The evolution of McLaren's logo is wild when you consider its first logo was a flightless bird

The evolution of McLaren’s logo over the years is fascinating, especially because of its origins depicting a flightless bird.

The McLaren speedmark is a logo as iconic as the Audi rings or the BMW propeller roundel, yet somehow it gets ignored despite its links to F1 and performance.

However, it has evolved massively over the years, and the very first McLaren logo was vastly different from the one we see today.

The logo owes its origins to founder Bruce McLaren, a New Zealander racer who set the team up in the 1960s, with a very special flightless bird forming the logo’s basis.

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McLaren opened its doors in September 1963, with its first Grand Prix car following three years later.

This was the M2B, which made its debut at the iconic Monaco Grand Prix.

Yet its first race car, the M1A of 1964, actually debuted a logo that was absent from the M2B.

This was a crest with a white and green chequered flag, the silhouette of a Grand Prix car, and the flightless Kiwi bird front and center.

There was, however, good reason for the Kiwi’s presence.

The Kiwi is the national bird of New Zealand, the country from which, of course, the team’s founder hailed.

While the Kiwi remained largely absent on McLaren cars, it reappeared from 1968 onwards.

The team redesigned it, giving the Kiwi a speedier look, without the crest, and arguably this was the first ‘speedmark’ for the company.

Sadly, Bruce McLaren passed away in June 1970 at Goodwood while testing an M8D sports car.

The name then began to mean so much more to the racing world.

Over the years, the logo evolved considerably, with chevrons introduced in 1981 in reference to Philip Morris-owned Marlboro sponsorship.

The chevron was used sparingly over the years, with McLaren’s speedmark finally debuting in 1997.

Since then, it has become the most recognizable logo in the history of the team and automaker.

Yet really, we think every McLaren should have a proud, beautiful Kiwi adorning the front of the car.

That would be a fitting reminder of the origins of this incredible racing team and car manufacturer.

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