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  Mirage M6 Weslake Coupe      

  Article Image gallery (24) M6/300/603 Specifications  
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Country of origin:Great Britain
Produced in:1973
Numbers built:1
Designed by:Len Bailey
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:March 27, 2017
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Click here to download printer friendly versionIt was the start of a very difficult season for the small team with numerous mechanical failures. The main source of the problems was the V8 engine. With its single-plane crankshaft it had the tendency to vibrate the Mirage to pieces. The up-hill battle was rewarded with fourth place finishes in the Spa 1000 km and Nürburgring 1000 km and a third at Watkins Glen, where a second M6 was raced for the first time. In an attempt to improve reliability, the third M6 was tried with the latest version of Harry Weslakes V12 engine. It was infinitely smoother and slightly more powerful, but also heavier than the Cosworth V8. Bell tested the V12 engined Mirage extensively in the final months of 1972. At times he was able to match the times set by the V8 equipped cars but the V12's performance was rarely consistent.

There had been a lot more time to prepare for the 1973 season and the V8 and V12 engined M6s were continued to be tested side by side. Eventually it was decided to start the year with two cars equipped with the Cosworth V8. Alfa Romeo had withdrawn from the World Championship. They were replaced by the 1972 Le Mans winning Matra team. The continuous developments had brought the M6 right on the pace with its 12-cylinder engined French and Italian rivals. Reliability, however, remained a problem. All the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place during the Spa 1000 km race. Partnered by Mike Hailwood, Bell took the M6's first major win and the sister car finished second ahead of a Ferrari and Matra. This was the first ever World Sportscar Championship win for the Cosworth V8 engine.

After Spa, the focus was on the all important 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Gulf Racing team had an ace up their sleeve for the official test; a coupe version of the V12 engined chassis. With its low-drag body, it should have been perfectly suited to the high-speed track but the engine acted up again, refusing to start after each fuel stop. That was the end of the V12 and the coupe. For the race two V8-engined M6s were entered with ZF gearboxes. The first car encountered gearbox problems on lap 29, requiring lengthy repairs and the remaining hours were used to test the car under racing condition. Eventually the engine seized and the car was forced to retire. The cause of both problems was found and rectified ahead of the next race. The other car was running well until Vern Schuppan went a little off line at Tertre Rouge and flipped the car. Considering the technical issues discovered on the other car, a finish would have been very unlikely anyway.

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  Article Image gallery (24) M6/300/603 Specifications