1969 McLaren M6 GT For Sale

Yes, you read that right: A 1969 McLaren M6 GT For Sale. A REAL 1969 McLaren M6 GT. Not a copy. Not a kit car. But a real, honest to Jehovah, McLaren M6 GT as designed by Bruce McLaren himself, and build and driven (on occasion) by Bruce and Denny (yeah, that would be Denny Hulme).

As I recall, McLaren only built about 5 or 6 of these things, and they very, very rarely come up for sale. As a matter of fact, I can't tell you the last time I saw one change hands, and when I saw this one pop up on the Hemmings sight, I couldn't believe it at first. But yes, this is the real thing.

The seller, Fantasy Junction in the Bay Area, says that the car in question is a prototype s/n BMR M6GT-1. It's red with black interior, which is a little odd, because all of them that I've seen (or seen pictures of) were orange (natch). Fantasy Junction also says that "The McLaren M6B GT is among the rarest and most desirable McLaren’s built." Gee, ya think? Talk about underselling ...

The road going M6GT was based on the highly successful M6A racer that dominated the 1967 Can Am season. And one point, Bruce got it into his skull that it would be a good idea to make an enclosed version of a Can Am car so he could go endurance racing. But then the FIA changed the homologation rule, and a manufacturer now had to construct 50 cars. McLaren wasn't prepared to do that, so he came up with the smart/suicidal (delete to taste) idea of making the proposed enduro car street legal.

The car you see here was completed for Bruce McLaren’s personal use, and also as a way for him to evaluate the likelihood of building and selling McLaren street cars. To someone like Mr. McLaren, and to me for that matter, the M6B GT makes perfect sense as a street car. It has entirely ridiculous levels of performance, thanks to the thing only tipping the scales at a 1600 pound curb weight (which was about what a Mini weighed back then) and being propelled by a racing prepped Chevrolet plant. It is, in effect, a street-legal Can Am car. And to make it even cooler, it was a street-legal Can Am car that Bruce McLaren used as a daily driver for more than six months until bought the farm in June of 1970.

How much? Fantasy Junction doesn't say, but you have to figure this will go for huge sum of money.

Source: Hemmings http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2010/04/19/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1969-mclaren-m6-gt/