NEWS: Slot.it McLaren M8D 'Dan Gurney'

Slot.it McLaren M8D
CA26a, 1st Can-Am Mosport 1970, Dan Gurney

Slot.it have just released some very exciting photos of the all new McLaren M8D driven by Dan Gurney at Mosport in 1970.  As you can see for yourself, Slot.it has done an outstanding job capturing the M8D at 1:32 scale.  The front nose angle and stance and the side profile of the slot are perfect.  Slot.it have out done themselves in the detail department this time, you just know that the M8D has been a labour of love.  Detail such as the driver's helmet and suit are top shelf as are the top pipes, rear gearbox and just checkout the roll cage in the below photos, stunning!!

I've always been a huge fan of Slot.it, they were one of the manufactures (along with Fly) that got me back into slotting in a big way.  Releases like the McLaren M8D, Porsche 911 GT1, Matra MS670 and working with companies such as Policar will guarantee Slot.it are around for another decade producing the slot cars we love to race.


From the Slot.it Team: 'The M8D was a prototype race car, built in 1970 by McLaren Cars to compete in che Can-Am Challenge Cup.  In comparison with the former ‘M8’, the M8D was wider and with a lower wing, which was also braced to the chassis, as the high mounted, suspension attached wings had been banned. Chassis was an aluminium sheet monocoque with steel bulkheads and stressed engine. Bodywork was in glass-fibre. The engine was a Chevrolet with Lucas fuel injection, prepared by George Bolthoff; it was a 7.6 litres V8 yielding 680 Hp of maximum power.  The transmission was the 4 speeds Hewland LG500.

The wheels had a 15 inches diameter, a width of 11 inches at front and 16 inches at rear. Tracks: front 1575 mm, rear 1486 mm. Wheelbase: 2387 mm. Width: 1930 mm. Length: 4166 mm. The overall weight was 634 kg. Mosport, in Canada, was the first race of the 1970 Can-Am season. Dan Gurney was called to replace Bruce McLaren, who had died while testing the M8D. Dan Gurney, who had never driven the car before, won the race on car number 48, after a very close race with Jacky Oliver.

 
From Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes: 'In the year of McLaren's 50th annivesary we take a look back at the iconic McLaren M8D, a car driven by our legendary founder Bruce McLaren and in which he tragically lost his life.

The M8D gave his team one of its best years in Can-Am. Rallying superbly after the tragedy, McLaren took nine wins from 10 rounds, and Denny Hulme took his second title despite driving with his hands still bandaged after the fire in the M15 at Indianapolis. The M8D differed visually from the M8B. With new rules banning the strut-mounted wings that had proliferated in 1969, the solution at McLaren comprised a pair of tail fins which acted as fences to channel airflow over a wide, low-mounted wing located eight inches above the rear bodywork.

The distinctive appearance earned the car the nickname 'the Batmobile'. It was less efficient aerodynamically without the M8B's high wing, so to maintain performance the team sought even greater horsepower. A new deal with Reynolds Aluminium gave it access to that company’s new silicon-aluminium Chevrolet blocks, 8-litre versions of which were said to be capable of producing 700bhp. In the interest of reliability a slightly smaller 7.6-litre was chosen, giving 670bhp.

In 1970, on that tragic day in Goodwood, Bruce McLaren pulled in and out of the pits for adjustments to the rear wing in a bid to avoid overseer. At 12.19 he left the pits for the last time. In a fast left-hand kink leading on to the main straight part of the tail section lifted at 170mph, causing the car to spin. It struck a marshals’ protective embankment on the right-hand side of the track with enormous impact. Bruce was thrown from the wreckage, and killed instantly.'

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