McLaren M2B
Encyclopedia
The McLaren M2B was the McLaren
team's first Formula One
racing car, used during the 1966 season
. It was conceived in 1965 and preceded by the M2A development car. Designed by Robin Herd
, the innovative but problematic Mallite
material was used in its construction. The car was powered by Ford
and Serenissima
engines but both lacked power and suffered from reliability issues.
Driven by team founder Bruce McLaren
, the M2B had a short Grand Prix career, entering six races and starting only four. It scored the team's first point at the British Grand Prix
and two more points at the United States Grand Prix
.
was a factory
driver for the Cooper
motor racing team which competed in Formula One
, the highest level of international single-seater
competition. For two years the McLaren team had raced in the Tasman Series
, a competition for single-seaters that ran during the Formula One world championship off-season, and in various sports car races
. Bruce McLaren continued to race in Grands Prix (i.e. Formula One championship races) for Cooper, but by 1965 the team's performances were worsening and so he decided to build his own Formula One car to race the following year. Despite being a skilled engineer himself, McLaren enlisted Robin Herd
to design the car. Herd was an aerospace engineer who had previously worked at the National Gas Turbine Establishment
(NGTE) where he had been involved with the Concorde
project. In September 1965 the M2A development car was completed. Powered by a 4.5 litre Oldsmobile
V8 engine
, it was used to test Herd's design ideas and Firestone
's tyres. With McLaren still employed by Cooper, the McLaren team initially denied that they were building a Formula One competitor, claiming that the M2A was purely a tyre test bed.
At the factory in Colnbrook
, construction started on at least two M2B chassis, whilst a third was possibly started but not completed. By December 1965 the M2A had completed over 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) of testing and two race engines were ready to be installed in the M2B, Bruce McLaren testing the car at Goodwood Circuit
. Also that month, the design team was joined by Herd's former NGTE colleague Gordon Coppuck
; Coppuck later became chief designer at McLaren. In February 1966 further testing was carried out in California, United States in anticipation of the start of the world championship season in May.
rear-wheel drive monocoque
design, monocoques having been popularised by Lotus
's 25
of 1962. Influenced by his aerospace experience, Herd built the chassis with Mallite
, a material that had originally been designed for internal panelling in aircraft. Mallite is a composite of balsa
wood bonded between two sheets of aluminium alloy
that is much stiffer than ordinary aluminium alloy, a useful characteristic for a racing car. However, the material proved to be difficult to bend into the curved shapes needed and so, whilst the M2A prototype was made entirely of Mallite except for the steel bulkheads, on the M2B it was utilised only for the inner and upper skins, the remainder being aluminium alloy. Mallite was also complicated to repair after crash damage. Its use did mean though that the chassis was the stiffest then built for an open-cockpit car, with torsional rigidity of nearly 10000 lbft per degree. Glass-reinforced plastic
bodywork covered the nose, cockpit and engine. Fuel was stored in rubber bag tanks situated within the moncoque.
Herd's knowledge of aerodynamics and Bruce McLaren's experience with Ford
's sports car racing programme combined to spur the team into experimenting with aerodynamic bodywork. The M2A was fitted with a rear wing that produced downforce
– downwards pressure on the car and tyres which allows faster cornering – and reduced lap times by three seconds at a test at Zandvoort
circuit in November 1965, two and a half years before the Brabham and Ferrari
teams eventually debuted wings in a Grand Prix. The team intended to use the wing on the M2B, but the engine problems that occurred prevented this.
The suspension was a conventional wishbone-based arrangement with inboard coilover
springs and dampers
at the front and outboard coilover springs and dampers at the rear. Braking was provided by Girling discs
within 13 inches (33 cm) diameter magnesium alloy
wheels. The wheelbase
measured exactly 8 feet (2438 mm), and front and rear track
was 4 feet 10 inches (1473 mm) and 4 feet 10.75 inches (1492 mm), respectively.
