McLaren Unveils 650S Can-Am Edition Limited To 50 Units
By Paulo Acoba
To celebrate the 50th year anniversary of McLaren’s inaugural year in Can-Am racing, McLaren Special Operations is releasing a special edition McLaren 650S Can-Am Edition.
McLaren were extremely successful in the Can-Am racing series that ran from 1966-1987. To celebrate the 50th year since McLaren first started participating in this epic road racing series McLaren announced earlier this week (Oct. 9, 2015) that they are releasing a special edition McLaren 650S that is limited to just 50 units. Unique to this particular McLaren 650S is a carbon fiber hood, carbon fiber air brake and a fully retractable carbon fiber roof. Design cues from McLaren’s 1966 M1B Can-Am car include front fender vents, black alloy wheels and a wicked looking four port exhaust out of the rear (a design touch that is particularly striking compared to the standard exhaust.) MSRP for one of these limited edition beauties starts at around $392,000. McLaren went ahead and dropped a couple of photos as well as a video showcasing all this lovely componentry. Check out that video below!
Can-Am racing was one of the most exciting times for motorsports in North America. Typically a Can-Am seasons consisted of races in both the United States and Canada (thus the name.) Manufacturers with factory teams that participated included McLaren, Porsche, Chaparral, Lola as well as others. Obviously the teams with larger budgets where oftentimes the ones that won the races. From 1967-1971 McLaren swept the manufacturers and overall team championships and won under the banner of Bruce McLaren motor Racing. Can-Am cars were super powerful. Oftentimes, horsepower levels averaged around 1000 HP (Porsche’s Can-Am cars were reported to have close to 1,500 HP at one point.) Pair all that horsepower to a lightweight chassis and you have a car that oftentimes touched 230 MPH (and above) in certain races with long sweeping tracks. It’s no surprise that big power and high speeds attracted the best talent from all over motorsport, including Formula 1.
Next: Mid-Cycle Refresh- 2016 Mclaren 650S Gets More Standard Features For $0