McLaren M2B
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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
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| Constructor | Bruce McLaren Motor Racing | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Robin Herd | ||||||||
| Successor | M4B | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Mallite-aluminium alloy monocoque, with steel bulkheads | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Upper radius arm and lower wishbone, with rocker-arm operated, inboard coilover spring/dampers | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Upper transverse link and radius arm with reversed lower wishbone. Outboard coilover spring/dampers | ||||||||
| Engine | Ford 3.0 litre V8 and Serenissima 3.0 litre V8 Naturally aspirated, mid-mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | ZF 4- and 5-speed manual transaxle | ||||||||
| Tyres | Firestone | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Bruce McLaren Motor Racing | ||||||||
| Notable drivers |
 Bruce McLaren
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| Debut | 1966 Monaco Grand Prix | ||||||||
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| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
The McLaren M2B was the McLaren team's first Formula One racing car, used during the 1966 season. It was conceived in 1965 and preceded by the M2A development car. Designed by Robin Herd, the innovative but problematic Mallite material was used in its construction. The car was powered by Ford and Serenissima engines but both lacked power and suffered from reliability issues.
Driven by team founder Bruce McLaren, the M2B had a short Grand Prix career, entering six races and starting only four. It scored the team's first point at the British Grand Prix and two more points at the United States Grand Prix.
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing was founded in 1963; Bruce McLaren was a factory driver for the Cooper motor racing team which competed in Formula One, the highest level of international single-seater competition. For two years the McLaren team had raced in the Tasman Series, a competition for single-seaters that ran during the Formula One world championship off-season, and in various sports car races. Bruce McLaren continued to race in Grands Prix (i.e. Formula One championship races) for Cooper, but by 1965 the team's performances were worsening and so he decided to build his own Formula One car to race the following year. Despite being a skilled engineer himself, McLaren enlisted Robin Herd to design the car. Herd was an aerospace engineer who had previously worked at the National Gas Turbine Establishment (NGTE) where he had been involved with the Concorde project. In September 1965 the M2A development car was completed. Powered by a 4.5 litre Oldsmobile V8 engine, it was used to test Herd's design ideas and Firestone's tyres. With McLaren still employed by Cooper, the McLaren team initially denied that they were building a Formula One competitor, claiming that the M2A was purely a tyre test bed.
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