![]() The car’s carbon fiber monocoque was the world’s first and supported BMW’s impressive BMW S70/2, 620 horsepower engine. The small dedicated team picked by Gordon Murray designed 5000 individual pieces which were predominantly carbon fiber, magnesium, titanium to keep minimum weights. The F1’s success can be attributed the McLaren’s Formula One expertise. Although, the success didn’t stop in the record books, as special GTR versions won Le Mans outright in 1995 and took two FIA GT World Championships. These attributes and gorgeous styling helped potential clients look past the 634 500 GBP price tag and beyond competitors like the Ferrari F40, Porsche 959 and Jaguar XK220.Īfter its release, the F1’s potential was immediately realized when it reached 0-100-0 in 11.4 seconds and a record top speed of 240.14mph in its XP5 pre-production trim. At Monaco, the targeted customer base learned that only 100 examples would be made, and that the McLaren would be the fastest, most exclusive car in the world. Related: McLaren F1 Image Gallery / McLaren F1 Videos / McLaren News / McLaren Model Listįour years after the McLaren’s costly development, the first car made its official debut at the 1992 Monaco F1 week where McLaren could finally reveal to world what they had been doing. Little did they know, this design philosophy would break many speed records and win championships it wasn’t even originally intended for. ![]() To meet these goals, technical director of McLaren Gordon Murray and stylist Peter Stevens realized that the car had to be small, use the lightest components available and have a large capacity, normally aspirated V12 engine. To them, this meant developing a no compromise supercar, built with nearly endless funds to achieve the highest power to weight ratio but retain usability for everyday driving. The story begins in 1988 when partners of the McLaren Cars Ltd – the world’s leading Formula One team, winning 15 out of 16 races – finished their successful season and decided that they should move beyond their current program and go one step further by building the finest road car possible. It’s currently the most expensive modern supercar in the used market and it has a performance pedigree to backup up the heavy price tag. You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again, the McLaren F1 is world’s best supercar. That means that the McLaren F1 is still (in 2013) the fastest naturally aspirated production car in the world. A fun fact that most people don’t realize is that while the Bugatti Veyron and a few other cars have since beaten the F1s top speed, all of those cars use forced induction. The screaming engine, the central driving position, the gullwing doors and much much more. I still would rather have an an F1 in my garage than just about anything else ever created. The StoryĮven today (2012), the F1 remains one of the fastest cars ever built. The Sultan of Brunei owns eight or so, and untold numbers have been destroyed at the hands of over-exuberant owners. When production of the F1 ended in 1998, McLaren had given the world seven prototypes, seventy-two street-legal examples, and twenty-eight full-on race versions. The 220-mph GTR competition version took first, third, fourth, and fifth overall against a slew of purpose-built racers and did so almost immediately after launching. Most people don’t know that the F1 had a great racing history. ![]() Completely customized for the F1 and so light that most parts manufacturers at the time were not sure they could meet the targets. The Kenwood stereo, the air conditioning and the gold-plated titanium tools were all designed by their manufacturers to specific weight specifications that Murray has asked for. The obsession with weight was the stuff of legend. Thus it is compact, with body panels and understructure of featherweight carbon fiber, and virtually every mechanical component of aluminum or magnesium. ![]() The McLaren F1 was a clean-sheet design, with all components except the tail lamps built specifically for it. It was the cost-no-object approach to building a car and was such a leap ahead in almost every imaginable way that it changed way we think about supercars forever. Originally a concept conceived by Gordon Murray, he convinced Ron Dennis to back the project and engaged Peter Stevens to design the exterior of the car. The McLaren F1 is a supercar designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive, the same guys that run that incredibly successful Formula 1 team. ![]()
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