The McLaren M6B GT is perhaps even more important to the foundation bedrock of McLaren Automotive than the all-conquering F1.

In many ways, the latest McLaren Automotive division is the realization of founder Bruce McLaren’s dream of a supercar operation that is enhanced and supported by the racing team.

35 or so years on from the first prototype M6GT, the dream is more than some future longing. It is real and thriving with the latest 650S and P1 cars building a devoted following among hypercar fans all over the world.

Even among those who do not follow Formula One closely, the McLaren name is synonymous with racing glory and technological brilliance.

Much of that legacy stems from the ideas embodied in the 1969 M6B GT, of which McLaren himself only completed one prototype before his untimely and tragic death in a test track accident.

The body molds and remaining parts were lovingly completed by Trojan racing and the remaining McLaren racing team.

Despite the lore around this amazing Tarocco or McLaren Orange bodywork, the color is a nod to McLaren’s racecars more than the road car — of which the only factory model was, in fact, red.

Even so, today the Trojan cars are just as adored as the sole factory example.

As seen here, the fantasy of a closed-cockpit LeMans racer for the road is alive and doing very, very well with the 650S parked alongside this iconic classic M6B GT.

The color, at long last, seems to be an exact match to the 1960s model, if not the darker orange shade utilized in the 1990s McLaren F1 model seen below.

1969 McLaren M6B GT

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Specifications Comparison – M6GT versus F1 versus P1

SPECIFICATION	1969 – McLaren M6GT	1993 – McLaren F1	2013 – McLaren P1
Type/Formula	Road car	Roadcar	Road car
Year of production	1969	1993 – 1998	2013
Designer	Bruce McLaren/Gordon Coppuck	Gordon Murray/Peter Stevens	Frank Stephenson/Dan Parry-Williams
Examples built	1 (+ 3 Trojan built)	64	Production limited to 375
Engine	Chevrolet LT1	BMW V12	McLaren M838T + electric motor
Power output	370bhp	627bhp	916PS (903 hp)
Engine	Chevrolet LT1 90º V8	BMW S70/2 GTR LM 60º V12	M383T 90º V8
Configuration	Mid, longitudinally mounted	Mid, longitudinally mounted	Mid, longitudinally mounted
Location	cast-iron block and head	alloy block and head	aluminium block and head
Construction	5.735 liter / 350 cu in	6.064 liter / 370 cu in	3.799 liter / 231.8 cu in
Displacement	101.6 mm (4 in) / 88.4 mm (3.5 in)	86.0 mm (3.4 in) / 87.0 mm (3.4 in)	93.0 mm (3.7 in) / 69.9 mm (2.8 in)
Bore / Stroke	11.0:1	11.0:1	8.7:1
Compression	2 valves / cylinder, OHV	4 valves / cylinder, DOHC	4 valves / cylinder, DOHC, Dual VVT
Valvetrain	4 Weber Twin choke Carburettors	Fuel Injection	Fuel Injection
Fuel feed	Naturally Aspirated	Naturally Aspirated	Twin Turbo
Aspiration	370 bhp / 276 KW @ 5800 rpm	680 bhp / 507 KW @ 7800 rpm	727 bhp / 542 KW @ 7500 rpm
Power	502 Nm / 370 ft lbs @ 4000 rpm	705 Nm / 520 ft lbs @ 4500 rpm	720 Nm / 531 ft lbs @ 4000 rpm
Torque	65 bhp / liter	112 bhp / liter	191 bhp / liter
BHP/Liter	101.6 mm (4 in) / 88.4 mm (3.5 in)	86.0 mm (3.4 in) / 87.0 mm (3.4 in)	93.0 mm (3.7 in) / 69.9 mm (2.8 in)
Bore / Stroke	11.0:1	11.0:1	8.7:1
Compression	2 valves / cylinder, OHV	4 valves / cylinder, DOHC	4 valves / cylinder, DOHC, Dual VVT
Valvetrain	4 Weber Twin choke Carburettors	Fuel Injection	Fuel Injection
Fuel feed	Naturally Aspirated	Naturally Aspirated	Twin Turbo
Aspiration	370 bhp / 276 KW @ 5800 rpm	680 bhp / 507 KW @ 7800 rpm	727 bhp / 542 KW @ 7500 rpm
Power	502 Nm / 370 ft lbs @ 4000 rpm	705 Nm / 520 ft lbs @ 4500 rpm	720 Nm / 531 ft lbs @ 4000 rpm
Torque	65 bhp / liter	112 bhp / liter	191 bhp / liter
Weight	800 kilo / 1763.7 lbs	1062 kilo / 2341.3 lbs	1395 kilo / 3075.4 lbs
Length / Width / Height	4114 mm (162 in) / 1854 mm (73 in) / 1016 mm (40 in)	4365 mm (171.9 in) / 1920 mm (75.6 in) / 1120 mm (44.1 in)	4588 mm (180.6 in) / 1946 mm (76.6 in) / 118 mm (44.6 in)
Wheelbase / Track (fr/r)	2450 mm (96.5 in) / 1350 mm (53.1 in) / 1350 mm (53.1 in)	2718 mm (107 in) / 1570 mm (61.8 in) / 1464 mm (57.6 in)	2670 mm (105.1 in) / 1658 mm (65.3 in) / 1604 mm (63.1 in)
Power to weight	0.46 bhp / kg	0.64 bhp / kg	0.65 bhp / kg
Top Speed	290 km/h (180 mph)	362 km/h (225 mph)	350 km/h (217 mph) (limited)
0-60 mph	4.2 s	2.9 s	2.8 s

