 McLaren M8D | |
| Category | Group 7sports prototype |
|---|---|
| Constructor | McLaren |
| Technical specifications | |
| Chassis | Aluminiummonocoque |
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone |
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbone |
| Engine | Chevrolet 7 L (427 cu in)V8.Naturally aspirated,mid-mounted. |
| Transmission | Hewland LG600 4-speedmanual transmission |
| Competition history | |
| Notable entrants |  Bruce McLaren Motor Racing |
| Notable drivers |  Bruce McLarenDenny Hulme |
| Debut | 1968 Road America Can-Am |
TheMcLaren M8 was a series ofrace car models developed by driverBruce McLaren (1937 – 2 June 1970) and hisBruceMcLaren Motor Racing team for their entry in1968 Can-Am season.[1] The M8A and its successors dominatedCan-Am racing for four consecutive Can-Am seasons, until the arrival of thePorsche 917/10 turbo.[2][3]
The M8A was an evolution of the previousMcLaren M6A, and featured an all-aluminium seven-litreChevrolet big-block V8 as a semi-stressed chassis member.[4] The engines were built by Gary Knutson and initially developed 590 bhp. Two complete M8A race cars and one spare tub were built.[5]
The M8C was developed as a customer version of the M8A. Fifteen M8Cs were built, again byTrojan.[6] They featured a more conventional chassis that did not use the engine as a stressed member, giving the customers more freedom in choosing an engine.[7] The M8C was available with a variety of different engines, includingChevrolet big-blocks andsmall-blocks, theFord big-block andsmall-block, and even aFord-Cosworth DFVF1 engine.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
The M8B was developed for the1969 Can-Am season. The most noticeable difference was that the rear wing was now mounted high on pylons, like theChaparral 2E. The wing mounting pylons passed through the bodywork to attach directly to the suspension uprights. This arrangement allowed McLaren to run softer springs than would have been required had the massive rear wing been attached to the bodywork.[16] The body was also widened in order to fit one-inch wider wheels, now 15 x 11 front and 15 x 16 rear.[17] The 1969 engine was a shorter stroke, larger bore version of the 1968 engine. It was built by George Bolthoff and developed 630bhp from 7,046 cc (430.0 cu in).[1] Two complete M8B race cars and one spare tub were built using parts from the three M8As.[5][2]
The M8E was a customer car based on the M8B and built by Trojan. The high pylon suspension mounted rear wings of the M8B were replaced with a lower fixed wing to comply with the ban on high-mounted wings.[18]
The M8D was developed for the1970 Can-Am season. As in FIA-ruled racing (Formula One, World Sportscar Championship, ec.) in 1969, high, strut-mounted rear wings had been banned also by Can-Am, so the M8B wing was replaced by one mounted low on fins, earning the car the nickname "Batmobile".[3] The Chevrolet V8 engine was again built by Bolthoff, who enlarged it to 7,620 cc (465 cu in). It now developed 670 bhp at 6800 rpm with 600 lb⋅ft (810 N⋅m) of torque.[1]
Immediately prior to the car's launch, McLaren had endured a very difficult few weeks. Denny Hulme has suffered a serious crash at Indianapolis in May, and team founder Bruce McLaren was fatally injured in an accident whilst testing the M8D at theGoodwood Circuit on 2 June 1970. His car crashed on the Lavant Straight, just before Woodcote corner, after a section of the rear bodywork came adrift at speed.
The 1970 Can Am Championship season began on June 14, at the Mosport track. The McLaren M8D won nine out of the series' ten races. Dan Gurney won the first two races, after Bruce’s fatal accident. Peter Gethin replaced Gurney at the fourth race, and won the Road America race. However, Denny Hulme won six races, and was series champion.
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The M8F was developed for the1971 Can-Am season and featured an 8.1-liter (488 CID) (and later upscaled 8.3-liter (509 CID))big-block ChevroletV8 engine.[2] The engines outputs over 700hp and 655 oftorque.[19][20][21][22]
The M8FP was the Trojan-built customer version of the M8F.[2]
The McLaren C8 (sometimes referred to as the Chevrolet McLaren C) was aGroup Cracing car built on a M8F Trojan chassis. The C8 used a 496 cu in (8,128 cc)ChevroletV8 engine. The car would have 825 PS (607 kW; 814 bhp) and 1,100 N⋅m (811 lb⋅ft) for qualifying, and 710 PS (522 kW; 700 bhp) and 935 N⋅m (690 lb⋅ft) for racing, this paired with its low weight of 1,200 lb (544 kg) would make the car fast, but fragile, and it often retired from races.[23]Peter Hoffmann owned the sole C8, and ran it until 1999. The body was fromLotec. A second body had been used by Lotterschmidt propelled by aBMW M1/C engine on a M8E chassis, but it was destroyed. In 1982,Peter Hoffmann built this Group C in line with the newGroup C regulations; he produced the C8 which used a 496 cu in (8,128 cc)ChevroletV8 engine.[24] He ran it for the first time in the eighth round of theDeutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM), held atHockenheimring; however, he retired.[24] Hoffmann's effort in the next round, held again at Hockenheim, was similarly unsuccessful, as he retired after 26 laps.[25] He then switched to theInterserie, and entered the sixth round of that series, held atSiegerlandring; he took second, finishing 39.1 seconds behindVolkert Merl'sPorsche 908/3Turbo.[26] He then returned to the DRM for the tenth round, held at theNürburgring, but retired once more.[24] In conjunction with the races that Hoffmann had completed in the M8F, he was classified in joint-16th in the Interserie driver's standings with 15 points, level withKlaus Niedzwiedz.[27] In 1983, Hoffmann used the C8 from the start of the DRM season, and took eighth in the opening round, held atZolder.[28] However, he then retired from the next two rounds, held at Hockenheim and Mainz-Finthen, and was unable to start theNorisring round.[24] An attempt to enter the second round of the Interserie, held atMost, was also unsuccessful, as he did not compete in the event.[29] Hoffmann retained the C8 for 1984, but this year would be even more unsuccessful than 1983 had been. He retired from the first and third rounds of the Interserie, held atAVUS and the Nürburgring, and he missed several races altogether, before retiring in the Siegerland and the Nürburgring rounds.[30] Having not used the C8 in 1985, Hoffmann entered it in the first round of theADAC Sport Auto Supercup in1986, held at the Nürburgring; but was the last of the finishers, in eleventh.[31] He then retired at Hockenheim,[32] Hoffmann would then switch back to theHolbert CAC-2 that he had used earlier in the season.[33] Despite not having raced the McLaren C8 for six years, Hoffmann opted to run it in two rounds of the International Supersports Cup (ISC) in 1992, where he finished second at the Nürburgring, before struggling in theSilverstone round, being classified 36th.[24] He entered three rounds of the series with the car in 1993, two rounds at the Nürburgring, and one atPaul Ricard; but he retired from all three.[24] The C8 remained unused in 1994, and Hoffmann's attempt to run it at the Nürburgring round of the ISC in 1995 also ended in a retirement.[24] Hoffmann entered five races of the ISC in 1996; he retired from theMonza,Spa and second Nürburgring rounds, failed to start theDonington Park round, but he took the car's first ever victory in the first Nürburgring round.[24] Four failures to start followed in 1997, before Hoffmann took second at theBrno round.[24] He would attempt to enter three races in 1998, and one in 1999, but didn't start any of the races, and the McLaren C8 never competed in a race again.[24]
| Variant | Year Introduced | Engine Type | Displacement | Horsepower | Horsepower RPM | Torque | Torque RPM | Weight | Length | Width | Height | Wheelbase | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M8A | 1968 | Chevrolet big-blockV8 | 6,997 cc (427.0 cu in) | 590–625 hp (440–466 kW) | 7,000 | 590–600 lb⋅ft (800–813 N⋅m) | 5,500 | 658 kg (1,451 lb) | 3,911 mm (154.0 in) | 1,829 mm (72.0 in) | 762 mm (30.0 in) | 2,387 mm (94.0 in) | [34] |
| M8B | 7,046 cc (430.0 cu in) | 630–635 hp (470–474 kW) | 575–600 lb⋅ft (780–813 N⋅m) | 635–655 kg (1,400–1,444 lb) | [35][36][37] | ||||||||
| M8C | 1969 | 6,997 cc (427.0 cu in) | 650 hp (485 kW) | 615 lb⋅ft (834 N⋅m) | 646 kg (1,424 lb) | 3,886 mm (153.0 in) | 1,880 mm (74.0 in) | [38][39] | |||||
| 1970 | Cosworth DFVV8 | 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in) | 420 hp (313 kW) | 9,000 | 270 lb⋅ft (366 N⋅m) | 7,000 | 590 kg (1,301 lb) | [40] | |||||
| M8D | Chevrolet big-blockV8 | 7,620 cc (465.0 cu in) | 670–680 hp (500–507 kW) | 6,800-7,000 | 600 lb⋅ft (813 N⋅m) | 5,500 | 634 kg (1,398 lb) | 4,166 mm (164.0 in) | 1,930 mm (76.0 in) | 1,143 mm (45.0 in) | [41][42] | ||
| M8E | 1971 | 8,095 cc (494.0 cu in) | 740 hp (552 kW) | 6,400 | 655 lb⋅ft (888 N⋅m) | 650 kg (1,433 lb) | 3,886 mm (153.0 in) | 1,880 mm (74.0 in) | 914 mm (36.0 in) | [43] | |||
| M8F | 700–830 hp (522–619 kW) | 6,400-6,600 | 646 kg (1,424 lb) | 762 mm (30.0 in) | [44][45] | ||||||||
| M8FP | 1972 | 740 hp (552 kW) | 6,400 | 700 kg (1,543 lb) | 4,110 mm (161.8 in) | 1,981 mm (78.0 in) | 914 mm (36.0 in) | [46][47] | |||||
| C8 | 1982 | 8,128 cc (496.0 cu in) | 700–814 hp (522–607 kW) | No Data | 690–811 lb⋅ft (936–1,100 N⋅m) | No Data | 544 kg (1,199 lb) | No Data | [48] | ||||
Already known as "The Bruce and Denny Show" due to Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme winning five of the six Can-Am races in the1967 season, 1968 started off with an equally dominant performance by McLaren and Hulme in the new M8A at theRoad America Can-Am race. Hulme won the race with McLaren second. The M8B faltered at the next race atBridgehampton Race Circuit, where both cars retired due to engine failure. Following the double retirement, the team reduced the compression ratio of their engines to 12:1, from 13:1, trading horsepower for increased reliability.[49]
McLaren roared back with another 1-2 finish in Edmonton, but then could only manage second and fifth in rainy conditions in California atLaguna Seca. It was beginning to look like the competition had caught up with McLaren.[50]
The tide turned for the last two races, with the team's mechanics able to extract more power from their engine. Bruce McLaren won in the searing heat at Riverside and Denny Hulme won in Las Vegas. Hulme won the 1968 championship with 35 points, and McLaren finished second with 24 points.[49]
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McLaren, as driver and team owner, won the1969 Can-Am season.
In England on 2 June 1970, twelve days before the CanAm season opened, Bruce McLaren crashed the M8D atGoodwood Circuit on the Lavant straight just before Woodcote corner. He had been testing his new M8D when the rear bodywork came adrift at speed. The loss of aerodynamic downforce destabilised the car, which spun, left the track, and hit a bunker used as a flag station. McLaren lost his life in the accident.
Despite the loss, the car type, driven byDan Gurney, would go on to win the opening round of the1970 Can-Am season championship.[51][52][53][54]
Peter Revson won the1971 Can-Am season championship in a Team McLaren M8F winning 5 races. Denny Hulme won 3 races in the M8F. Two wins were scored by Jackie Stewart in the factory Lola Can Am car.
In the1972 Can-Am season, the works McLaren team switched to the newM20 for 1972, which Hulme winning races 1 and 3. M8s continued to be raced by private entrants, andFrançois Cevert won race 6 atDonnybrooke in an M8F entered by "Young American Racing". This would be the last win in Can-Am for the McLaren M8. The latter half of the 1972 season was dominated by the now turbochargedPorsche 917/10 that combined power well over 800 hp with driveability.
In Europe, M8 were raced in theInterserie. One chassis was entered in 1972 at Imola, with an AMG-tuned turbochargedMercedes-Benz M100 engine.
Media related toMcLaren M8 at Wikimedia Commons
