Not registered in a lot
of car enthusiasts minds
The brand McLaren has a
lot of history behind their cars, the founder and the brand itself. Ever
wondered how a car from such a large, prestigious and engineering marvel
company can disappear? That was the question I as a 17 year old car enthusiast
had, leading me to write this blog sharing my knowledge with many other
enthusiasts. Also to raise awareness about it.
To know why this car was
even created one most know about the legendary Can-Am race series Can (Canada)
and Am (America) there are total 7 types of cars that are present in this race
and although it has been regulated by the FIA there are no restrictions on the
engine capacity and fewer technical restrictions. The first race was in 1966. I
mentioned this race series as it provides an idea as to why this car even
existed. Apart from the car this race series gave rise to many new technologies
such as the grounds effect. However all these new technological developments
lead to ultimately an increase in costs, and ended the Can-Am race series. It was
the McLaren’s, Porsches, Chaparral and other companies such as Chevrolet, Lotus
and even Ferrari were part of the race series. But what makes the Can-Am so
special for McLaren was that this was the very race that gave rise to legendary
orange colour used by all their factory race teams, including the latest F1
cars.
Which cars raced in the
Can-Am?
Well there were two main
cars that were the M1A and the M1B which raced as factory cars it used a V8
from an Oldsmobile and a light weight ZF transmission the M1B was similar to
the M1A. But the real car that proved the Kiwi’s strength was the M6A this car
wore the orange in a proud manner as it dominated the track, winning 5 out the
6 race in 1967.
About the M6 GT
The M6 GT, when produced
in 1969 saw the change of rules in the group 5 class of race cars, requiring
only 25 cars to be produced for homologation. The M6GT would prove rather un-
competitive hence the idea of taking the M6GT to Le Mans was dropped, but Bruce
McLaren had the idea of continuing development of the M6GT as a road car. The
car was commissioned to Trojan to build the cars as personal cars for Bruce and
to evaluate what a proper road McLaren should be. It was to be a fast
non-expensive sports car. The project ended after the death of Bruce Mclaren
during the testing of the Can-Am M8D, due to the aerodynamic component failing
in the high speed section sending Bruce McLaren into the concrete wall. His
M6GT was bought by Denny Hulme and kept in a museum in his home town that was
Auckland, later on it was sold to a private collector.
The M6GT was going to be
McLaren’s first road going car much before the F1, the M6GT had a light body
and was powered by 5.7L Chevy V8, putting out 370HP, a double wishbone
suspension and a lithe. The light weight body paired with the excellent
suspension made the M6GT an amazing car that was the forefather to the car that
people refer to as the best sports car ever made, the F1. The M6GT fell into
the gap in history of sports cars when the F1 arrived, earning it the name “the
forgotten sports car”. But for us true car fanatics this is a car that has to
be remembered to truly understand the brand McLaren.
An exciting car nice information
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