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McLaren Files Remuera And Muriwai Trademarks, Is A New Naming Era Coming?

Bruce McLaren's Remuera and Muriwai trademarks echo his New Zealand childhood and early racing, without confirming any future McLaren production models.

McLaren McL 6GT
Photo by: McLaren
Brian Potter Brian Potter
  • McLaren filed trademark applications for the names Remuera and Muriwai in the UK and European Union.
  • The Remuera name comes from the Auckland garage signage that inspired McLaren's new wordmark.
  • Muriwai is the beach hillclimb where Bruce McLaren made his competitive racing debut.

McLaren has filed trademark applications for two words most fans will not recognize yet: "Remuera" and "Muriwai." Both names trace back to Bruce McLaren's teenage years in New Zealand, long before Formula 1 ever entered the picture.

The filings, lodged with the UK Intellectual Property Office on September 21, 2026, arrived one day before McLaren revealed a new wordmark drawn from the sign above the family garage. Whether either name reaches a production car is still an open question.

Gallery: New McLaren logo

Remuera And Muriwai Trademarks Are Not Confirmed Models

McLaren has applied for "Remuera" and "Muriwai" in the UK, but the company has not linked either word to a specific model, badge, or program.

According to McLaren's September 22 announcement, the new wordmark itself, not these trademarks, is what the company has actually confirmed. It draws directly from the McLaren International logo with speedmark introduced in 1981 and updates that identity rather than replacing it outright.

That timing changes expectations. Automakers routinely reserve names years before deciding whether to use them, and McLaren has done this before without every filing turning into a nameplate. Recent reporting on the brand's next-generation models has not mentioned either word.

McLaren's own statements have focused entirely on the visual identity update. Reading these trademarks as a hint at replacing alphanumeric names like 750S is speculation the company has not confirmed.

McLaren Service Station

McLaren Service Station

Photo by: McLaren

Remuera Connects McLaren To Bruce McLaren's Family Service Station

Remuera is the Auckland suburb where Bruce McLaren grew up, and where his parents, Les and Ruth, ran the family garage. That building's signage is the direct source of McLaren's new wordmark, unveiled as part of a broader identity refresh spanning both McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive.

Muriwai carries a different, earlier chapter. At 15, Bruce McLaren made his competitive racing debut at the Muriwai Beach hillclimb in 1952, driving an Austin Ulster his family had prepared in that same Remuera garage.

Bruce McLaren - M6GT

Bruce McLaren - M6GT

Photos by: McLaren
Bruce McLaren

Bruce McLaren

He later named his home in England after that beach, a detail that shows how much the place shaped his identity even after he had left New Zealand for European racing. McLaren has kept the Speedmark, the Papaya color, and the Speedy Kiwi emblem intact through the identity update, treating this as a refinement rather than a break from its racing heritage.

What do you think?

Trademark UK00004449263 for "Muriwai" and UK00004449264 for "Remuera" extend that same founder-focused theme into trademark law, whatever they end up naming.


Motor1's Take: These trademarks show McLaren focusing on story than on spec sheets. The brand has been clear that its new wordmark is the confirmed change, and that Remuera and Muriwai sit in the background as options rather than promised badges. Tying future products to Bruce McLaren's early life gives the company room to grow into more segments without losing the thread back to that Remuera garage and the Muriwai hillclimb.

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