Description
Motorsport McLaren-Elva Mark 1 A On 2 September 1963 Bruce McLaren founded 'Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd' and, at the end of the following year, shared it with Teddy Mayer. The first location was a rented shed in New Malden (GB). The M1A was the first sports prototype built by McLaren on a chassis supplied by Elva. Driven by Bruce McLaren, the McLaren Elva M1A was the fastest car at the 1964 Canadian Grand Prix, repeatedly breaking the lap record seven times in a row and equalling it four more. The McLaren M1A and its derivatives, the McLaren M1B and McLaren M1C, are a series of mid-engined Group 7 prototype sports racing cars built by McLaren between 1964 and 1968. The M1A was the first sports car self-designed and developed by the team. Subsequent versions, such as the 'M1B' and 'M1C', raced and competed in the North American Can-Am series, starting in the 1966 season.
The car competed in North America and Europe in various Group 7 and US Road Racing Championship events. Twenty-four examples of the M1A and M1B were built, and 25 examples of the M1C were produced. They were powered by a few different engines, including Chevrolet small-block, Oldsmobile all-aluminium V8, Chevrolet small-block and Ford V8 289 engine. They could mount Hewland L. G. 500 or ZF gearboxes. Built on a tubular chassis, which combined with its light weight gave it an excellent power-to-weight ratio. The M1A driven by famous drivers such as Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Dun Gurney, Ludwig Heimrath, Charlie Hayes, Jerry Entin, Joe Starkey, was a hit on all American and European race tracks. Key features - Original yellow M1A livery design (2018/ 19) - Chassis 04 ex Ludwig Heimrath from 15 M1As - Complete restoration to the highest standards by - details above - Ford 289 engine whose 8 cylinders prepared race-ready 439 hp at the wheel (Dino Jet dyno) - Perfectly balanced ZF gearbox - New tyre set - 2 spare tyre sets - Numerous spare parts - 3 track-ready containers with everything needed for servicing - Double FIA HTP technical passport both with M1A (1961/ 65 TSRC12) as well as M1B (1966/ 71 CAN 1G) with the possibility to use both body types - Original parts replaced and catalogued, including original steering wheel with punching mark - Autoklassiker also offers race field service - From private collection - Extensive period photo and video documentation Condition:
Bodywork in excellent condition Perfect mechanics with high performance Balanced and easy ZF gearbox Race-ready, no work requiredIn the spring of 1965, Ludwig Heimrath, a well-known Canadian driver, bought the McLaren M1A chassis #20-04, Ford engine and ZF gearbox, to take part in the major competitions on the Canada-USA circuits, which, in the following year, would be the benchmarks of the new trophy, better known as CAN-AM (Canada America). During the course of the season he achieved 5 podiums (3 firsts and 2 thirds) that earned him second place in the 1965 Canadian championship standings. The following are the results of the 1965 USSRC season: 5. 6. 1965 Player's 200 Mosport 3rd 19. 6. 1965 Spring Trophy Mosport 1st 27. 6. 1965 GP Watkins Glen DNF (suspension) 4. 7. 1965 Labatt 50 Mont-Tremblant 4th 8. 8. 1965 National Mont-Tremblant DNF (suspension) 14. 8. 8. 1965 Harewood Acres 1st 29. 8. 1965 USRRC Mid-Ohio 3rd 4. 9. 1965 Indian Summer Mosport 1st 5. 9. 1965 Fort Macleod DNA 19. 9. 1965 Player's Mont-Tremblant 4th 25. 9. 1965 GP Canada Mosport DNF 17. 10. 1965 200 mile Laguna Seca DNF (accident) Late in the season in October, during the Laguna Seca 200 mile race, Heimrath was in an accident.
The chassis and suspension are damaged while the bodywork is destroyed by fire. The damaged car was brought back to Toronto by Fejer Bros Racing, Ludwig's Hungarian brothers Rudi and George, friends of Ludwig, for repair. The car was completely stripped to the bare chassis. A special jig was then built to straighten and repair the chassis where necessary, while most of the suspension set-up work was done by Ed Butt, who worked for Rudi Fejer at the time and certified the chassis and originality in 2015.
In October 1996 the #20-04 was bought by Christian Tedeschi, owner of Autoklassiker who, after in-depth research tracing its history, from 2003 to 2006 completed the restoration project in both M1A and M1B livery, obtaining the dual FIA HTP technical passport. In the latter conformation it participates in numerous races of the FIA HISTORIC circuit until 2017. In 2018 he sold the #20-04 to its current collector owner with whom he shared the project of restoring the car to the original 1965 M1A livery of Ludwig Heimrath. There is a rich documentation of the race programmes, photos and videos of the races he has competed in, with a rich and comprehensive book.
