Indy 500 / McLaren M16C/5 Offenhauser / Johnny Rutherford

Single seater Sunday – To celebrate the 105th running of the Indy 500 today, Sunday 30th May 2021, Johnny Rutherford’s McLaren M16C/5 Offenhauser in which he won the 1974 Indy 500 @fosgoodwood 2013 – the first of "Lone Star JR’s” three win’s - he followed it up in 1976 and 1980 – one of only 10 driver’s to achieve the feat.

This is chassis 5 of 6 and was used by McLaren’s new signing Johnny Rutherford in 1973. He proved his worth immediately, putting it on pole for the Indy 500. However, he endured mechanical problems during the race and was eventually “black flagged” for a fuel leak. He returned to Indy with the same car for 1974 which was now updated to “D” spec. He had missed the first weekend of qualifying, so only lined up 25th. The race went well and with 50 laps remaining, he moved in to the lead and on to his first McLaren victory. The car went on to claim a number of USAC wins.

The M16C was designed by Gordon Coppuck and powered by a 2.7 Litre aluminium Offenhauser straight 4 with a Garrett turbo developing 780bhp.

At the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, it was part of a collection of car’s gathered together to celebrate McLaren’s 50th Anniversary.

The car made a visit to Goodwood FOS in 2009 when Johnny Rutherford was re-united with the car and he drove it throughout the weekend. His original crew chief, Denis Daviss, was also in attendance. Johnny is one of the great names of American racing notching up 27 wins and 23 poles from 314 race starts to add to his 3 Indy wins. He was also CART Champion in 1980.

Like many significant cars, after its racing life was over, it became a collector’s piece. In 1991 it was auctioned by Sotheby’s Palm Beach for $517.000US which was a then world record for an Indy winning car. It was again auctioned in 2013 at RM Auctions Monterey when it was sold for $3,520,000US.

#mclaren @McLarenAuto #indy500 @indy500 @IndyCar