<< Prev Page 2 of 2 With all that power available from very low engine revolutions, it was essential that surface area of the tires was maximised. The easiest way to achieve that was by making the wheels and tires wider. Compared to the M1B, the rear wheels grew a whole 2 inches in width to a startling 13.5 inches. They were shod with the latest generation of Goodyear racing tires. The M6A, as the new McLaren Group 7 racer was dubbed, was completed with a straightforward fibreglass body, constructed by Specialised Mouldings.
McLaren Cars not only started the Can-Am season with two new racing cars, they also recruited the services of Formula 1 ace Denny Hulme and changed their paint-scheme to the now very familiar papaya-orange. The M6A's victorious debut at the September 3rd season opening race at Road America was the beginning of the absolute domination of Can-Am by McLaren. Officially known as the 'J-Wax Canadian-American Challenge', the championship was quickly renamed the 'Bruce and Denny Show'. McLaren lost just one race in 1967 and Bruce was crowned champion.
Despite the success of the M6A, McLaren developed a brand new car for the 1968, mainly to adopt the more powerful big-block version of the Chevrolet V8. It was far from the end for the M6 as British specialist Trojan was commissioned to build the M6B production version intended for privateers. An amazing 26 copies of the 1967 champion were built and raced by the likes of Dan Gurney, Vic Elford and Marc Donohue. The three M6As built by McLaren were also sold to customers and Marc Donohue drove one to the M6's only victory of the season.
McLaren dominated the 1968 season with the big-block engined M8A, which was let down only twice by poor reliability. With the M8B of 1969, McLaren made no mistake and won every single race of the season. The company did not let down its customers and developed the hybrid McLaren M12, which combined the M6B chassis with a M8A style body work. Designed to take the big-block V8 engine, the M12s often clinched the best of the rest position behind Bruce and Denny. The final evolution of the M6 came in the form of the M6 GT road car. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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With all that power available from very low engine revolutions, it was essential that surface area of the tires was maximised. The easiest way to achieve that was by making the wheels and tires wider. Compared to the M1B, the rear wheels grew a whole 2 inches in width to a startling 13.5 inches. They were shod with the latest generation of Goodyear racing tires. The M6A, as the new McLaren Group 7 racer was dubbed, was completed with a straightforward fibreglass body, constructed by Specialised Mouldings.