Only one of these LT1-powered road cars was officially made by McLaren. At the time, “by McLaren” literally meant that Bruce’s racing crew had created a road car for the boss.

The saying goes that the original M6GT was his daily driver: attending events and developing the production plans of this racing prototype for the road.

His plan was for a run of 250 cars, but only three more were created by Trojan, a fellow racing shop with the ability to complete the street-legal fiberglass bodywork, doors, and all the other trimmings like wipers and blinkers.

It was a learning process – as evidenced in the parking lights integrated into the nose, but the flip-lamps above having a slight finger hole in their leading edge.

Yep, these were functional: to lift and lock the lamps into their open position. The Trojan cars featured a shrouded lamp setup.

The M6GT is clearly a long-body prototype, with the shape still echoed in the F1 LM’s extra length versus the standard F1.

There is clear lineage in the McLaren road car family – particularly how the overlay images are so close for the M6GT versus the F1 versus the P1.

Hypercar Evolution – 1969 McLaren M6GT vs. 1995 McLaren F1 vs. 2014 McLaren P1

They are very, very close – despite quite different wheelbase lengths.

Aside from the strikingly-similar sihouettes and daylight-openings, the M6GT really shows progress in aerodynamics by dropping the back glass altogether in the F1 and P1.

The P1 in particular seems to almost create a negative space in this shape – it looks like there should or could be glass there, but it is pure air.

Additionally, the tail of the P1 is quite special versus the F1 and M6GT. The effectiveness of its scoop-shaped, push-rod actuated spoiler allows the tail to be far more rounded than possible before.

What all three of these McLaren’s also share is the swing-switch door that includes part of the sill frame in its lower edge for all McLaren’s so far.

For the M6GT, the doors are fairly terrifying in how little space they allow a driver for access.  Of course, by this time, Bruce could have leapt in the window slit from ten paces.

Or perhaps not. The M7 follow-up to this car is an open-wheel racer with no doors at all.

