[Torbin]

As grand openings go, this was a great one. Obviously, this post isn’t the first Grand Opening described on McLarenLife, however, it is the first that a McLarenLife team member attended!

One thing that made this (and all their Grand Openings) unique is that it isn’t just a dealer opening or a new model release. These Grand Openings also represent McLaren’s arrival on the street car scene. Those who attend are witnessing history being made at these events. Imagine the stories that would be told today by those who attended Ferrari dealer openings as they entered the marketplace with a dealer presence (if these sort of events would have even created fanfare back in those days). This moment is equally monumental to the sports car community.

At our Bay Area launch, we were fortunate to have several members of the Corporate team in from NYC. I was lucky enough to spend a fair amount of time talking with them about their experiences at McLaren, thoughts on the MP4-12C and where they see the company going in relation to other competitive automakers. To state the obvious, having McLaren in the marketplace is great for enthusiasts of high performance automobiles. It is a phenomenal time to be a sports car fanatic!

Judging the size of crowds is always difficult, but the dealership was crowded throughout the evening with just the right number of attendees that provided a lively, electric feel without being too difficult to move about and take in the sights. A few notable highlights included the handful of MP4-12Cs on display in a variety of different colors (hopefully fans and future owners were taking notes of the available color palette), a red over cream interior F1 road car of the dealership’s owner, a prominently displayed David Coulthard F1 racecar, celebrity San Francisco 49ers football player Vernon Davis and entourage, the umbrella girls helping open and close the dihedral MP4-12C doors for guests, along with many notable Bay Area automotive owners/collectors.

Here are a few of the photos which can also be found on eGarage’s Flicker page that thoroughly document the San Francisco Grand Opening at the dealer’s location in Palo Alto, California.

Other photos and comments of the event are at Peloton25’s post as well, which he had up shortly after the event.

Enjoy!

[Torbin]

a few more great photos by eGarage...