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Above: The Can-Am M1
Designed
and built by Autotune in
1991 the Can-Am is a replica
of the famous McLaren M1B
or M1C Sports Racing Cars
campaigned in the mid 1960's
throughout the United States
and Canada.
Autotune have long been racing and preparing original McLaren Can-Am cars, and when a series was announced in England for replicas of pre-1966 sports racing cars it seemed natural to produce a replica along the lines of the
McLaren M1B or M1C.
Specification
The
chassis is a steel spaceframe,
skinned in NS4 Aluminium,
very similar to the original Can-Am,
design albeit using square
section instead of round,
the chassis is an extremely
rigid, lightweight structure.
Above: The Can-Am M1 Road Car
The suspension features a fully
rose jointed double wishbone configuration at the front, using Jaguar XJ6 uprights and a selection of braking options depending on budget.
At the rear twin radius
arms, reversed lower wishbone
and top link locate a purpose
made Cast Aluminium upright
using a Ford 4x4 or Cosworth
hub. Brakes are again varied,
depending on budget.
Although
designed by Autotune, the
full suspension geometry
was thoroughly checked
and verified by former
Chevron and more recently
Reynard designer Paul Brown,
whose successful designs
have included F1, Indy,
and Le Mans Cars.
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Engine
and Transaxle Options
The
chassis was designed in order
to accept a variety of engines,
the most popular choice being
the Chevrolet V8 small block,
other engines fitted have
included the Rover/Buick V8.
Transaxle choice depends very
much on budget, ranging from
the expensive and scarce Hewland
DG 300 through the various
ZF versions to the cheaper
Porsche G50 and Renault 30
designs. All have been fitted
and have performed well in
their particular use.
Above: Racing the Can-Am M1
Bodyshell
Options
Two
types of bodywork configuration
are available, either the
M1B or M1C tail sections must
be specified when ordering
a Can-Am.
Kit
Contents
The
Kit can be purchased in various
stages right through from
a bare chassis and suspension
package to a fully assembled
race car.
Road
Use
Although
designed as a race car, one
Can-Am was built up to full
road car specifications, including
the fitment of lights, handbrake
and extra instrumentation,
etc.
Above: Can-Am M1 Steel Chassis
Track
Record
The
design has proven itself on
the circuit with good results
in the BRSCC Replicar series,
and also in the 750 Motor
Club Supersports Series.
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