{"id":204408,"date":"2016-04-18T15:38:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T15:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.supercars.net\/blog\/?p=204408"},"modified":"2024-04-20T17:05:56","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T17:05:56","slug":"1969-mclaren-m6-gt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/1969-mclaren-m6-gt\/","title":{"rendered":"1969 McLaren M6 GT"},"content":{"rendered":"

1969 McLaren M6 GT<\/h1>\n

Real World Speed Racer<\/h3>\n
Contents<\/strong>
\nThe M6A<\/a>
\nThe M6 GT<\/a>
\nThe Road Car<\/a>
\nThe Legacy<\/a>
\nEngine & Chassis<\/a>
\nPerformance<\/a>
\nPictures & Videos<\/a>
\nFull Technical Detail<\/a>
\nAuction Sales<\/a><\/div>\n

I just wanted to preface with how few cars there are in the world, that are as era-defining as the McLaren M6 GT. Its very stature and appearance immediately reminds me of the Speed Racer cartoon<\/strong> from the late 1960s. It is a McLaren model<\/a> for the ages. <\/p>\n

While it might not be as obvious as to whether the animated series was inspired by the M6 GT or vice versa, there is no denying that both protagonists in each of their own elements, were imagined from the prevailing sentiment of embodying the ultimate sports car of the time.<\/p>\n

Each entity would go on to greatly influence the automotive landscape in their own ways, setting the precedence of how and why we enjoy cars today. In fact, the M6 GT is the spiritual forefather of the McLaren F1<\/a> – produced over two decades later – which has come to define, and ultimately establish the McLaren brand<\/a> commercially on a global basis.<\/p>\n

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McLaren M6A<\/h3>\n

The McLaren M6A<\/a> was a race car built by Bruce McLaren and his team for competition during the 1967 Can-Am season, and would eventually provide the foundation upon which the M6 GT would be designed. Arguably the most notable feature of the M6A was that it was the first monocoque chassis produced by McLaren; something that has become an ever-present figure in McLaren\u2019s design philosophy.   <\/p>\n

Powered by a Chevrolet V8 engine, the M6A<\/a> would end up dominating the season, doing so in an extroverted McLaren Orange livery which would go on to be synonymous with Bruce McLaren and the McLaren brand.<\/p>\n

When the M6A was retired, McLaren tasked motorsport outfit Trojan-Tauranac Racing with the construction of replicas of the chassis. Known as the M6B, these publicly sold examples were virtually identical to the M6As<\/a>, but came without an engine. <\/p>\n

McLaren M6 GT<\/h3>\n

The lead up to the eventual construction of the McLaren M6 GT began well before the success of the M6A, at least in theory, as Bruce McLaren had long desired to build a mid-engine race car augmented by his experiences in the Can-Am competition. <\/p>\n

As a project, the mandate was relatively simple – weld a coupe body onto the M6 (A\/B) monocoque, make it the fastest car of its kind in the world, then race it in Group 4 of the World Sportscar Championship alongside the big names, such as Ferrari and Porsche. <\/p>\n

For the McLaren Motor Racing team\u2019s own M6 GTs, the same engine used in the M6A would be carried over, although Bruce McLaren left the door open for the accommodation of a 7-litre Ford unit. McLaren originally intended to build 250 units of the race chassis per year, of which the majority would be sold to public customers, sans an engine. <\/p>\n

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However, in order to be homologated for the 1968 season, McLaren would have to satisfy new requirements introduced by the FIA that year, which stated that a minimum of 50 production examples were needed for application into the series. While McLaren was prepared to manufacture more than enough quantity of chassis, they did not intend nor could they afford fitting engines in so many of them.<\/p>\n

Unable to meet these demands, the M6 GT program was scrapped soon after – but not before a few prototypes were produced by McLaren and Trojan-Tauranac. Two of these examples would later be converted to be road-legal, of which one would be Bruce McLaren\u2019s personal car.<\/p>\n

The Road Car<\/h3>\n

Bruce McLaren didn\u2019t let the homologation set back deter him from getting an M6 GT on the road, legally. While it wasn\u2019t destined to dominate the world\u2019s circuits, it could still be faster than anything with a license plate before it.<\/p>\n

Road-legal, but based essentially on a prototype race-car, the M6 GT had a cramped interior and no real semblance of usability or practicality. But more importantly, it did come with a Bartz-tuned Chevrolet engine<\/strong> and had an estimated top speed of 165 mph, amongst a host of other outstanding features.<\/p>\n