For 1966 the Formula One engine capacity limit was increased to 3.0 litres from the 1.5 litres of the previous five seasons. McLaren considered and discounted British Racing Motors
(BRM), Maserati
, Coventry Climax
and Oldsmobile engines before opting for a Ford V8 engine. This engine was originally designed for the Indianapolis 500
, the premier single-seater oval track race in the United States, and had to be reduced in capacity from 4.2 litres to the 3.0 litre limit. This choice was partly motivated by the belief that it might bring financial support from Ford, although this never materialised. Ex BMW
and Daimler-Benz
engineer Klaus von Rucker was initially appointed to carry out the conversion of the engine in England. However, progress was slow so the project was transferred to Traco Engineering in California, United States, where extensive modifications were made to the internals under the oversight of McLaren's Gary Knutson. In its 4.2 litre form the Ford engine produced 470 bhp and McLaren expected the reduced capacity version to produce about 335 bhp. In fact, it produced 300 bhp in a narrow power band
and was further handicapped by its large size and weight; combined with the gearbox it weighed nearly as much as rival team Brabham's entire car. In order to allow time to further develop the Ford, McLaren also used a Serenissima
M166 3.0 litre V8 engine for some of the races. This engine produced about 260 bhp and required modifications to be made to the monocoque but was at least relatively light and compact. Four- and five-speed ZF transaxle
gearboxes and a Borg & Beck
clutch
were employed.
The M2B was originally intended to be raced in a green and silver colour scheme designed by Michael Turner
. However, short on money, the McLaren team made a financial deal with the makers of the film Grand Prix – a drama that included actual race footage – which involved the car being painted white with a green stripe in order to represent the film's fictional Japanese "Yamura" team.
. There he qualified 10th on the grid and ran as high as sixth but retired after nine laps due to an oil leak. After Monaco McLaren decided "it looks as though we're going to have to make some fairly drastic moves in the engine room", and so for the next race in Belgium
the Serenissima engine was used. The replacement unit did not provide an immediate solution though, terminally damaging its bearings in practice. With no spare, McLaren was unable to start the race. The team missed the next race in France
, but at the British Grand Prix
at Brands Hatch
the M2B finished sixth to score McLaren's first championship point. Another non-start resulted when the Serenissima failed again before the Dutch Grand Prix
, and the entries for the German
and Italian
Grands Prix were withdrawn in anticipation of the improved Ford engine being readied. Thus equipped at the United States Grand Prix
, McLaren drove to fifth place and two more points. At final event in Mexico
, the rear bodywork was cut away to help prevent overheating but the engine failed during the race. McLaren had intended for Chris Amon
, who was already racing sports cars for the team, to race a second car but the engine problems prevented this.
said, "Our main problems were with the choice of the Ford engine." Bruce McLaren's personal secretary and author Eoin Young concurs. The winners of the 1966 drivers' and constructors' championships, Jack Brabham
and his eponymous team, used a Repco
-modified and badged Oldsmobile engine. It produced approximately 290 bhp – less than the Ford – but its light weight and reliability rendered it effective. Despite having used the Oldsmobile in sports racing cars, the McLaren team discounted it. Afterwards, Mayer said, "We considered it, but the kind of modifications which Repco did were well beyond our resources, and I doubt very much if we could have done any more with it than we did with the Indy Ford."
McLaren's later cars abandoned Mallite in favour of conventional aluminium construction; the Ford and Serenissima engine also saw no further action. For 1967 BRM engines powered the M4B
and M5A
but it was not until the Cosworth DFV
became available in 1968 that McLaren scored their first Formula One wins with the M7A
. Herd stayed on designing all of these cars until he left for Cosworth in 1967. McLaren have since become one of the most successful teams in Formula One.
The M2A was sold on to be used by various private racers in the United Kingdom before being destroyed by fire in 1969. Sources suggest that three M2B chassis were similarly sold on; one is awaiting restoration in the United States and another is currently on display at the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition.
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...
team's first Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing car, used during the 1966 season
1966 Formula One season
The 1966 Formula One season was the 17th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a nine race series that commenced on May 22 and ended on October 23...
. It was conceived in 1965 and preceded by the M2A development car. Designed by Robin Herd
Robin Herd
Robin Herd is an English engineer, designer and businessman.Herd graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford with a double first in physics and engineering, before joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1961 as a design engineer on the Concorde supersonic aircraft project...
, the innovative but problematic Mallite
Mallite
Mallite is a type of laminate composite material, formerly manufactured by the William Mallinson & Sons company. The material is formed of a core sheet of end grain balsa wood, faced by duralumin sheets. This construction endows the finished material with greater strength and rigidity than a light...
material was used in its construction. The car was powered by Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and Serenissima
Scuderia Serenissima
Scuderia Serenissima was a successful auto racing team in the early 1960s. Funded by Giovanni Volpi, Serenissima used Ferraris to much success until the founder financed the exiled Ferrari company, ATS...
engines but both lacked power and suffered from reliability issues.
