One of just Three Remaining
1972 McLaren M21 Formula 2
McLaren-Ford M21, chassis M21-3 (as assigned by McLaren), built by Trojan for Astor Club Racing International.
One of just three M21s known to exist today, an ultra-low volume model from McLaren in the run up to their first F1 World Championship.
Raced by Steve Prior in British Formula Atlantic and Indylantic competition during 1975 and 1976.
Restored in the late 1990s by Kerry Adams alongside Jody Scheckter’s sister M21 chassis
Successfully campaigned in US historic racing by James King since 2012, achieving regular podium finishes.
Powered by a 2.0-litre alloy-block Cosworth BDG engine producing close to 300bhp, with approximately five hours running time since built by Teran Motorsports.
Resplendent in Papaya Orange, M21-3 retains its original chassis and even the original 1971-dated Marston fuel cells, inspected annually, and part of the Petersen Automotive Museum’s ‘The Color of Success’ Papaya McLaren exhibition in 2022.
A highly rare addition for any McLaren collection while also being track eligible in Historic Formula 2 events around the world.
Price: £145,000
Chassis Number: M21-3
Location: California, USA
The McLaren Ford M21
Introduced for the 1972 European Formula 2 Championship, the McLaren M21 was Chief Designer’s Ralph Bellamy’s clean-sheet Formula 2 design for the Bruce McLaren Motor Racing team. Built around a compact aluminium monocoque, the M21 followed the simple but highly effective Formula 2 formula of low weight, low drag and maximum usable power.
At its heart was a highly-tuned Cosworth four-cylinder engine, developed to almost two litres and capable of delivering formidable performance in such a light chassis. Bellamy’s design made full use of that power, producing a car that was visibly leaner and lower than many of its March and Brabham contemporaries. Reports consistently praised the M21’s straight-line speed and efficiency, particularly on faster circuits.
The works cars were campaigned during 1972 by a young Jody Scheckter, whose aggressive and committed style suited the car perfectly. Although reliability occasionally hindered results, the outright pace of the M21 was never in doubt.
Its defining moment came at Crystal Palace in May 1972, where Scheckter secured victory against a highly competitive field – a significant result that remains the only Formula 2 win ever achieved by a McLaren chassis. This success no doubt helped promote Scheckter to Formula 1 in McLaren’s Bellamy design M19 in late 1972 and a career that culminated in the 1979 Formula 1 World Championship victory with Ferrari.
McLaren’s direct Formula 2 involvement proved relatively brief, though the design itself enjoyed a longer influence. Construction of the cars had been entrusted to Trojan, which subsequently adapted the M21 chassis concept into the Trojan T101 Formula 5000 car. The fundamental qualities of the design translated effectively to the larger-capacity category.
Today, the M21 has become one of the most effective and desirable Formula 2 cars in historic racing. The combination of very low weight, substantial Cosworth power and remarkably clean aerodynamics makes the cars exceptionally quick even by modern historic standards. Well-driven examples are capable of running with considerably newer machinery, particularly on fast circuits where the M21’s low-drag design can be fully exploited.
This Car: M21-3-72
Chassis M21-3 was built by Trojan and supplied new to Astor Club Racing International for use in the British Formula Atlantic series, raced by Steve Prior during the 1975 season before continuing into Indylantic competition in 1976.
The car was acquired in the late 1990s by noted US enthusiast and collector Chris MacAllister, who commissioned respected McLaren specialist Kerry Adams to carry out a comprehensive restoration, completed in the famous works Papaya Orange.
The restoration work was undertaken alongside the restoration of Jody Scheckter’s own M21 chassis, allowing close reference to original details, finishes and construction techniques throughout the process. Following completion, McLaren formally recognised the surviving cars and allocated chassis identities, this example designated M21-3.
The current owner acquired the car in 2012 and has campaigned it consistently and successfully in US historic racing ever since. Prepared and maintained by Teran Motorsports in California, the M21 has proved exceptionally competitive, recording regular podium finishes against strong Formula 2 and Formula 5000 fields.
Such is the performance of the chassis that it has been described as capable of lapping Sonoma Raceway at a pace comparable to a period Brabham BT44 Formula 1 car. Power comes from a recently prepared 2.0-litre alloy block Cosworth BDG engine producing close to 300bhp. The engine has approximately five hours running time since its rebuild and is paired with a very capable Hewland FG gearbox.
Importantly, the car retains its original chassis together with its original 1971-dated Marston fuel cells, the latter inspected annually. In 2022, the car formed part of a dedicated McLaren exhibition at the Petersen Automotive Museum, ‘The Color of Success’, further underlining the significance of the model within the marque’s glittering competition history.
The rare M21, offered with spare wheels and suspension parts, presents as a highly competitive, well-developed and carefully maintained example of one of McLaren’s most charismatic – and underrated – single-seater designs.
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