While performance was always going to be at the forefront of the car\u2019s overall disposition, Bruce McLaren wanted to use the M6 GT as an opportunity to benchmark future McLaren road cars. In fact, he had a red M6 GT made as a personal car<\/strong> – infamously registered as OBH 500H – which he drove on a daily basis in order to get the reliable data needed for his ongoing research. <\/p>\n

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With Bruce McLaren\u2019s unexpected and untimely passing in June of 1970, the M6 GT would never see any  production numbers on a larger scale. Only a select few other than Mr. McLaren would have the privilege of experiencing the M6 GT, with Road & Track reviewing one of the M6 GT examples in 1974, declaring it \u2018the wildest road car\u2019. Another example was also raced fairly extensively by British race driver David Prophet.<\/p>\n

Only 4 units of the M6 GT were ever produced – two painted red, another in yellow, and the last finished in the iconic McLaren Orange.<\/p>\n

The Legacy<\/h3>\n

Bruce McLaren didn\u2019t just race cars; he was an enigmatic figure who always seeked to innovate the automobile in all its forms. He was not shy about the approach to his passion, writing in his autobiography \u2018From the Cockpit\u2019, \u201cTo do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.\u201d <\/p>\n

After Bruce McLaren\u2019s death, his vision to create a road-going sports car which would race in a production series, would be shelved indefinitely. It would take over twenty years, and a renaissance of McLaren in Formula 1 racing, for this dream to finally be realized. This was through the conception and production of the 1994 McLaren F1 supercar, which would go on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in competition form.<\/p>\n

Engine<\/h2>\n

At the heart of the McLaren M6 GT was a mid-mounted Bartz-tuned 5.7L Chevrolet LT1 engine which output 370-horsepower @ 5,800 rpm and 370 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm. This allowed the car to accelerate from 0-62 mph in 4.2 seconds and reach a top speed of 165 mph.<\/p>\n

Chassis & Design<\/h2>\n

Essentially, the M6 GT was a re-skinned, road-legal version of the M6A race car. As such, it was extremely light – weighing in at just over 800 kg – a catalyst for the intended driving dynamics for the car. <\/p>\n

The coupe body was made primarily of fibreglass and underneath, continued to feature the aluminum monocoque derived from the race car. Visually, the M6 GT styling queues were contemporary with other well-known race cars, such as the Group 6 Ferrari.  Notable features included the \u2018butterfly\u2019 doors, and manually operated pop-up headlights on some examples.<\/p>\n

Performance Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Engine<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Configuration<\/td>\nChevrolet LT1 90\u00ba V8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Location<\/td>\nMid, longitudinally mounted<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Construction<\/td>\nCast-iron block and head<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Displacement<\/td>\n5,735 cc \/ 350 cu in<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bore \/ Stroke<\/td>\n101.6 mm (4 in) \/ 88.4 mm (3.5 in)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Compression<\/td>\n11.0:1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Valvetrain<\/td>\n2 valves \/ cylinder, OHV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fuel feed<\/td>\n4 Weber Twin choke Carburettors<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aspiration<\/td>\nNaturally Aspirated<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Power<\/td>\n370 bhp \/ 276 kW @ 5,800 rpm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Torque<\/td>\n502 Nm \/ 370 ft lbs @ 4,000 rpm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BHP\/Liter<\/td>\n65 bhp \/ liter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Drivetrain<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Body<\/td>\nFibreglass body<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chassis<\/td>\nAluminium monocoque<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Front suspension<\/td>\nDouble wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rear suspension<\/td>\nDouble wishbones, twin trailing arms, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Steering<\/td>\nRack-and-pinion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brakes (fr\/r)<\/td>\nGirling ventilated discs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gearbox<\/td>\nZF 5DS-26 5 speed Manual<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Drive<\/td>\nRear wheel drive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Dimensions<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Weight<\/td>\n800 kilo \/ 1,764 lbs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Length \/ Width \/ Height<\/td>\n4,114 mm (162 in) \/ 1,854 mm (73 in) \/ 1,016 mm (40 in)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wheelbase \/ Track (fr\/r)<\/td>\n2,450 mm (96.5 in) \/ 1,350 mm (53.1 in) \/ 1,350 mm (53.1 in)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Performance figures<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Power to weight<\/td>\n0.46 bhp \/ kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Top Speed<\/td>\n290 km\/h (180 mph)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
0-60 mph<\/td>\n4.2 s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Pictures & Videos<\/h2>\n
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Video Gallery<\/h3>\n