McLaren for vintage racing McLaren cars were specially designed race cars. The Can-Am cars were developments of the sports cars which were introduced in 1964 for the North American sports car races. The team works car for 1964 was the M1. For 1965 the M1A prototype was the team car and bases for the Elva customer M1A cars. In late 1965 the M1b(mk2) was the factory car in 1966 with Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon as drivers. In 1967, specifically for the Can-Am series, the McLaren team introduced a new model, the
M6A. The McLaren M6A also introduced what was to become the trademark orange color for the team. The McLaren team was considered very "multinational" for the times and consisted of team owner and leader Bruce McLaren, fellow New Zealander Chris Amon and another "kiwi", the 1967 Formula One world champion, Denny Hulme, team manager Teddy Mayer, mechanics Tyler Alexander, Gary Knutson, Lee Muir, George Bolthoff, Frank Zimmerman, Tom Anderson, Alan Anderson, David Dunlap, Leo Beattie, Donny Ray Everett, and Haig Alltounian (all from the US), Don Beresford, Alec Greaves, Vince Higgins, and Roger Bailey (UK), Tony Attard (Australia), Cary Taylor, Jimmy Stone, Chris Charles, Colin Beanland, Alan McCall, and Alistair Caldwell (NZ). The M6 series used a full aluminum monocoque design with no uncommon features but, for the times, there was an uncommon attention to detail in preparation by the team members. The M6 series of cars were powered by
Chevy "mouse-motor" small-block V8s built by Al Bartz Engines in Van Nuys, California. They were models of reliability. This was followed in 1968 by the M8A, a new design based around the Chevy big-block V8
"rat motor" as a stressed member of the chassis. McLaren went "in house" with their engine shop in 1969. The M8B, M8C, M8D and M20C were developments of that aluminum monocoque chassis. McLaren so dominated the 1967-1971 seasons that Can-Am was often called the "Bruce and Denny show" after the drivers who very often finished first and second. There was even a one-two-three finish at the Michigan International Speedway on September 28, 1969: McLaren first, Hulme second, and Gurney third. Nine months later, Bruce McLaren lost his life, on June 2, 1970, at
Goodwood when the rear bodywork of his prototype M8D detached during testing resulting in a completely uncontrollable car and a fatal high-speed crash. Team McLaren continued to succeed in Can-Am after Bruce's death with a number of other drivers, but the works Porsche effort with a turbocharged flat-12 engines and a high development budget meant that they could not keep up with the 917. Although private McLarens continued in the series, the works team withdrew to concentrate on Formula One (and USAC, for several years). Team McLaren went on to become a several time
F1 champion and is still a part of that series.
Porsche to the 1973 championship. The
Porsche 908 spyder was used in Can-Am, but was underpowered (350 hp) and mainly used by underfunded teams. It did win the 1970
Road Atlanta race, when the more powerful cars fell out. The 917PA, a spyder version of the
917K Le Mans car, was raced, but its normally aspirated
flat-12 was underpowered (530 hp). In 1971 the 917/10 was introduced. This was not turbocharged, but was lighter and had cleaner body work, and
Jo Siffert managed to finish fourth in the championship. For 1972 the 917/10K with a turbocharged 900 horsepower five-litre flat-12 was introduced. Prepared by
Roger Penske and driven by Mark Donohue and George Follmer these cars won six of the nine races. In 1972 Porsche introduced an even more powerful car, the 917/30KL. Nicknamed the "Turbopanzer" this car was seen as a monster. With 1,100 or 1,580 horsepower (820/1161 kW) in race or qualifying trim available from its 5.4 litre flat-12 and weighing 1,800 lb (816 kg) with better downforce this car won six of eight races in the
1973 championship. Porsche's dominance was such that engine rules were changed to try to reduce the lack of competition for one marque by enforcing a fuel-consumption rule for 1974. This kind of alteration of rules to promote equality is not unknown in other forms of American motorsport. The category that the car had been created for and competed in was discontinued and in 1975 Donohue drove this car to a closed-course world-speed record of 221 mph (average)(356 km/h) at the
Talladega Superspeedway (then called the "Alabama International Motor Speedway"). It was capable of 240 mph (386 km/h) on the straights.
Chaparral Jim Hall's
Chaparrals were very innovative, following his success in the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC). The 2 series Chaparrals (built and engineered with a high degree of covert support from
Chevrolet's research and development division) were leaders in the application of aerodynamics to race cars culminating with the introduction of the 2E in 1966, the first of the high wing race cars. The 2E was a defining design, and the 2G was a development of that basic design. The FIA banned movable aerodynamic devices and Chaparral responded with the 2H 1969. The 2H broke new ground, seeking to reduce drag but did not achieve much success. The 2J that followed was perhaps the ultimate example of what Group 7 rules could allow in a racing car. It was a twin-engined car, with the by-then usual big-block Chevrolet engine providing the driving force, and a tiny snowmobile engine powering a pair of fans at the back of the car. These fans, combined with the movable
Lexan "skirts" around the bottom of the car created a vacuum underneath the car, effectively providing the same level of downforce as the huge wings of previous vehicles, without the drag. Although far too mechanically complex to survive in racing environments, the theory was sound, and would appear in Formula One a few years later in the
BT46B "Fan Car" of 1978.
Lola The
Lola T70, T160-165, T220, T260, and T310 were campaigned by the factory and various customers, and were primarily
Chevy powered. The
Lola T70 driven by
John Surtees won the first Can-Am championship in 1966.
Lola continued to experiment with new designs versus
McLaren which refined the design each year. The 1971
Lola T260 had some success with
Jackie Stewart taking two victories. In 1972 a radical new design, the
Lola T310, made its appearance. The T310 was the longest and widest Can-Am car of the era versus the short stubby T260. The T310 was delivered late and suffered handling problems the entire year with its best finish a fourth at
Watkins Glen.
Others While McLaren and Porsche dominated the series for most of its existence, other vehicles also appeared. Well-established European manufacturers like
Lotus,
CRD, in the form of their Merlyn Mk8 Chevrolet,
Ferrari and
BRM, appeared at various times with limited success, while
March tried to get a share of the lucrative market in 1970–71, but could not establish themselves.
Ford also flitted across the scene with a number of unsuccessful cars based on the GT40 and its successors. American specialist marques like McKee, Genie and Caldwell competed, alongside exotica like the astonishing four-engined
Macs-It special. British-born mechanic and engineer Peter Bryant designed the Ti22 (occasionally known as the
Autocoast after one of the team's major backers) as an American-built challenger to the British McLarens and Lolas. The car made extensive use of
titanium in its chassis and suspension, and Bryant experimented with
aerodynamics and with early use of
carbon-fibre to reduce weight. Although the car was quick it did not achieve consistent success; problems with the team's funding saw Bryant move on to Don Nichols'
UOP-sponsored
Shadow team. The Shadow marque had made its debut with an astonishing car with tiny wheels and radiators mounted on top of the rear wing designed by Trevor Harris; this was unsuccessful, and more conventional cars designed by Bryant replaced them; Bryant was sidelined when Shadow moved into Formula One but after his departure, turbocharged Shadows came to dominate as Porsche and McLaren faded from the scene. == Decline and revivals ==