McLaren Teases a New Supercar with a Manual Shifter Reminiscent of the M6GT
McLaren teased a new car on Instagram that seems to feature a manual transmission.The video begins with footage of one of the few M6GT prototypes built in the late ‘60s, which will likely inspire the ethos of t...
- McLaren teased a new car on Instagram that seems to feature a manual transmission.
- The video begins with footage of one of the few M6GT prototypes built in the late ‘60s, which will likely inspire the ethos of this new model.
- The car will be revealed on August 14, and it could cost more than $2.1 million, per a report from The Supercar Blog.
McLaren’s latest car looks like it could be the brand’s first to feature a manual transmission in nearly 30 years. A video posted to McLaren’s Instagram page has essentially confirmed rumors of a stick-shift road car set to debut later this week.
The video opens with archival footage of a McLaren M6GT, which was developed in the late 1960s as a Group 4 road car capable of competing at Le Mans. It was inspired by the M6A race car, which saw sweeping success in Can-Am racing in the late ‘60s. The company’s founder, Bruce McLaren, spearheaded the project, but only a few prototypes were built. Development of the M6GT was canceled after McLaren’s premature death in 1970.
McLaren Special Operations recently revealed a new example of the M6GT that was built to be nearly identical to McLaren’s original vision, using original molds and reference photos to craft a one-off recreation of the retro road car.
The M6GT model recently built by McLaren Special Operations.
Now, it looks like the M6GT revival was just the start of a return to Bruce McLaren’s original road car dream. McLaren’s Instagram teaser transitions from the old footage to close-up clips of a yet-to-be-released new car. Details are hard to make out, but the last clip, showing a hand shifting gears, is pretty easy to decipher. The video also overlays audio of Bruce McLaren talking about his dreams of making a road car. “Somewhere down the line, I think it is bound to happen,” he says.
If the teaser is showing what we think it is, the car would be the first McLaren to house a manual gearbox since the F1’s retirement in 1998. First signs of this new McLaren surfaced last month in a report from the Supercar Blog that claimed the project was codenamed P50.
McLaren M6GT prototype
McLaren’s teaser video shows nothing in terms of an official name. It also doesn’t give any insight into the powertrain. The original M6GT, as well as the recently fabricated version, housed a small-block Chevy V-8, but this new car will likely have some iteration of McLaren’s modern 4.0-liter V-8.
Though there’s definitely a manual shifter inside the cabin, it’s unclear what it’ll be linked to. Recently, Ferrari unveiled the 12Cilindri Manuale, which has a shift knob and a clutch pedal but is actually using shift-by-wire technology to create a manual-transmission experience via the 12Cilindri’s dual-clutch automatic. McLaren could be following suit, though we won’t know until it’s released.
The road car is expected to eclipse the W1’s starting price of $2.1 million and be limited to fewer than 100 examples. It’ll be unveiled on August 14, according to the teaser, presumably as part of the Monterey Car Week festivities.
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Alayna Wilkening grew up reading motorsport magazines and following her grandpa around his Chevrolet dealership's showroom floor. In true Hoosier fashion, her first car was a hot pink custom cardboard "Fiero-vette" for her kindergarten Kindy 500 race. She now autocrosses a 1994 Miata with her dad, which she learned to drive the night before her first event. Alayna went to Indiana University and graduated with a degree in journalism and a minor in graphic design. As a testament to her great taste in cars, her first real one was a metallic orange 2007 Chevy HHR, which she lovingly called "The Dumptruck."