'These are our names': Iwi blindsided by McLaren trademark bid

An international supercar firm says it “deeply respects” New Zealand’s cultural heritage after applying to trademark two Māori place names in Auckland. 

But Ngāti Whātua says “no one has spoken to us” about the application by British company McLaren. Māori leaders have now contacted the carmaker after being alerted to the legal bid by the Herald. 

“These are our names, and we need to be part of that conversation,” iwi chief executive Ngārimu Blair said. 

“We’re always ready to have these kōrero [conversations] and we hope McLaren is too.” 

The Herald revealed on Wednesday that McLaren had applied to the United Kingdom’s Intellectual Property Office to trademark the words Remuera and Muriwai. 

The applications were lodged on September 22 and are currently under “examination”. 

Muriwai Beach in West Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell 

Both suburbs are synonymous with Kiwi racing legend Bruce McLaren. 

His parents owned a Remuera service station, where McLaren built the car that would take him to his first racing victory. 

He won his first hill-climb race, aged just 15, at the wheel of an Austin Ulster at Muriwai in West Auckland. 

Automotive pundits believe McLaren’s trademark bid may signal the impending launch of the company’s first SUV and potential names for the new model. 

Blair told the Herald that Muriwai and Remuera (derived from Remuwera) were not just placenames. 

“They are names our tūpuna gave, and they carry our history and commemorate people and place.” 

Ngāti Whātua CEO Ngārimu Blair says the place names have deep significance for iwi. 

Ngāti Whātua knew what Muriwai meant to Bruce McLaren and was proud that two Māori words could potentially sit on one of the world’s most respected brands, Blair said. 

But the iwi had been blindsided yesterday by McLaren’s trademark bid and had now contacted the company “to have a kōrero and they have responded positively”. 

In a statement this morning, a McLaren spokeswoman in the UK said the company “deeply respects the cultural heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand” and recognised the importance of engaging where “considerations of cultural, historical and local significance arise”. 

“We recognise that Remuera and Muriwai hold deep meaning for Ngāti Whātua. 

Bruce McLaren in 1963. His parents owned a service station in Remuera, where he built the car that would take him to his first racing victory. Photo / Getty Images, Bernard Cahier 

“As part of our process, we had engaged with diplomatic representatives for New Zealand who helped to facilitate introductions to local experts and to Ngārimu Blair. 

“Regrettably, that engagement had not been completed before our trademark application was reported in the media.” 

McLaren said it welcomed the opportunity to speak directly to Blair and was “committed to meaningful dialogue as part of any future consideration of these names and their potential use”. 

The spokeswoman added that trademark filings were normal business practice, but did not confirm any future usage. 

Auckland link ‘gives McLaren a story’ 

It emerged last month that McLaren had used the Remuera petrol station as inspiration for a new logo for its Formula One team. 

Yesterday, Hotcars.com linked McLaren’s trademark bid to Bruce McLaren and a possible SUV launch. 

McLaren is known for its sleek, aerodynamic designs. A new hybrid McLaren Artura costs just under $600,000. A McLaren 750S Spider can cost more than $800,000. But limited-edition supercars can fetch north of $1.5 million. 

McLaren supercars can cost upwards of $1.5 million, depending on the model and specs. 

And while McLaren had resisted the SUV wave of its supercar competitors, “that resistance appears to be ending”, Hotcars.com reported. 

The publication said the new McLaren vehicle would “need an identity”. 

“Naming it after the town where Bruce McLaren grew up, or the beach where he first raced, gives McLaren a story to sell alongside the hardware, and it lines up neatly with the new logo’s own origin in that same Remuera garage signage.” 

The McLaren's service station on Remuera Rd, Auckland. 

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said the trademark development was “fun in a way”. 

Brown’s father used to have his vehicle serviced at the McLaren shop. 

“Dad was always trying to pay off his bill for repairing the car to Mr McLaren. I was only a little kid. There’d be racing cars and Dad’s crappy old Wolseley, which was as reliable as the weather.” 

Asked if he was concerned about a big international company trying to profit from Auckland place names, the mayor said: “Not really. I mean they’ve cashed in on the name McLaren, and he came from Remuera.” 

However, he pointed out that Remuera was a Māori word and the trademark bid could therefore be controversial. 

A Kiwi racing legend 

Bruce McLaren’s parents, Les and Ruth, ran the Remuera petrol station at 586-592 Remuera Rd, buying the premises in 1959 in partnership with their son, who had launched his motor-racing career the previous year. 

Bruce McLaren’s racing cars were serviced in the building, while Australian Jack Brabham, who won three Formula One titles, also based his racing cars there. 

McLaren won four Formula One races between 1958 and 1970. He died during a test drive at the Goodwood Circuit in West Sussex, England, on June 2, 1970. 

Les McLaren sold the business in 1968, but the McLarens retained ownership of the premises until Bruce McLaren’s death, according to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. 

Lane Nichols is Auckland Desk Editor and a senior journalist for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.