Elvis Drove The First McLaren

A little known Elvis fact was just revealed by car designer McLaren. They state on their website that Elvis Presley drove the very first Elva M1A group 7 car in his 1966 hit film, 'Spinout'.

There were only a limited number of this model ever built, and while the car was never owned by Elvis, it is another first to add to the list! However, the McLMaren is NOT the white car with the '11' sticker on the hood, but it's the gold car. The white car is a 1965 Shelby Cobra.

Here's the article on the McLaren website: Elvis Presley drives the very first McLaren! King of Rock and Roll gets to grips with our first car in 1966 movie Spinout! The King of Rock and Roll drives the first McLaren – the Elva M1A group 7 car – in this scene from his 1966 film Spinout. In the clip, found for us by McLaren Design and Development Director, and all round legend, Neil Oatley. The car itself was apparently raced in the UK and the US by Graham Hill. But here it's Elvis doing the driving (well, some of it – special effects weren't quite as good back then!). The gold car, bearing number 5, makes its first appearance at 1:07 secs on the video.

Fashions may have changed since the film was made 45 years ago, but some things stay the same. When Elvis says 'that car's something else', he's told: 'Imagination built this car and it takes imagination to drive it'.

Sadly the King doesn't make it into our list of McLaren's top 50 drivers, due to lack of competitive racing, but they're happy to make him an honorary member!

Spinout

Spinout is a 1966 musical film and comedy starring Elvis Presley as the lead singer of a band and part-time race car driver. Elvis is the lead singer, Mike McCoy, of a small trio, whose female drummer has fallen for Elvis. McCoy gets to sing to a millionaire's daughter (Shelley Fabares) at her birthday party, which of course leads to some romance. Then the rich man also wants Elvis to drive his new race car in a coming race.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Spinout (Sid Wayne & Dolores Fuller)
2. Stop Look And Listen (Joe Byers)
3. Adam And Evil (Fred Wise & Randy Starr)
4. All That I Am (Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett)
5. Never Say Yes (Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman)
6. Am I Ready (Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett)
7. Beach Shack (Bill Giant,Bernie Baum & Florence Kaye)
8. Smorgasbord (Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett)
9. I'll Be Back (Sid Wayne & Ben Weisman)

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