McLaren History: McLaren M5A
By Sam Cooper July 15 2008
Replacing the wrecked M4B, the M5A was the long awaited McLaren F1 Car, originally planned for the start of the 1967; the M5A debuted in the fourth till last race of the season, and scored just two points during its four race career, both of them in its last race in 1968.
Replacing the wrecked M4B, the M5A was the long awaited McLaren F1 Car, originally planned for the start of the 1967; the M5A debuted in the fourth till last race of the season, and scored just two points during its four race career, both of them in its last race in 1968.
General Information:
Constructor: Bruce McLaren Motor Racing.
Designer: Robin Herd.
Driver(s): Bruce McLaren
Debut: Canadian Grand Prix
Points: 2
Championship Position: 10th in 1967, 2nd in 1968
Technical Specifications:
Chassis: 20swg aluminium alloy monocoque, steel bulkheads.
Front Suspension: Single top link and radius arm, lower wishbown, outboard coil spring/damper, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: reverse lower wishbone, top link, twin radius rods outboard coil spring/damper, anti roll bar
Engine(s):
3 Litre BRM V12
Transmission: Hewland DG500 5 Speed
Tyres: Goodyear
Replacing the wrecked M4B, the M5A was the long awaited McLaren F1 Car, originally planned for the start of the 1967; the M5A debuted in the fourth till last race of the season, and scored just two points during its four race career, both of them in its last race in 1968.
The M5A had some good outings that were quickly diminished by either reliability problems or design faults. In a bid to save vital weight, McLaren decided not to bother adding an alternator to the car, since most of the cars functions were mechanically driven; this proved a problem when Bruce McLaren lost out on a potential race victory when his engine started misfiring, due to a lack of power from the battery.
Bruce found himself in another good position, when he qualified high up the grid for the Italian Grand Prix, though he later retired with a broken engine.
From there on, reliability proved a nightmare for McLaren, forcing them to retire from all the other races in that year. Its two points came in the start of 1968, where Denny Hulme finished in 5th place in the South African Grand Prix.
| Canada | Italy | US | Mexico | South Africa (1968) | |
| Grid | 6th | 3rd | 9th | 8th | 9th |
| Race | 7th | DNF | DNF | DNF | 5th |
Note: Shaded Square indicates points scored.
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