The McLaren M4A was an open-wheel racing car designed by

Robin Herd Robert John "Robin" Herd (23 March 1939 – 4 June 2019) was an English engineer, designer and businessman. Herd studied at St Peter's College, Oxford, having turned down an offer to play cricket for Worcestershire at the age of 18. He initia ...

and built by British Formula One team McLaren to compete in the

European Formula Two Championship The European Formula Two Championship was a Formula Two motor racing series that was held between 1967–84. The races were held across Europe, and were contested both by drivers aiming to compete in Formula One in the future as well as curren ...

. The M4A made its début in the 1967 European F2 Championship, and was powered by Ford

Cosworth FVA Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industries ...

engines. Two works cars were initially produced for use in the championship. Although the car was reasonably competitive in the series, it was not able to challenge the more capable Brabham BT23 or

Lotus 48 The Lotus 48 was a Formula 2 racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Phillippe and powered by a Cosworth FVA engine. It won three races in the hands of Jim Clark but was generally uncompetitive against rival machinery. Ultimately ...

Graeme Lawrence Graeme Lawrence (25 December 1940 -) is a race car driver from New Zealand. He started serious motor racing in the National 1.5 litre series (SR equivalent of F3) winning the series decisively in 1968 ahead of David Oxton and Ken Smith. Lawre ...

recalled that he and Frank Gardner, who both drove the car in the 1968 season, struggled to handle the M4A and that McLaren's focus was firmly on

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

at the time, which explained why little development was done to the car from the 1967 version and teams were not offered much technical support. Customer M4As were run in the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

and 1969 Tasman Series. The M4A went on to be used in several other series, including various Formula Three series,

Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...

, and the

Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing championship contested annually from 1957 to 2014 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor ...

. Both the M4B and M5A Formula One cars were based on the M4A chassis. Since its retirement from active development, the M4A has been used in a variety of historic motorsports. Historical racer Richard Griot recalled from his first drive of an M4A that "Nothing could touch it in a straight line."

References

External links

* {{Motorsport-stub Formula Two cars McLaren racing cars