If Ferrari remain motor racing’s most revered name, then surely McLaren persist as the sport’s most accomplished all-rounders; a claim underpinned by their 20 Formula 1 World Championship titles, three Indianapolis 500 wins, five consecutive Can-Am Championships and victory, on debut, at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In contrast to much of their subsequent competition success, McLaren’s formative years were characterised by the production of customer-focussed sports cars; the svelte, tubular-framed McLaren-Elva Mark 1–retrospectively dubbed the McLaren M1A–first emerging from the team’s Colnbrook workshops in the autumn of 1964. Available with a variety of engine options, including the Cobra-derived 289 cubic inch Ford unit and the ubiquitous small-block Chevrolet, the M1A soon became a mainstay of short- and middle-distance Sports Car Racing in both Europe and the United States; significant success being achieved by the likes of Graham Hill, Chris Amon, Ludwig Heimrath and Bruce McLaren himself.

For 1966, the Mark 1’s design was further refined; McLaren and his team co-founders Robin Herd and Tyler Alexander conspiring to produce the evolutionary Mark 2, alternatively known as the M1B. The new car retained much of its predecessor’s architecture–not least its double wishbone with coil spring suspension, dual-circuit Girling brakes and four-speed Hewland LG400 transaxle–but significantly featured a revised chassis some 20 per cent stiffer than the M1A’s. New fibreglass bodywork designed by motor racing artist Michael Turner gave the car a noticeably more stubby and purposeful appearance, while its track was widened by an inch, substantially due to the fitment of wider cast magnesium wheels. Some 28-production specification M1Bs were constructed, along with three works cars; Bruce McLaren driving his own works-entered example to third place in the inaugural 1966 Canadian-American Challenge Cup.

With Can-Am cars designed and purchased by their original owners explicitly for racing use, these cars were often used as intended from day one. As such, McLarens like the M1B were often modified by their original owner to keep them, and their ultra-competitive owners, at the front of the grid as long as possible. Such is the case with the M1B offered here, having been used and enjoyed on the track by owners in both the United States and Europe.

In the case of this particular car, at the conclusion of its competitive career in its original form, it was transformed into a single-seat Formula A racer. In doing so, its conversion was facilitated by the removal of its sidepods and the installation of a cockpit-mounted fuel tank. Initially the car retained its original-specification Ford engine, but from mid-season onwards a 302ci Chevrolet unit was installed. The burgeoning European historic racing movement of the mid-1970s led to the repatriation of many UK-built but hitherto US-domiciled cars, and this car’s continuous history is confirmed from the point it returned ‘home’ to the United Kingdom. A report on file, undertaken on behalf of a previous owner by a well-regarded Mclaren specialist, attributes its earliest history to Bud Morley, who campaigned his M1B from new in USRRC, SCCA, and Can-Am events in 1966 and 1967 before undertaking the aforementioned Formula A conversion, with the car being sold to Glenn Brown of Kent, Washington in 1969 who continued to campaign the car in this guise.

Acquired from prominent Missouri-based enthusiast Chuck Haines in 1977 by Northdown Racing proprietor Ian Webb, the car was promptly entrusted to former Tyrrell Formula 1 mechanic Paul Lanzante for a complete rebuild to original M1B specifications. Lanzante would proceed to forge his reputation as arguably the foremost restorer and race preparer of Historic Can-Am machinery–not to mention as Team Principal of the 1995 Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 squad–and the car was duly rebuilt to his customary exacting standards.

Shortly after completion, Webb sold the car to computer leasing magnate and historic racing luminary John Foulston, who campaigned it in Historic Sports Car Club events throughout 1980 and 1981. Preparation responsibilities remained with Lanzante, and the fitment of a potent Chaparral-built 5-litre Chevrolet engine ensured that Foulston won five races in 1981, as well as the eventual HSCC Historic GT Championship. However, Foulston’s ownership of the car was relatively short-lived, as a deal was agreed upon with Webb to acquire the latter’s McLaren M8C, against which the M1B was offered as part exchange. During Webb’s second ownership of this car, it was entered in the inaugural Dubai Grand Prix, in which John Brindley piloted it to a hard-fought second place in the Marlboro Cup Supersports race, behind the winning Lola T70 of Gerry Marshall.

In 1982, the M1B was acquired by former Formula 3 driver Richard Knight, whose commitments as co-founder of the celebrated Magny-Cours and Paul Ricard-based Winfield Racing School ensured frequent race outings for the car in Continental Europe. Of note was the second place overall achieved by Knight at Montlhéry in April of that year; the David Piper-organised Supersports race boasting a high-quality entry including eventual winner Richard Attwood’s Porsche 917 and then-Scuderia Ferrari driver Didier Pironi at the wheel of Piper’s own Ferrari 330/P4. The undulating Zandvoort circuit in Holland yielded a further second placed finish–behind Albert Obrist’s Ferrari 312 PB, no less–while the car enjoyed further outings that year at Donington Park, and in the Historic support race to the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard. Throughout this time, the M1B was maintained by ex-Brabham, Alan Mann Racing and Tyrrell mechanic John Dabbs, who ensured that the preparation standards previously set by Lanzante were duly maintained.

Following a further race with the M1B at Montlhéry in May 1983, Knight sold the M1B to Scottish historic racer Jeffray Johnstone, who continued to campaign it in HSCC and Supersports events until 1988. At this point, ownership passed to an Italian collector, prior to its re-emergence in the corporate ownership of Mobil France in the late 1990s. In the custody of the latter, the car was notably demonstrated by former factory Lancia, Fiat and BMW rally driver Bernard Darniche, who enthused as to the car’s spectacular performance.

In 2006, the car evidently reverted to private ownership, before being acquired by the consigning owner a few years ago. The car currently is presented in running condition but it is advised that it receives a full service and inspection to account for any required works before returning to racing use.

Recent years have witnessed a significant uptick in the popularity of both early Can-Am cars in general, and in McLaren M1Bs in particular; a trend substantially influenced by their eligibility for–and competitiveness in–Historic racing events on both sides of the Atlantic. Indeed, arenas such as the Goodwood Revival, Monterey Historics and the trans-Continental Masters Sports Car Legends series have seen McLarens renew hostilities with old sparring partners the Ford GT40 and Lola T70; the Colnbrook machine offering comparable performance yet noticeably lower running costs on account of its tubular–as opposed to monocoque–chassis construction. Endlessly versatile, superbly engineered and staggeringly fast, the M1B is widely viewed as one of the most important chapters of the compelling McLaren story, and in the case of this particular car, it would represent a spectacular addition to both private collection and Historic race grid alike.