Driven by team founder Bruce McLaren
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
, the M2B had a short Grand Prix career, entering six races and starting only four. It scored the team's first point at the British Grand Prix
1966 British Grand Prix
The 1966 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 16, 1966. It was the fourth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 21st British Grand Prix and the second to be held at Brands Hatch...
and two more points at the United States Grand Prix
1966 United States Grand Prix
The 1966 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 2, 1966 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...
.
Background and development
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing was founded in 1964; Bruce McLarenBruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
was a factory
Factory-backed
Factory-backed is a term commonly used in motorsports to describe a sponsored racing team, car, motorcycle or driver that competes with official sanction and financial support, or "backing" from a manufacturer. As motorsports competition is an expensive endeavor, some degree of factory support is...
driver for the Cooper
Cooper Car Company
The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
motor racing team which competed in Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
, the highest level of international single-seater
Open wheel car
Open-wheel car, formula car, or often single-seater car in British English, describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and, in most cases, one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or fenders...
competition. For two years the McLaren team had raced in the Tasman Series
Tasman Series
The Tasman Series was a motor racing series held from 1964 to 1975, in Australia and New Zealand, and named after the Tasman Sea between the two countries...
, a competition for single-seaters that ran during the Formula One world championship off-season, and in various sports car races
Sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
. Bruce McLaren continued to race in Grands Prix (i.e. Formula One championship races) for Cooper, but by 1965 the team's performances were worsening and so he decided to build his own Formula One car to race the following year. Despite being a skilled engineer himself, McLaren enlisted Robin Herd
Robin Herd
Robin Herd is an English engineer, designer and businessman.Herd graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford with a double first in physics and engineering, before joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1961 as a design engineer on the Concorde supersonic aircraft project...
to design the car. Herd was an aerospace engineer who had previously worked at the National Gas Turbine Establishment
National Gas Turbine Establishment
The National Gas Turbine Establishment in Fleet, part of the Royal Aircraft Establishment , UK was the prime site in the UK for design and development of gas turbine and jet engines. It was created by merging the design teams of Frank Whittle's Power Jets and the RAE turbine development team run...
(NGTE) where he had been involved with the Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
project. In September 1965 the M2A development car was completed. Powered by a 4.5 litre Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...
V8 engine
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, it was used to test Herd's design ideas and Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
's tyres. With McLaren still employed by Cooper, the McLaren team initially denied that they were building a Formula One competitor, claiming that the M2A was purely a tyre test bed.
At the factory in Colnbrook
Colnbrook
Colnbrook is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough, in Berkshire, England. It is situated southeast of central Slough, east of Windsor and west of central London....
, construction started on at least two M2B chassis, whilst a third was possibly started but not completed. By December 1965 the M2A had completed over 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) of testing and two race engines were ready to be installed in the M2B, Bruce McLaren testing the car at Goodwood Circuit
Goodwood Circuit
Goodwood Circuit is an historic venue for both two- and four-wheeled motorsport in the United Kingdom. The 2.4 mile circuit is situated near Chichester, West Sussex, close to the south coast of England, on the estate of Goodwood House, and completely encircles Chichester/Goodwood Airport...
. Also that month, the design team was joined by Herd's former NGTE colleague Gordon Coppuck
Gordon Coppuck
Gordon Coppuck is a British racing car designer who was chief designer for McLaren and later worked for March and co-founded Spirit....
; Coppuck later became chief designer at McLaren. In February 1966 further testing was carried out in California, United States in anticipation of the start of the world championship season in May.
Design
The M2B was a mid-enginedMid-engine design
A mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine between the rear and front axles. Another term for this is mid-ship.-Benefits:The mid-engine layout is typically chosen for its relatively favorable weight distribution...
rear-wheel drive monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
design, monocoques having been popularised by Lotus
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
's 25
Lotus 25
The Lotus 25 was a racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1962 Formula One season. It was a revolutionary design, the first fully stressed monocoque chassis to appear in F1...
of 1962. Influenced by his aerospace experience, Herd built the chassis with Mallite
Mallite
Mallite is a type of laminate composite material, formerly manufactured by the William Mallinson & Sons company. The material is formed of a core sheet of end grain balsa wood, faced by duralumin sheets. This construction endows the finished material with greater strength and rigidity than a light...
