MCLAREN

History: McLaren Cars

McLaren M6GT
The McLaren M6GT project started when New Zealander Bruce McLaren decided to enter Le Mans endurance racing in the late 1960s. The plan was to take an M6 Can-Am car and develop a coupe body that would be competitive in long distance racing. To meet regulations at the time a minimum of fifty cars had to be completed. However, homologation problems lead to the project being scrapped.
Having always harboured an ambition to build his own road car, McLaren wanted to turn the project into the ultimate road car. He wanted to build the fastest and quickest accelerating car in the world that translated their expertise on the race track, to create the definitive road going sports car.
In early 1970 work began on the GT so he could use it on the road in an effort to find out what problems would have to be overcome.
Together with chief designer Gordon Coppuck, Bruce planned to refine the prototype, eventually aiming to produce up to 250 cars per year. In fact, only two M6 GTs were ever built — the original prototype and a second built by Trojan. The original prototype, OBH 500H, became Bruce's personal transportation, and remained so until his untimely death at Goodwood on June 2, 1970 when the road car project died with him.