McLaren's Newest Supercar Brings Back the Manual Gearbox — Its First Since the F1

The Manual Gearbox Nobody Expected From McLaren

McLaren used Monterey Car Week to unveil the McL 6GT, a pre-production supercar built around a promise the brand hasn't made in 34 years: a genuine manual gearbox. The car debuted at The Quail in mid-August, styled as a modern read of the M6GT — the road-going supercar Bruce McLaren himself sketched out before his death in 1970 but never got to build. The McL 6GT borrows the M6GT's low nose, rounded lighting units and long, Kamm-tailed roofline, wrapped around a carbon-fibre monocoque and an all-carbon body that keeps the lightweight-first philosophy McLaren has built its road cars around since the original F1.

Under the bodywork sits a non-hybrid, naturally aspirated V8 — McLaren has withheld exact power and torque figures for now — paired to a true six-speed manual, the first stick-shift McLaren has offered on a road car since the F1 stopped production in 1998. McLaren says the McL 6GT previews a limited run of roughly 500 production cars, priced close to $1.5 million, with customer deliveries beginning in 2028. What stood at Monterey is still a prototype, but the transmission, the carbon construction and the production count are confirmed.

Why a Stick Shift Is the Real Headline for Collectors

In a market where every new hypercar chases another tenth of a second with paddle shifters and hybrid boost, McLaren betting a flagship reveal on a manual gearbox is a deliberate move toward a smaller, more serious kind of buyer — the one who wants to drive the car, not just own the lap time. That's exactly the collector profile House of Cars Dubai sees walking into Al Quoz: clients who already have a McLaren 750S or a 720S in the garage and are looking for something that asks more of them behind the wheel, not less.

With only 500 examples planned and deliveries still two years out, early interest is going to move fast, and GCC allocation for a car like this will be scarce from day one. For collectors serious about securing a build slot — or those simply looking to place a manual McLaren alongside the rest of a Dubai collection once deliveries begin — now is the time to start the conversation.