What’s the only thing cooler than auto racing? Auto racing in the 1960s and ‘70s, that’s what. And that era of Can-Am racing produced some of the most memorable events and cars the world has ever seen. Now McLaren has a 650S that salutes this era, and I want one.
This is the McLaren 650S Can-Am. The name’s not very clever but the livery is sexy enough to make up for it. It’s a 50-model special edition that goes into production next spring to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first Can-Am race at Mont Tremblant, Canada.
McLaren has a lot of history in that series. Bruce McLaren Motor Racing began just a year before it began, and young McLaren’s racing team was one of the most dominant there in the late 1960s.
What does the special edition 650S get? Besides the fantastic 641 horsepower 3.8-liter twin turbo V8, there’s a carbon fiber retractable hardtop, Can-Am badges, lightweight forged alloy wheels, Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires, carbon ceramic tires, a revised aero kit and more.
Plus, it comes in three racing livery-inspired color schemes, of which Mars Red is pictured here next to the M1B raced by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon in their debut season.
Any way I can have both?
Contact the author at patrick@jalopnik.com.