McLaren’s first manual-transmission car in more than three decades is now out in public. The McLaren McL 6GT made its global public debut at the 2026 Concours at Wynn Las Vegas. The big news: it has a clutch pedal. The McL 6GT pairs a mid-mounted V8 with a six-speed manual transmission that drives the rear wheels. That makes it the first McLaren road car with a true manual since the McLaren F1 arrived in 1992. A production version is due in 2028.
McLaren Automotive
A Supercar Bruce McLaren Never Got to Finish
The McL 6GT takes its name and its mission from the M6GT, the road car Bruce McLaren began developing in the late 1960s. The M6GT was based on the M6A Can-Am racer. It was meant to be the first true McLaren road car and possibly the basis for a Le Mans program. Bruce drove the prototype as his personal car, but the project ended when he died in 1970. McLaren Special Operations recently restored his original car using archive drawings, the original body molds and period photos.
McLaren
Carbon, V8, and Three Pedals
The McL 6GT is built on a carbon-fiber monocoque with all-carbon bodywork. McLaren says the car is about the connection between driver and machine, not outright performance, and the hardware reflects that. It gets hydraulically assisted steering, knurled machined-aluminum controls and a gear lever tuned specifically for shift feel and throw.
The exterior borrows from the M6A: a low, wide body, a Kammback tail and a “Racing Loop” taillight motif inspired by the original M6GT. Bruce McLaren’s signature sits in the engine bay, his M6GT registration plate appears as a tone-on-tone graphic, and the “Speedy Kiwi” emblem shows up on the fuel cap and the gear knob.
McLaren
What It Means for Buyers
Most of the segment has moved to dual-clutch transmissions and electrification, so the McL 6GT shows that a major supercar maker still sees a business case for a manual. For collectors, it’s a low-volume, heritage-driven McLaren with a 2028 delivery window. Watch for pricing and allocation details as production gets closer.
McLaren
About the author
Kyle Edward
Editor-in-Chief, Autoblog