, a material that had originally been designed for internal panelling in aircraft. Mallite is a composite of balsa
Balsa
Ochroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree , is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to tall. It is the source of balsa wood, a very lightweight material with many uses...
wood bonded between two sheets of aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories...
that is much stiffer than ordinary aluminium alloy, a useful characteristic for a racing car. However, the material proved to be difficult to bend into the curved shapes needed and so, whilst the M2A prototype was made entirely of Mallite except for the steel bulkheads, on the M2B it was utilised only for the inner and upper skins, the remainder being aluminium alloy. Mallite was also complicated to repair after crash damage. Its use did mean though that the chassis was the stiffest then built for an open-cockpit car, with torsional rigidity of nearly 10000 lbft per degree. Glass-reinforced plastic
Glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....
bodywork covered the nose, cockpit and engine. Fuel was stored in rubber bag tanks situated within the moncoque.
Herd's knowledge of aerodynamics and Bruce McLaren's experience with Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
's sports car racing programme combined to spur the team into experimenting with aerodynamic bodywork. The M2A was fitted with a rear wing that produced downforce
Downforce
Downforce is a downwards thrust created by the aerodynamic characteristics of a car. The purpose of downforce is to allow a car to travel faster through a corner by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip....
– downwards pressure on the car and tyres which allows faster cornering – and reduced lap times by three seconds at a test at Zandvoort
Circuit Park Zandvoort
Circuit Park Zandvoort is a motorsport race track located in Burgemeester van Alphenstraat 108, 2041 KP in the dunes north of the town of Zandvoort, in the Netherlands, near the North Sea coast line.- History :...
circuit in November 1965, two and a half years before the Brabham and Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
teams eventually debuted wings in a Grand Prix. The team intended to use the wing on the M2B, but the engine problems that occurred prevented this.
The suspension was a conventional wishbone-based arrangement with inboard coilover
Coilover
A coilover is an automobile suspension device. "Coilover" is short for "coil spring over strut". It consists of a shock absorber with a coil spring encircling it. The shock absorber and spring are assembled as a unit prior to installation, and are replaced as a unit when the shock absorber has...
springs and dampers
Shock absorber
A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy. It is a type of dashpot.-Nomenclature:...
at the front and outboard coilover springs and dampers at the rear. Braking was provided by Girling discs
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
within 13 inches (33 cm) diameter magnesium alloy
Magnesium alloy
Magnesium alloys are mixtures of magnesium with other metals , often aluminium, zinc, manganese, silicon, copper, rare earths and zirconium. Magnesium is the lightest structural metal. Magnesium alloys have a hexagonal lattice structure, which affects the fundamental properties of these alloys...
wheels. The wheelbase
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
measured exactly 8 feet (2438 mm), and front and rear track
Axle track
The axle track in automobiles and other wheeled vehicles which have two or more wheels on an axle, is the distance between the centreline of two roadwheels on the same axle, each on the other side of the vehicle...
was 4 feet 10 inches (1473 mm) and 4 feet 10.75 inches (1492 mm), respectively.
For 1966 the Formula One engine capacity limit was increased to 3.0 litres from the 1.5 litres of the previous five seasons. McLaren considered and discounted British Racing Motors
British Racing Motors
British Racing Motors was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945, it raced from 1950 to 1977, competing in 197 Grands Prix and winning 17. In 1962, BRM won the Constructors' Title. At the same time, its driver, Graham Hill became World Champion...
(BRM), Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
, Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
and Oldsmobile engines before opting for a Ford V8 engine. This engine was originally designed for the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
, the premier single-seater oval track race in the United States, and had to be reduced in capacity from 4.2 litres to the 3.0 litre limit. This choice was partly motivated by the belief that it might bring financial support from Ford, although this never materialised. Ex BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
and Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz AG was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and internal combustion engines; founded in 1926. An Agreement of Mutual Interest - which was valid until year 2000 - was signed on 1 May 1924 between Karl Benz's Benz & Cie., and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, which had...
engineer Klaus von Rucker was initially appointed to carry out the conversion of the engine in England. However, progress was slow so the project was transferred to Traco Engineering in California, United States, where extensive modifications were made to the internals under the oversight of McLaren's Gary Knutson. In its 4.2 litre form the Ford engine produced 470 bhp and McLaren expected the reduced capacity version to produce about 335 bhp. In fact, it produced 300 bhp in a narrow power band
Power band
The power band of an engine or electric motor refers to the range of operating speeds under which an the engine or motor is able to operate efficiently...
and was further handicapped by its large size and weight; combined with the gearbox it weighed nearly as much as rival team Brabham's entire car. In order to allow time to further develop the Ford, McLaren also used a Serenissima
Scuderia Serenissima
Scuderia Serenissima was a successful auto racing team in the early 1960s. Funded by Giovanni Volpi, Serenissima used Ferraris to much success until the founder financed the exiled Ferrari company, ATS...
