I was at a museum yesterday and stumbled across one of the most important race cars in history and it got me thinking - what are the most important machines from a technical perspective in racing history?
For example, the McLaren MP4/3/1 used the first ever carbon fiber tub. It's the prototype for every F1 racecar thereafter, even though it was a dog on the track (until they got a better engine). If you look in the background of the images, you can see one of the most powerful engines in history, a TAG-branded Porsche bi-turbo V6 pushing somewhere north of 1200hp.
EDIT: Whoops the title is messed up. Should be Historical*