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This is the original team car that Bruce McLaren drove to the 1967 CanAm Championship. It is the car that began Team McLaren's dominance of the CanAm series for the next five years.
One of the most significant cars in McLaren's history, the M6A gave the world a clear glimpse of McLaren's potential as a race car constructor. Disappointed with the limited success of his early M1B Can-Am sports racer and the M2B readied for Formula 1, Bruce McLaren gathered his team to create two fully new cars to replace them. In less than three months, the M6A went from pen to paper, employing the team's first aluminum monocoque, a wedge shape that improved its grip, and a raised tail - and it was painted in an energetic papaya color that would come to be known as McLaren Orange, joyously presaging the many celebrations to come.
There were three M6As built. The monocoque chassis uses the construction methods used on their M5A Formula One car. It is constructed from bonded and riveted magnesium and aluminum alloy paneling box structures, welded to square-section steel tubes. Fuel was carried by three rubber pods, one on either side of the driver and one under his knees. Power came from a six-liter Chevrolet V8, producing 525 horsepower.
Special attention was paid to aerodynamics, a rarity at the time. To increase down force, the M6A is wedge-shaped. Testing was carried out in a full-size wind tunnel and the orange color would become a McLaren trademark. The car had gone from design to reality in eleven weeks, which left valuable time for track testing in June of 1967.
McLaren M6 A1 was built by McLaren for the 1967 Can-Am Series. It is mostly magnesium alloy, with a short wheelbase to fit Bruce McLaren, who drove the car throughout that season, which was the second in the existence of the series. It was first powered by an experimental aluminum, and then iron, small-block Chevrolet engine with Lucas fuel injection and a Hewland five-speed transmission. That season would reward Bruce with the first of what would become two Can-Am series championships.
In its first race at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Denny Hulme drove the M6A to victory, at Road America, after setting the fastest time in qualifying. In the next race at Road America, the pair smashed the course record.
The M6A would go on to capture the 1967 Can-Am championship, sweeping five of six races.
This car - the only M6 on a shorter wheelbase - won two races and placed second twice. The car was then sold to Penske for Mark Donohue to drive in the U.S. Road Racing Championship, where he won five races. It continued to race well in 1969 at the hands of Dave Causey. Its current owner acquired this car in 2010 and still races it in historic events.
One of the most significant cars in McLaren's history, the M6A gave the world a clear glimpse of McLaren's potential as a race car constructor. Disappointed with the limited success of his early M1B Can-Am sports racer and the M2B readied for Formula 1, Bruce McLaren gathered his team to create two fully new cars to replace them. In less than three months, the M6A went from pen to paper, employing the team's first aluminum monocoque, a wedge shape that improved its grip, and a raised tail - and it was painted in an energetic papaya color that would come to be known as McLaren Orange, joyously presaging the many celebrations to come.
There were three M6As built. The monocoque chassis uses the construction methods used on their M5A Formula One car. It is constructed from bonded and riveted magnesium and aluminum alloy paneling box structures, welded to square-section steel tubes. Fuel was carried by three rubber pods, one on either side of the driver and one under his knees. Power came from a six-liter Chevrolet V8, producing 525 horsepower.
Special attention was paid to aerodynamics, a rarity at the time. To increase down force, the M6A is wedge-shaped. Testing was carried out in a full-size wind tunnel and the orange color would become a McLaren trademark. The car had gone from design to reality in eleven weeks, which left valuable time for track testing in June of 1967.
McLaren M6 A1 was built by McLaren for the 1967 Can-Am Series. It is mostly magnesium alloy, with a short wheelbase to fit Bruce McLaren, who drove the car throughout that season, which was the second in the existence of the series. It was first powered by an experimental aluminum, and then iron, small-block Chevrolet engine with Lucas fuel injection and a Hewland five-speed transmission. That season would reward Bruce with the first of what would become two Can-Am series championships.
In its first race at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Denny Hulme drove the M6A to victory, at Road America, after setting the fastest time in qualifying. In the next race at Road America, the pair smashed the course record.
The M6A would go on to capture the 1967 Can-Am championship, sweeping five of six races.
This car - the only M6 on a shorter wheelbase - won two races and placed second twice. The car was then sold to Penske for Mark Donohue to drive in the U.S. Road Racing Championship, where he won five races. It continued to race well in 1969 at the hands of Dave Causey. Its current owner acquired this car in 2010 and still races it in historic events.
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Recent Sales of the McLaren M6A
(Data based on Model Year 1967 sales)
McLaren M6As That Failed To Sell At Auction
1967 McLaren M6A's that have appeared at auction but did not sell.
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1967 McLaren M6A
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