Specifications Comparison – M6GT versus F1 versus P1

SPECIFICATION	1969 – McLaren M6GT	1993 – McLaren F1	2013 – McLaren P1
Type/Formula	Road car	Roadcar	Road car
Year of production	1969	1993 – 1998	2013
Designer	Bruce McLaren/Gordon Coppuck	Gordon Murray/Peter Stevens	Frank Stephenson/Dan Parry-Williams
Examples built	1 (+ 3 Trojan built)	64	Production limited to 375
Engine	Chevrolet LT1	BMW V12	McLaren M838T + electric motor
Power output	370bhp	627bhp	916PS (903 hp)
Engine	Chevrolet LT1 90º V8	BMW S70/2 GTR LM 60º V12	M383T 90º V8
Configuration	Mid, longitudinally mounted	Mid, longitudinally mounted	Mid, longitudinally mounted
Location	cast-iron block and head	alloy block and head	aluminium block and head
Construction	5.735 liter / 350 cu in	6.064 liter / 370 cu in	3.799 liter / 231.8 cu in
Displacement	101.6 mm (4 in) / 88.4 mm (3.5 in)	86.0 mm (3.4 in) / 87.0 mm (3.4 in)	93.0 mm (3.7 in) / 69.9 mm (2.8 in)
Bore / Stroke	11.0:1	11.0:1	8.7:1
Compression	2 valves / cylinder, OHV	4 valves / cylinder, DOHC	4 valves / cylinder, DOHC, Dual VVT
Valvetrain	4 Weber Twin choke Carburettors	Fuel Injection	Fuel Injection
Fuel feed	Naturally Aspirated	Naturally Aspirated	Twin Turbo
Aspiration	370 bhp / 276 KW @ 5800 rpm	680 bhp / 507 KW @ 7800 rpm	727 bhp / 542 KW @ 7500 rpm
Power	502 Nm / 370 ft lbs @ 4000 rpm	705 Nm / 520 ft lbs @ 4500 rpm	720 Nm / 531 ft lbs @ 4000 rpm
Torque	65 bhp / liter	112 bhp / liter	191 bhp / liter
BHP/Liter	101.6 mm (4 in) / 88.4 mm (3.5 in)	86.0 mm (3.4 in) / 87.0 mm (3.4 in)	93.0 mm (3.7 in) / 69.9 mm (2.8 in)
Bore / Stroke	11.0:1	11.0:1	8.7:1
Compression	2 valves / cylinder, OHV	4 valves / cylinder, DOHC	4 valves / cylinder, DOHC, Dual VVT
Valvetrain	4 Weber Twin choke Carburettors	Fuel Injection	Fuel Injection
Fuel feed	Naturally Aspirated	Naturally Aspirated	Twin Turbo
Aspiration	370 bhp / 276 KW @ 5800 rpm	680 bhp / 507 KW @ 7800 rpm	727 bhp / 542 KW @ 7500 rpm
Power	502 Nm / 370 ft lbs @ 4000 rpm	705 Nm / 520 ft lbs @ 4500 rpm	720 Nm / 531 ft lbs @ 4000 rpm
Torque	65 bhp / liter	112 bhp / liter	191 bhp / liter
Weight	800 kilo / 1763.7 lbs	1062 kilo / 2341.3 lbs	1395 kilo / 3075.4 lbs
Length / Width / Height	4114 mm (162 in) / 1854 mm (73 in) / 1016 mm (40 in)	4365 mm (171.9 in) / 1920 mm (75.6 in) / 1120 mm (44.1 in)	4588 mm (180.6 in) / 1946 mm (76.6 in) / 118 mm (44.6 in)
Wheelbase / Track (fr/r)	2450 mm (96.5 in) / 1350 mm (53.1 in) / 1350 mm (53.1 in)	2718 mm (107 in) / 1570 mm (61.8 in) / 1464 mm (57.6 in)	2670 mm (105.1 in) / 1658 mm (65.3 in) / 1604 mm (63.1 in)
Power to weight	0.46 bhp / kg	0.64 bhp / kg	0.65 bhp / kg
Top Speed	290 km/h (180 mph)	362 km/h (225 mph)	350 km/h (217 mph) (limited)
0-60 mph	4.2 s	2.9 s	2.8 s

Enjoy these images of the M6GT, courtesy of a variety of places:

• UltimateCarPages.com
• SimRaceway Renderings
• McLaren Cars Limited
• RM Auctions

 

1968 McLaren M6GT – McLaren Orange

 

1968 McLaren M6GT – Red

Comparison Images with F1 and P1