M166 3.0 litre V8 engine for some of the races. This engine produced about 260 bhp and required modifications to be made to the monocoque but was at least relatively light and compact. Four- and five-speed ZF transaxle
Transaxle
In the automotive field, a transaxle is a major mechanical component that combines the functionality of the transmission, the differential, and associated components of the driven axle into one integrated assembly....
gearboxes and a Borg & Beck
BorgWarner
BorgWarner Inc. is a United States-based worldwide automotive industry components and parts supplier. It is primarily known for its powertrain products, which include manual and automatic transmissions and transmission components, , turbochargers, engine valve timing system...
clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
were employed.
The M2B was originally intended to be raced in a green and silver colour scheme designed by Michael Turner
Michael Turner (illustrator)
Michael Turner is a British illustrator who specialises in motoring and aviation paintings. He is regarded as one of the early examples of such type and is one of the most highly regarded of all. Turner counts racing drivers, teams, sponsors, pilots, motor and aircraft manufacturers, R.A.F...
. However, short on money, the McLaren team made a financial deal with the makers of the film Grand Prix – a drama that included actual race footage – which involved the car being painted white with a green stripe in order to represent the film's fictional Japanese "Yamura" team.
Racing history
The Ford-powered M2B made its debut driven by McLaren at the world championship season-opening Monaco Grand Prix1966 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 22, 1966. It was the opening round of the 1966 Formula One season, the first of a new era for Formula One, the 'return to power' as engine regulations were altered from 1.5 litres of maximum engine...
. There he qualified 10th on the grid and ran as high as sixth but retired after nine laps due to an oil leak. After Monaco McLaren decided "it looks as though we're going to have to make some fairly drastic moves in the engine room", and so for the next race in Belgium
1966 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1966 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 12 June 1966. It was the second round of the 1966 Formula One season. The race was the 26th Belgian Grand Prix which to this point had only been held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit...
the Serenissima engine was used. The replacement unit did not provide an immediate solution though, terminally damaging its bearings in practice. With no spare, McLaren was unable to start the race. The team missed the next race in France
1966 French Grand Prix
The 1966 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on July 3, 1966. It was the '60th Anniversary race' of Grand Prix racing, which had started with the GP of France in 1906. It was the third round of the 1966 World Championship...
, but at the British Grand Prix
1966 British Grand Prix
The 1966 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 16, 1966. It was the fourth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 21st British Grand Prix and the second to be held at Brands Hatch...
at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...
the M2B finished sixth to score McLaren's first championship point. Another non-start resulted when the Serenissima failed again before the Dutch Grand Prix
1966 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1966 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on July 24, 1966. It was the fifth round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the 16th Dutch Grand Prix since it was first held in 1948...
, and the entries for the German
1966 German Grand Prix
The 1966 German Grand Prix was a mixed Formula One and Formula Two motor race held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife on August 7, 1966. It was the sixth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 28th German Grand Prix and the 22nd to be held at the Nordschleife...
and Italian
1966 Italian Grand Prix
The 1966 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 4, 1966. It was the seventh round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the 36th Italian Grand Prix and the 32nd to be held at Monza...
Grands Prix were withdrawn in anticipation of the improved Ford engine being readied. Thus equipped at the United States Grand Prix
1966 United States Grand Prix
The 1966 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 2, 1966 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...
, McLaren drove to fifth place and two more points. At final event in Mexico
1966 Mexican Grand Prix
The 1966 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 23, 1966. It was the ninth and final round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the fifth Mexican Grand Prix...
, the rear bodywork was cut away to help prevent overheating but the engine failed during the race. McLaren had intended for Chris Amon
Chris Amon
Christopher Arthur Amon MBE is a former motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One - racing in the 1960s and 1970s - and is widely regarded to be one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix...
, who was already racing sports cars for the team, to race a second car but the engine problems prevented this.
