsuch added: “McLaren launched arguably the purest and most focused supercar in history, the F1, perfectly honouring Bruce’s legacy. Even 20 years on, it is still regarded by many as the greatest supercar of all time. More recently, we successfully launched both the groundbreaking 12C and 12C Spider high-performance sports cars and will soon start deliveries to customers of our next generation ultimate supercar, the superlative McLaren P1TM.  We’re extremely excited about the future of McLaren Automotive, here in the Middle East and internationally, as we are increasingly establishing ourselves as one of the world’s most dynamic high-technology companies.”