|
Chassis:
This was the fifth of six McLaren M16s built to 'C' specification early in 1973. It was allocated to new signing Johnny Rutherford for that year's Indy 500. He immediately placed it on pole but struggled in the race with reliability issues and was eventually black-flagged for a fuel leak. Undeterred the Texan returned the next year with the same car, upgraded to D specification. Unfortunately he missed the first weekend of qualifying and was forced to start from 25th. That proved not a problem as Rutherford moved into the lead with just over 50 laps to go and went on to score his first and McLaren second victory in M16C/5.
In addition to winning the 1974 Indy 500, M16C/5 took several more USAC victories before it was sold on to a private team. It is uncertain if the car was raced again after leaving the McLaren works team. It eventually ended up in the hands of the late Florida based collector Rick Carroll, who had it restored to its Indy winning specification. In 1991 his estate was sold at auction by Sotheby's in Palm Beach. Chassis M16C/5 found a new owner for $517,000, which at the time was a world record for an Indy winning car. Among the bidders that missed out were McLaren principal Ron Dennis and American collector Miles Collier. In 2009 the car was brought to the Goodwood Festival of Speed where it was reunited with its original crew-chief Denis Daviss and Johnny Rutherford, who drove the car up the hill throughout the weekend.
Chassis details |
Manufactured in |
1973 |
Major wins |
|
Appearances |
|
Most recent auction(s) |
|
|
|