McLaren Cars
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McLaren Cars is an automaker founded in 1990 with the object of producing road cars based on Formula One technology. It works closely with the Team McLaren Formula One constructor and is part of the McLaren Group.
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F1
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McLaren Cars' first product was the McLaren F1, a sports car and also a supercar priced at £640,000 (approx. US$ 1,150,000). The F1 was a three seat coupe with the driver situated in the middle of the car. The 6.1-litre V12 engine, which produces 627 bhp (461 kW), was designed and built by BMW.
Production of the original F1 began in 1993 and 64 cars were built. The LM model was then introduced in 1995 and 5 cars were built. The GT model, introduced in 1997, had only 3 cars built. The GTR was builtfrom 1995 through 1998, updated every year.
Production stopped in May 1998 after a total of 107 cars were built.
The F1 previously held the record for the fastest production car ever made, with an independently measured top speed of 240.14 mph (386.39 km/h). It has a 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds. However this has been bettered by the Koenigsegg CCR.
Similar vehicles are the Ferrari Enzo and the Bugatti EB110, though plans are in the works for a faster Bugatti, the EB 16/4 Veyron, and both Cadillac and Chrysler have produced concept cars which would outpace the F1. In 1995, a McLaren F1 GTR (the racing version of the F1) won the 24 hours of Le Mans race. The F1 GTR also took 3rd, 4th, 5th and 13th places in the race. This five winners were the reason why only 5 LM had been built.
SLR
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In 1999 McLaren Cars agreed to design and manufacture the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren in conjunction with DaimlerChrysler (who also supply engines to the Team McLaren racing team under the Mercedes-Benz brand).
See also
External links
- McLaren Cars (http://www.mclarencars.com/) official website
- A guide to the F1 (http://www.qv500.com/indexmclaren.php)de:McLaren Cars ltd