KITS AND PIECES
IF YOU’RE SUCCESSFUL, PEOPLE WILL WANT TO COPY; IF YOU’RE GOOD-LOOKING AS WELL, SO MUCH MORE
The Unique Vehicle and Accessory Company (UVA) was started by Alan Arnold and Terry Lee during the early ’80s, in Berkshire, England. They began by importing an American VW Beetle–based kit car called the ‘Manta Montage’. The fact that it bore a strong resemblance to the Mclaren M6GT was no accident.
The Mclaren M6GT — featured in Motorman, New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 339 — was a closed-cockpit sports car designed by Bruce Mclaren and his team as a GT car and also to be raced at Le Mans. It was based on the M6A Can-am race car, in which Mclaren and Denny Hulme had dominated racing in the US in 1967. It was a year that finished with Bruce winning the 1967 Can-am Challenge Cup. He was seriously considering mass producing it when he was killed in a testing accident in 1970 at the Goodwood race track.
In the early ’70s, the M6GT was on tour in the US. Brothers Brad and Tim Lovette asked if they could borrow it. Surprisingly, the Mclaren people agreed, and the Lovettes took a mould off the body. From this mould emerged the Manta Montage, a kit car that was sold with some success to the American public.
A British version of an American version of a British original
The British version was called the ‘UVA Montage’; Alan and Terry were the British agents for the car from 1984 to 1986. The kits came as a fully assembled body, complete with all wiring, lights, instruments, inner trim, etc., ready fitted. The rest could theoretically be assembled in a weekend. All the builder generally had to do was bolt in the drivetrain, add the wheels, and the car would be ready to go.
These kits were one of the most expensive kits on the market at that time. The British, however, were a lot more discerning than their American cousins about what sort of supercar they were prepared to invest a lot of money in, and sales there were not as expected. Clearly, an asthmatic VW Beetle was the wrong place to start if you wanted to build a supercar. Only about seven were sold.
In 1985, UVA decided to rework the Montage by getting rid of its VW bones and creating a custom chassis, which, when bonded to fibreglass body panels, was extremely strong and rigid. Into this was inserted a Rover V8, mated to a five-speed Renault gearbox and transaxle. Alan and Terry then set about producing a factory turnkey car that would be a modern interpretation of the body originally designed by stylist Jim Clarke for the Mclaren M6.
The large plastic aerodynamic rear screen was tossed out and replaced with an equivalent glass one, manufactured at no small expense. What originally had been a crude, functional race car became a luxury grand tourer with leather upholstery and air conditioning. It was available either turnkey straight from the factory or in a box that included all but the drivetrain, with most of the hard work done. At the time, it was one of the best, and most expensive, kits available for the home builder — it cost even more than its Vw-based sibling — and it certainly appealed to those who wanted a car that was at the top end of the market.
Making it practical
Although the original M6GT silhouette was maintained, many subtle cosmetic and functional changes were made as the need arose. The original hole in the bonnet to allow air to pass through the front-mounted radiator was filled in, as it was causing a fair amount of wind noise that could be heard in the cockpit. Ducting the air from
the radiator out through reshaped front wheel arches reduced this noise considerably. Lower sills with moulded rear ducts were added for cosmetic purposes, but the ducts could be opened to allow cooling of the rear brakes if required.
The interior was well laid out, with all the major controls being easy to find. The full instrument cluster comprised standard VDO analogue units. Flipping a switch electrically raised the pop-up headlights that do not spoil the lines in the car. It is clear that a lot of thought went into the design of these.
Practically making it
The car featured here was imported into New Zealand in 1993. It is one of only about 15 UVA M6GTRS that were made before production stopped in 1992. At the time of import, the car was not even a year old and had done just over 1000km. For the owner, it was the dream car, which he would own for 25 years before he put it up for sale
Which takes us to Picton, where well-known petrolhead Julian Cameron lived. Julian had been heavily involved in the local motor sport scene since he was a teenager. Then, he could often be found under a bonnet, trying to work out a means of getting his motor, generally a V8, to go faster as cheaply as possible. After leaving school, Julian found work on local fishing boats, moving up to the position of ship’s master before deciding to move onto land and open his own automotive and engineering business, Picton Tools and Tyres.
The UVA M6GTR appeared on Trade Me in August 2018, with only 42,000km on the clock. Coincidently, at this time, Julian just happened to be looking for a birthday present for himself. Julian happily clicked ‘Buy Now’, and, just like that, he owned a supercar.
As the car had not been driven for some time, Julian was not taking any chances. Besides his overnight bag, he was carrying an air compressor, a tyre panda kit, and other odds and sods that he thought he might need to get this unique car all the way from Auckland to Picton.
Not at all practical
Naturally, once Julian had picked up the car, he had to figure out where to stash everything in a supercar that doesn’t even have a glovebox, never mind a boot.
It could have been a very short trip, as, only an hour out of Auckland, Julian started to smell raw petrol. When he pulled over, he discovered a split fuel hose, which was considerately keeping his exhaust manifold cool by pouring raw petrol onto it. Fortunately, it never ignited, and Julian was able to get a length of hose from a nearby service station and make the necessary repairs. The rest of the journey was much more uneventful, with Julian not only enjoying driving a supercar across the Desert Road but also relishing the reactions of people who saw it. Another treat was that this factory-built car had been fitted with the more powerful bored-and-stroked 4.2-litre Rover V8 engine that produces almost 200kw, in a car that weighs only 780kg. The fact that it can do zero to 100kph in around five seconds was something else to smile about. Julian did a lot of smiling between Auckland and Wellington.
Back home
Once back in Picton, and determined not to be caught in such a fiery situation again, Julian put the car on his workshop hoist and carefully inspected it. He discovered some frayed wires, which, like dripping petrol, are not a good thing to have in a fibreglass car. The wiring was quickly replaced, along with a faulty air-conditioning pump. Next, Julian constructed a large open aluminium box and fitted it between the rear exhaust and the underside of the body, giving him a boot similar in size to that of a Mazda MX-5.
With storage space sorted, Julian and his wife set off on a 2000km journey around the South Island, and the car never missed a beat. Since his return, Julian has often used his M6 as a daily-driver; it is not unusual for a customer parked at the side of the road, with a puncture, to see a man in a dirty boiler suit hop out of a supercar and say that he has come to fix the tyre. We are sure that many a customer has looked at this amazing car and pondered just how big their tyre bill is going to be.
Those who want to see a video of this actual car can find it at driven.co.nz/video/driven-uniques/mclaren-sfirst-road-car-m6-gt-replica-driven-uniques/.