World Championship results table
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup... |
Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... Serenissima Scuderia Serenissima Scuderia Serenissima was a successful auto racing team in the early 1960s. Funded by Giovanni Volpi, Serenissima used Ferraris to much success until the founder financed the exiled Ferrari company, ATS... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
MON 1966 Monaco Grand Prix The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 22, 1966. It was the opening round of the 1966 Formula One season, the first of a new era for Formula One, the 'return to power' as engine regulations were altered from 1.5 litres of maximum engine... |
BEL 1966 Belgian Grand Prix The 1966 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 12 June 1966. It was the second round of the 1966 Formula One season. The race was the 26th Belgian Grand Prix which to this point had only been held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit... |
FRA 1966 French Grand Prix The 1966 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on July 3, 1966. It was the '60th Anniversary race' of Grand Prix racing, which had started with the GP of France in 1906. It was the third round of the 1966 World Championship... |
GBR 1966 British Grand Prix The 1966 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 16, 1966. It was the fourth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 21st British Grand Prix and the second to be held at Brands Hatch... |
NED 1966 Dutch Grand Prix The 1966 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on July 24, 1966. It was the fifth round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the 16th Dutch Grand Prix since it was first held in 1948... |
GER 1966 German Grand Prix The 1966 German Grand Prix was a mixed Formula One and Formula Two motor race held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife on August 7, 1966. It was the sixth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 28th German Grand Prix and the 22nd to be held at the Nordschleife... |
ITA 1966 Italian Grand Prix The 1966 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 4, 1966. It was the seventh round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the 36th Italian Grand Prix and the 32nd to be held at Monza... |
USA 1966 United States Grand Prix The 1966 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 2, 1966 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
MEX 1966 Mexican Grand Prix The 1966 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 23, 1966. It was the ninth and final round of the 1966 World Championship. The race was the fifth Mexican Grand Prix... |
2 1 |
9th 11th Points were awarded separately for each chassis and engine combination. McLaren-Ford were 9th with 2 points; McLaren-Serenissima were 11th with 1 point. |
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| Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.... |
Ret | DNS | DNA | 6th | DNS | WD | WD | 5th | Ret | ||||||
| Chris Amon Chris Amon Christopher Arthur Amon MBE is a former motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One - racing in the 1960s and 1970s - and is widely regarded to be one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix... |
DNA | DNA | DNA | DNA | WD | ||||||||||
| Refs |
Legacy
Despite the M2B's lack of success Herd said of the team, "Everyone was ten times more determined to do better the following year." On the design of the car he reflected that, "our emphasis tended to be more on the elegance of the chassis structure rather than on the design of a really quick racing car" and that, "we ... tended to go towards technical ingenuity and bullshit rather than racewinning engineering". Team member and later manager of the organisation Teddy MayerTeddy Mayer
Edward Everett "Teddy" Mayer was an American motor racing entrepreneur who was successful in several categories of racing, including Formula One and IndyCars....
said, "Our main problems were with the choice of the Ford engine." Bruce McLaren's personal secretary and author Eoin Young concurs. The winners of the 1966 drivers' and constructors' championships, Jack Brabham
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....
and his eponymous team, used a Repco
Repco
Repco is an Australian automotive engineering company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and it is best known for spare parts and motor accessories....
-modified and badged Oldsmobile engine. It produced approximately 290 bhp – less than the Ford – but its light weight and reliability rendered it effective. Despite having used the Oldsmobile in sports racing cars, the McLaren team discounted it. Afterwards, Mayer said, "We considered it, but the kind of modifications which Repco did were well beyond our resources, and I doubt very much if we could have done any more with it than we did with the Indy Ford."
McLaren's later cars abandoned Mallite in favour of conventional aluminium construction; the Ford and Serenissima engine also saw no further action. For 1967 BRM engines powered the M4B
McLaren M4B
The McLaren M4B was a Formula One racing car constructed by Trojan for Bruce McLaren Motor Racing and raced five times by New Zealander Bruce McLaren at the start of 1967.The M4B was based on the M4A Formula 2 car as a stopgap between the M2B and the M5A...
and M5A
McLaren M5A
The McLaren M5A/1 was a racing car constructed by Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, and was McLaren's first purpose-built Formula One car. Like its M4B predecessor, only one car of this type was ever built...
but it was not until the Cosworth DFV
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine...
became available in 1968 that McLaren scored their first Formula One wins with the M7A
McLaren M7A
The McLaren M7A and its M7B, M7C and M7D variants were Formula One racing cars, built by McLaren and used in the world championship between 1968 and 1971...
. Herd stayed on designing all of these cars until he left for Cosworth in 1967. McLaren have since become one of the most successful teams in Formula One.
The M2A was sold on to be used by various private racers in the United Kingdom before being destroyed by fire in 1969. Sources suggest that three M2B chassis were similarly sold on; one is awaiting restoration in the United States and another is currently on display at the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition.