In the spring of 1966, the rumor mill was busy churning out stories of a truly unique car to contest the Can-Am. When such a car failed to appear at the first race, nobody was surprised. Until the team appeared late for practice at Bridgehampton, the rumors were dismissed as a hoax. But this fantastic machine did arrive! Sam Posey wrote, "...[they] crouched there smugly as if they knew that their wings had just rendered every other racing car in the world obsolete."
1966 saw the birth of one of the most fantastic race series ever: the Can-Am! The Type 2E was competitive right out of the gate. At the 1966 Monterey Grand Prix, Phil Hill in #65 was alongside the #66 team car. Fitted with tabs on the nose and wider wings featuring endplates, all designed to maximize downforce on the twisty California circuit, the Type 2Es were looking tough to beat!
Phil Hill takes the checkered flag, setting a new race speed record.
At turn 3 Hill slipped through into the lead and set the pace. In so doing he inadvertently let McLaren squeeze by into 2nd! Fortunately, at the midpoint of the race the white 2Es were running 1-2 again, finishing the heat just 3 seconds apart. Amazingly, this would come to be only Can-Am victory for the remarkable Type 2E!
