1968 McLaren M6B CanAm Sports-Racing Spider

This vehicle is a 1968 McLaren-Chevrolet M6 CanAm Sports-Racing Spider with chassis number 50.30. Its livery is similar to the Penske Racing Team that contested the CanAm Championship series of Group 7 sports car races during the 1968 season. Mark Donohue drove the Penske McLaren during that season and was the leading American driver behind Dan Gurney.

McLaren had done extremely well during the 1967 CanAm season with their M6A Works Team cars. They had secured a championship victory with their three cars. For 1968, McLaren put this design into production as a customer car and dubbed them the M6B.

The McLaren Oldsmobile V8 engines had been lightweight and lacking in power, in comparison to other team cars. A change was made to Chevrolet engines that offered large displacement sizes. The chassis of the M6A was brought to life in just eleven weeks. The design had been made by Robin Herd. Bruce McLaren and teammate Denny Hulme fine-tuned the design through rigorous testing session. The chassis was aluminum monocoque which was both lightweight and strong. During the 1967, McLaren and Hulme dominated. McLaren earned 30 points and Hulme was close behind with 27. The McLarens and their Gulf-sponsored cars had won five of the six qualifying races and easily outclassed the competition.

This example was campaigned in European SuperSports Championship events during the 1990s by Wolfgang Momberger. With this racing heritage, it should be eligible for FIA Historic racing. It is a tribute to the Penske Racing cars and to Mark Donohue. It was offered for sale at the 2006 Bonhams & Butterfields auction held at the Quail Lodge in Carmel, California where it was estimated to sell between $240,000 - $280,000. At the conclusion of the auction, the car had been left unsold.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2007