VIN: the Ted Peterson / Fred Knoop McLaren M6 GT chassis GT-1969 E
History of chassis GT-1969 E
Built by Trojan as an evaluation and show car, chassis GT-1969 E was numbered out sequence with the other two examples of the M6 GT assembled in period.
Soon after completion, GT-1969 E was sent out to the USA where it was displayed at the 1972 New York Motor Show. Afterwards, the car was sold by Kirk F. White’s Auto Enterprises of Philadelphia.
The purchaser was Ted Peterson of California.
Peterson had raced various McLarens between 1967 and 1970. He fitted GT-1969 E with a six-litre 535bhp Can-Am engine which ultimately blew during a hillclumb. Peterson then installed a less highly-tuned 470bhp 6.5-litre Chevrolet engine instead.
Peterson frequently used GT-1969 E on the road. During his ownership, it was loaned to Road & Track magazine for a feature - the McLaren starred on the December 1974 edition cover. By the time of publication, Peterson had sold the car to fellow amateur racer and Ferrari collector, Fred Knoop.
Knoop also used GT-1969 E on the road and for a little club racing. During his ownership, it appeared in the November 29th edition of Motor magazine. Journalist John Rettie wrote:
“Forward vision from the cockpit is good but the view aft is not, but then there is very little else on the road that is likely to catch you up!
Despite the ridiculous 55mph speed limit, driving the car was an exhilarating experience as we took to the winding mountain road, where signed 25mph corners could be taken at 60mph with ease.
Other road users treated the car with unbelievable respect – we had people pulling off the road just to let us pass, probably just so they could hear the glorious sound.
The car is remarkably easy to drive and once I had mastered changing the crash five-speed Hewland box, I really enjoyed myself pretending to be Denny Hulme while looking up at car’s hub caps. Despite the wide intermediate racing tyres, the steering is not too heavy.
Fred only uses the car around town and for racing, as there is no room for a spare tyre let alone any luggage. Moreover, after a few minutes in hot weather the car becomes a mobile sauna bath without any through-flow ventilation.
There is no speedometer (naturally) but Fred has thoughtfully put a chart showing speeds in the gears on the right-hand side of the cockpit.
I did not have the chance to take any performance figures but the car has run the quarter mile in 12.7 seconds at 117 mph. Top speed is “only” 165 mph at 5800 rpm with the present de-tuned engine. And all this from a legal road car, albeit an extremely impractical and uneconomical one.”
Chasss GT-1969 E later went through the hands of a couple more US owners (Kerry Payne and Jack Flarady) before it was reputedly wrecked by a mechanic. Since then it has been rebuilt to its original configuration.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Road & Track - https://www.roadandtrack.com/
