The first emblem used by McLaren was designed in 1964 by artist Michael Turner for the Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Team. It features a kiwi, the symbol of Bruce’s home of New Zealand. On the track, the logo first featured on the steering wheel and bodywork panelling of the 1964 Group 7 McLaren M1A. The car in which Bruce led for 55 laps at its very first event at Mosport Park, Canada.

The kiwi logo was streamlined in later iterations after a redesign in 1967 that set its silhouette against a vibrant “McLaren Orange” color. This sleek shape became known as the Speedy Kiwi. As McLaren’s racing participation went global in the early 1980s, designer Raymond Loewy bestowed a new logo on McLaren. The pattern of chevrons came from sponsor Phillip Morris who wanted it to resemble a checkered flag (while also recalling the style on its Marlboro products).

In the 1990s, the series of chevrons became a single one over the company’s name. According to McLaren, “The revamped logo that first appeared in 1997 featured a streamlined speedmark which bares similarities to the vortices created by our rear wing.  It appeared on the top of our cars’ side-pods. They evoke the aggressive markings found on predatory animals and insects.” The first McLaren crest (see illustrations at the bottom of the page) was designed in 1964 by Michael Turner  – famous motorsport artist and close friend of Bruce McLaren – for the fledgling Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Team. It centred on a Kiwi, the national symbol of Bruce’s homeland, New Zealand. In a more refined era, it's less of a corporate identity and more reflects a coat of arms for a group of gallant racing adventurers.