- The McLaren Artura and 750S MCL38 Celebration Edition pay tribute to McLaren’s 2024 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship win, its first since 1998.
- The two supercars wear Papaya Orange paint and special badges inside and out, including a plaque made of carbon fiber from the MCL38 F1 race car.
- Only nine examples of each MCL38 Celebration Edition will be built, representing McLaren’s nine Constructors’ Championships since its founding in 1963.
While Red Bull phenom Max Verstappen handily won the 2024 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, things were less straightforward in the Constructors’ Championship. A poor showing from Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, allowed the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to lead the British team to its first Constructors’ title since 1998. Now, to celebrate the win, McLaren is releasing a pair of special editions based on the Artura and the 750S to commemorate the win.
Dubbed the MCL38 Celebration Edition, the cars feature a bespoke livery meant to evoke the look of the Formula 1 race car. The front end is painted a dark hue called Anthracite while the bright Papaya Orange that has become synonymous with the team adorns the rear half of the car. The first part of the special edition’s name is shared with the team’s 2024 car, which racked up eight pole positions and six Grand Prix wins over the course of last season.
Just behind the front wheels is a logo featuring nine stars, one for each of McLaren’s Constructors’ Championships. The orange racing stripe bisecting the hood also features a “Champions’ Laurel” logo and a diagonal stripe design meant to echo the appearance of the F1 car’s livery. The brake calipers have also been painted Papaya.
Raising the dramatic doors on either the 750S or Artura reveals the signatures of both Norris and Piastri on the carbon-fiber door sill cover on the driver’s side. Inside the cabin, the Champions’ Laurel appears once more on the headrest of the seats. A 12-o’clock hash mark on the steering wheel also comes in Papaya Orange.
Even cooler, there’s a plaque dedicated to the MCL38 race car that uses a real section of carbon-fiber bodywork taken from the triumphant F1 car. In the storage area beneath the hood, there is a second plaque that lists the pole positions, race wins, and fastest laps achieved by McLaren last year.
McLaren will only build nine examples of each, a nod to the 2024 title being McLaren’s ninth Constructors’ Championship win. There’s no word on pricing, but with so few being built, the MCL38 Celebration Edition will likely require a significant chunk of money atop the supercars’ base price. The 2025 Artura starts at $254,100, and the 2025 750S starts at $318,085.
Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
