MIRAGE M2
The John Wyer Automotive Mirage M2/300 driven by Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver at the 1969 Nurburgring 1000 kms. For the 1968 World Sportscar Championship, the FIA unilaterally decided to impose a 3-litre engine limit for Group 6 Prototypes (as an effort to reduce the increasingly dangerous speeds at the faster circuits). This made cars like the Ford Mk4 and Ferrari 330 P4 instantly obsolete. Manufacturers could continue to race the existing 5-litre limited Group 4 cars with a production requirement of 50 vehicles (i.e., Ford GT40s, Lola T70s, etc.). As the GT40 was not expected to be competitive by 1969, JW Automotive, which ran the Gulf GT40 team at the time, began development of a new 3-litre Group 6 Prototype (the Mirage M2). When the FIA later lowered the minimum production number for Group 4 from 50 to 25 cars, Porsche began an effort to take advantage of the new rule. The result was the Porsche 917. While the 917 had some early development issues, it was the nail in the coffin for the Mirage M2, and other newly designed 3-litre Prototypes. During the 1969 season, the Mirage M2 met with little success. At the 1969 Nurburgring 1000 kms, both the Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver M2, and the sister car driven by David Hobbs and Mike Hailwood, failed to finish the race.
Standard Print: 13" x 19" ($35)
Stock: 65lb Cover Uncoated
Special Giclée Prints (18" x 24") are available for $125 each. Please contact me if you are interested in Giclée prints (arthurschening@comcast.net).
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Email me.
© Arthur Schening. All rights reserved.