Jules Moritz, Jr: M8E - 1971 80-087

jules@calcom.us

M8E converted to D body in 1972 and raced in the Interseries by Kaye Griffiths with Led Zeppelin sponsorship.

The Ex-Team VDS, Kaye Griffiths “Led Zeppelin” 1971 McLaren-Chevrolet M8E/D, CANAM/Group 7 Sports-Racing, Two-seater, Chassis No. 80-08

The McLaren M8E was the customer version of the utterly dominant Gulf-McLaren M8D works team cars campaigned in 1970 by Denny Hulme, Dan Gurney and Peter Gethin to secure the British based team’s crushing fourth consecutive success in the Canadian-American challenge series – the Can-Am Championship.

Bruce McLaren’s magnificent series of Chevrolet V-8 powered “free formula” sports racing cars had first won the Can-Am Championship titles in 1967.  Since Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Limited was at the time a small dedicated undertaking fully committed in design, build and running of its own Formula 1 and sports-racing cars, it had no capacity to manufacture for customer demand.  Bruce had consequently reached an agreement with Peter Agg’s Trojan company, which manufactured customer Can-Am cars to McLaren designs and standards, throughout the period in question.  Two of the customer variant M8E cars were adapted to feature the wide-track suspension and side-fenced “Batmobile” bodywork developed for the works M8D cars, and it is our understanding that this “Led Zeppelin” machine is one of those two.