The penultimate McLaren Can-Am chassis design, and the last to win a Can-Am Championship... where are they all now?
Can we get a full accounting?
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I'll kick things off with a little background, and details about one car in particular:
As the McLaren team raced their own two M8Fs, they gave Trojan a contract to manufacture a production version of the successful chassis. Trojan nominally produced nine M8Fs, which all wore the "P" designation. Trojan evidently also built one or more spare tubs to supply customers on an exchange basis in the event of shunts, but no additional serial numbers were issued.
IMHO, one of the most interesting M8F racecars has recently been listed for sale in California. It was built-up during the 1973 season to stand-in for chassis "M8FP 72-09" after that car was wrecked at Edmonton by Danny Hopkins. This un-numbered chassis went on to race at Laguna Seca and Riverside (the last two events of the 1973 season) - and it's interesting to me because it was modified to produce more aerodynamic downforce and to wear wider, stickier tires than any of the earlier M8Fs. It could, therefore, legitimately be restored to its original bodywork and tire sizes, and if so it would surely be the fastest M8F in vintage racing!
Here's a detailed accounting of that M8F, plus the Commander team's four other McLaren Can-Am cars:
The Ultimate McLaren M8F
(M8FP 72-09 at Road Atlanta, 7 July 1973, with basically stock bodywork)
(non-serialized M8FP at Riverside, 28 October 1973, with high-downforce bodywork and flared rear fenders)
