With its MP4-12C on the road in 2012, McLaren was ready for endurance sports car racing for the first time since its F1 GTR-dominating season about two decades prior. Suffice it to say, times had changed considerably.

The homologated version of the MP4-12C’s wind tunnel-honed body kit draped over what was otherwise a remarkable testament to the road-going 12C. A specially tuned ECU was paired to a largely unmodified 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 Ricardo engine mated to a racing-specification Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox developed in conjunction with Ricardo. The ECU ensured that the engine was rated at 493 hp to comply with FIA GT3 regulations.

The MP4-12C GT3 debuted in 2011 as a single-car entry at the Spa Francorchamps British GT Championship round followed by the grueling Spa 24 Hours. An MP4-12C GT3 run by a rebooted Hexis Racing won the third round at the Circuito de Navarra in Spain.

In the spring of 2012, McLaren GT completed the last of its 25 MP4-12C GT3s, the car offered here. While designed for endurance racing, this MP4-12C GT3 has led a far more genteel life. Prior to being configured in GT3 spec, as it remains today, this particular car, chassis no. 025, served as the launch platform for the newly announced Cam-Am Edition. The Can-Am cars were a track-only design concept that featured increased engine performance of up to 630 hp and added downforce to compensate for the power—just how Bruce McLaren would have raced his original cars. Despite being based on the GT3, the Can-Am Edition was free from the restrictions of racing regulations and was envisioned as the ‘ultimate track car.’ With a few subtle engine modifications, it became the most powerful 12C derivative.

Chassis no. 025 was the one exhibited at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours. Furthermore, this car was the specific one featured in all marketing materials, press releases, and factory commissioned images, of which high resolution images are on file, including a picture of chassis no. 025 next to Bruce McLaren’s Can-Am car. One of the most prominent photographs taken at Woking was that of the entire McLaren historic collection lined up outside of the McLaren Technology Center (MTC). That famous photo includes this car in Can-Am spec and ensconced in between two legendary race cars: Ayrton Senna’s MP4/4 and the 1995 Le Mans-winning F1 GTR, high praise indeed.

After being exhibited at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Can-Am specification, it was converted back to GT3 about a month later. The car was then showcased at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed. British sports car firm Lawton Brook took ownership of the car from McLaren in late 2012 but did not campaign it.

The car’s first private owner acquired it in 2016 and chose to have the passenger seat installed, the only GT3 to ever have had this done at the factory. The car also features signatures from GT3 drivers Alvaro Parente, 2016 Pirelli World Challenge Championship winner, and factory driver Robert Bell on its A-pillars. After McLaren GT performed a shakedown and inspection, the car was then flown over in a commercial airliner to the U.S. and federalized. Flying Lizard Motorsports in Sonoma, California, recently completed a service and tested the MP4-12C GT3 at Sonoma Raceway.

Presented in never-raced condition, the MP4-12C GT3 represents a snapshot into the latest incarnation of McLaren’s endurance racing history.