1969 McLaren M15 Indianapolis

I took this photograph at the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

The board at the side of the car reads as follows:

'1969

McLaren M15 Indianapolis Car

The car was designed by Gordon Coppuck in 1969 after McLaren had decided to build a car for the 1970 Indianapolis 500.

Using their experience of building and running Can-Am cars a single seater was designed as a light alloy stressed and riveted monocoque with bulged sides, to accommodate the fuel tanks, and the bodywork was GRP.

Suspension layout was conventional using upper and lower wishbones, twin radius rods and anti-roll bar to the rear. The outboard coil-over dampers could be hardened or softened independently on either side by the driver during the race, to optimise handling on the steeply banked Indy circuit. Braking was by outboard ventilated discs all round with A.P. four pot calipers.

The engine was based upon the dominant, Garrett turbocharged 2.65 litre 4 cylinder Meyer-Drake unit developing 750 bhp at 9,000 rpm and driving through a McLaren-Hewland LG500 4-speed gearbox.

Two prototypes were ready by the qualifying deadline and the drivers were to be Denny Hulme and Chris Amon. It emerged that Chris Amon was unable to adapt to the special driving technique required for the Indy circuit and Denny Hulme was injured in a freak accident, where, due to a faulty fuel filler seal, fuel was drawn out of the tank by the airflow and ignited by the red hot turbo charger casing.'

The car in the Donington Museum is chassis M15A/3 and is the car that should have been driven in the 1970 Indianapolis 500 by Chris Amon. Carl Williams took his place and finished the race in ninth position.