Mclaren M8B With Bruce McLaren at The Wheel - Limited Edition Giclee Print with COA

The McLaren M8B

The M8B was McLaren’s 1969 Can-Am challenger, an evolution of the already successful 1968 M8A. Key features included:

• A high-mounted rear wing on tall pylons that passed through the bodywork and attached directly to the rear suspension uprights (inspired by the Chaparral 2E). This let the team run softer springs while still generating massive downforce.
• Widened bodywork to fit larger wheels (15 × 11 front, 15 × 16 rear).
• A short-stroke, big-bore aluminum Chevrolet V8 of about 7,046 cc, built by George Bolthoff, producing roughly 630–640 bhp with Lucas fuel injection.
• An aluminum monocoque chassis with the engine acting as a semi-stressed member, plus a Hewland 4-speed gearbox.⁠

Only a handful of works cars (plus a spare tub) were built, largely using components from the previous year’s M8As.

In the 1969 Can-Am season the M8B was almost unstoppable. The works cars started every race from pole, won all 11 rounds, and finished 1-2 eight times (and 1-2-3 once, when Dan Gurney drove a third car). Bruce McLaren scored six wins and took the drivers’ championship; Denny Hulme took the other five. The average qualifying margin over the rest of the field was more than two seconds.⁠

It is widely regarded as one of the most dominant cars in McLaren’s history (and in Can-Am history overall). The series had almost no technical restrictions, so these bright-orange, big-winged, big-block monsters were among the fastest road-racing cars in the world at the time.

Bruce’s second Can-Am title in the M8B was one of the high points of his career—and of the team he founded—before his death the following year while developing the next car in the line. The team continued “for Bruce,” and the McLaren name he created went on to become one of the most successful in Formula 1 and motorsport.