McLaren M8A

Not to be confused with BMW M8 or Chevrolet Corvette (C8).

McLaren M8A

McLaren M8D
Category	Group 7 sports prototype
Constructor	McLaren
Technical specifications
Chassis	Aluminium monocoque
Suspension (front)	Double wishbone
Suspension (rear)	Double wishbone
Engine	Chevrolet 7 L (427 cu in) V8. Naturally aspirated, mid-mounted.
Transmission	Hewland LG600 4-speed manual transmission
Competition history
Notable entrants	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing
Notable drivers	Bruce McLaren Denny Hulme
Debut	1968 Road America Can-Am

The McLaren M8A was a race car developed by driver Bruce McLaren and his Bruce McLaren Motor Racing team for their entry in 1968 Can-Am season. The M8A and its successors dominated Can-Am racing for four consecutive Can-Am seasons, until the arrival of the Porsche 917.

Development

M8A

The M8A was an evolution of the previous M6A design, and featured an all-aluminium seven-litre Chevrolet big-block V8 as a semi-stressed chassis member. The engines were built by Gary Knutson and initially developed 590 bhp. Two complete M8A race cars and one spare tub were built.

M8B

The M8B was developed for the 1969 Can-Am season. The most noticeable difference was that the rear wing was now mounted high on pylons, like the Chaparral 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. The body was also widened in order to fit one-inch wider wheels, now 15 x 11 front and 15 x 16 rear. 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). Two complete M8B race cars and one spare tub were built using parts from the three M8As.

M8C

McLaren M8C.

The M8C was developed as a customer version of the M8A. Fifteen M8Cs were built by Trojan. 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. The M8C was available with a variety of different engines, including Chevrolet big-blocks and small-blocks, the Ford big-block and small-block, and even a Ford-Cosworth DFV F1 engine.

M8D

The M8D was developed for the 1970 Can-Am season. The high strut-mounted rear wing of the M8B had been banned by Can-Am, so the M8D's rear wing was mounted low on fins, earning the car the nickname "Batmobile". The Chevrolet V8 was again built by Bolthoff, who enlarged the engine to 7,620 cc (465 cu in). It now developed 670bhp at 6800rpm with 600 lb⋅ft (810 N⋅m) of torque. Bruce McLaren was tragically fatally injured in an accident whilst testing the M8D at the Goodwood Circuit on 2 June 1970, when his car crashed on the Lavant Straight just before Woodcote corner after a section of the rear bodywork came adrift at speed.

M8E

McLaren M8E

The M8E was a customer car based on the M8B and built by Trojan. The high pylon-mounted rear wings of the M8B were replaced with a lower wing to comply with the ban on high-mounted wings.

M8E-80-04 at 2020 Phillip Island Classic

M8F

McLaren M8F

The M8F was developed for the 1971 Can-Am season and featured an 8.1-liter (488 CID) (and later upscaled 8.3-liter (509 CID)) big-block Chevrolet V8 engine. The engines outputs over 700hp and 655 of torque.

C8

The McLaren C8 (sometimes referred to as the Chevrolet McLaren C) was a Group C racing car built on a M8F Trojan chassis. The C8 used a 496 cu in (8,128 cc) Chevrolet V8 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. Peter Hoffmann owned the sole C8, and ran it until 1999. The body was from Lotec. A second body had been used by Lotterschmidt propelled by a BMW M1/C engine on a M8E chassis, but it was destroyed. In 1982, Peter Hoffmann built this Group C in line with the new Group C regulations; he produced the C8 which used a 496 cu in (8,128 cc) Chevrolet V8 engine. He ran it for the first time in the eighth round of the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM), held at Hockenheimring; however, he retired. Hoffmann's effort in the next round, held again at Hockenheim, was similarly unsuccessful, as he retired after 26 laps. He then switched to the Interserie, and entered the sixth round of that series, held at Siegerlandring; he took second, finishing 39.1 seconds behind Volkert Merl's Porsche 908/3 Turbo. He then returned to the DRM for the tenth round, held at the Nürburgring, but retired once more. 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 with Klaus Niedzwiedz. In 1983, Hoffmann used the C8 from the start of the DRM season, and took eighth in the opening round, held at Zolder. However, he then retired from the next two rounds, held at Hockenheim and Mainz-Finthen, and was unable to start the Norisring round. An attempt to enter the second round of the Interserie, held at Most, was also unsuccessful, as he did not compete in the event. 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 at AVUS and the Nürburgring, and he missed several races altogether, before retiring in the Siegerland and the Nürburgring rounds. Having not used the C8 in 1985, Hoffmann entered it in the first round of the ADAC Sport Auto Supercup in 1986, held at the Nürburgring; but was the last of the finishers, in eleventh. He then retired at Hockenheim, Hoffmann would then switch back to the Holbert CAC-2 that he had used earlier in the season. 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 the Silverstone round, being classified 36th. He entered three rounds of the series with the car in 1993, two rounds at the Nürburgring, and one at Paul Ricard; but he retired from all three. 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. Hoffmann entered five races of the ISC in 1996; he retired from the Monza, Spa and second Nürburgring rounds, failed to start the Donington Park round, but he took the car's first ever victory in the first Nürburgring round. Four failures to start followed in 1997, before Hoffmann took second at the Brno round. 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.

M8FP

The M8FP was the Trojan-built customer version of the M8F.

Specifications

Variant	Year Introduced	Engine Type	Displacement	Horsepower	Horsepower RPM	Torque	Torque RPM	Weight	Length	Width	Height	Wheelbase	Citation
M8A	1968	Chevrolet big-block V8	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)
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)
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)
	1970	Cosworth DFV V8	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)
M8D		Chevrolet big-block V8	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)
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)
M8F				700–830 hp (522–619 kW)	6,400-6,600			646 kg (1,424 lb)			762 mm (30.0 in)
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)
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

Racing history

1968

Already known as "The Bruce and Denny Show" due to Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme winning five of the six Can-Am races in the 1967 season, 1968 started off with an equally dominant performance by McLaren and Hulme in the new M8A at the Road America Can-Am race. Hulme won the race with McLaren second. The M8B faltered at the next race in Bridgehampton, 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.

McLaren roared back with another 1-2 finish in Edmonton, but then could only manage second and fifth in rainy conditions at Laguna Seca. It was beginning to look like the competition had caught up with McLaren.

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.

1970

Bruce McLaren crashed the M8D on the Lavant straight just before Woodcote corner at Goodwood Circuit in England on 2 June 1970. 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. The car would go on to win the opening round of the championship.

1971

Peter Revson won the 1971 Can Am championship in a Team McLaren M8F.

Post-1971

The works McLaren team switched to the new M20 for 1972, but M8s continued to be raced by private entrants. François Cevert won at Donnybrooke in 1972 in an M8F entered by "Young American Racing". This would be the last win in Can-Am for the McLaren M8.