McLaren is bringing something special to the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 9, but it isn't some rebodied hypercar that uses sentiment to sell overpriced collector's items to tech bros. Instead, the McLaren Special Operations (MSO) team went digging through its own archives (I'm imagining a warehouse like the one at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark), and dusted off Bruce McLaren's own drawings for a road-going supercar. They took the original blueprints and set out to bring Bruce's old vision to life, exactly as it would've been made back in the day.
It's called the M6GT, and it's a one-off tribute to the company's founder that's completely period correct. The body was built using original molds that were found, and even the engine and gearbox were recreated exactly as they were drawn up. The flat-cap-wearing old British guys are gonna lose their minds over this thing.
Everything, down to the rivets, is period-correct
I can't help but admire the lengths McLaren went to in order to make this recreation as period-correct as possible. Bruce McLaren actually built a prototype of his vision and used it as his own personal work car, shuttling him back and forth between meetings and to race events. So, McLaren thankfully had quite a bit of info to go on when recreating the M6GT.
The chassis is from a period-built McLaren M6A Can Am race car, and the body was built using materials referenced in the original drawings, using the original molds. Even the original-style, closed-dome aluminum rivets were used, so a specialist from the aerospace industry was needed to install them.
It looks like a '60s race car for the road should look; super low, mid-engine, and with big swooping front fenders. Its headlights and taillights are so simple that they look like afterthoughts, the nose looks low enough to scoop bugs up off the pavement, and drivers should stretch before trying to climb over those massive door sills.
The engine is as old-school as it looks
Peer through the big glass rear decklid and you'll see an old-school-looking engine, with eight intake trumpets staring back at you. McLaren doesn't offer much in the way of exact specs, but says that the period-correct small block V8 even has the same "camel hump" cylinder heads from the original design, and over 400 horsepower. Maybe it's one of the glorious-sounding V8s from the M1B Can Am car? McLaren also doesn't say exactly what sort of transmission it has, only that it's a period-correct gearbox, that it's a manual, and that the shift knob was turned from solid walnut.
That walnut shift knob looks perfectly at home in the green interior, along with the old-school Jaeger gauges and simple three-spoke steering wheel. I can already see the flock of tweed jackets swarming this thing at Goodwood.
YouTube/McLaren Automotive
The best part of this project? The unique McLaren badge, with vintage font and the adorable kiwi bird that pays tribute to Bruce McLaren's New Zealand roots. Look at the little fellah. I hope McLaren uses that kiwi symbol on every car moving forward.