McLaren F1

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The McLaren F1 is a roadcar manufactured by McLaren Cars, a British company. The car was conceived as a "cost is no object" exercise in creating what its designers hoped would be considered the ultimate road car. Only 107 cars were manufactured, 65 of those for use on public roads and the rest for racing. Production began in 1994 and ended in 1998.

Famous owners have included George Harrison, Larry Ellison, Ralph Lauren (who owns three), Nick Mason, Naseem Hamed, and Rowan Atkinson. Former BMW chairman, Bernd Pischetsrieder reportedly crashed that company's F1. Current Bugatti president (and former FIA GT champion McLaren driver) Thomas Bscher regularly uses his F1 to commute from his home in Germany to Bugatti's headquarters in France.

The concept

Chief engineer Gordon Murray's design concept was a common one among designers of high-performance cars: low weight and high power. This was achieved through use of high-tech (but very expensive) materials like carbon fiber, titanium and magnesium. The F1 was the first production car to use a carbon-fiber monocoque.

The car

Murray originally designed the car as a single-seater in order to place the driver in what he believed to be the optimum position: the center of the car. However, since this proved too impractical for even such an exotic vehicle, the design was slightly modified to allow two passengers on either side of the driver - who remained in the central position. This created a certain amount of difficulty for the driver when entering or exiting the car, but there were few complaints. Drivers report that visibility to the front and sides is excellent and that the car is tractable for in-town driving.

By fitting the car with three seats, Murray created an unusually practical supercar. He also designed in a pair of side-mounted luggage compartments, another unusually practical feature in such an exotic car. Customized luggage to fit into these compartments was also included.

Each buyer of a new F1 received a customized TAG-Heuer watch engraved with the car's chassis number and a gold-plated Facom titanium tool kit in a mechanic's chest. The carbon fibre driver's seat was also molded to fit its owner.

Murray refused to fit the car with electronic "driver's aids" like traction control or anti-lock brakes (ABS) as he believed that these did not make the car any safer but rather interfered with the ability of the skilled driver to control the vehicle. Not everyone agreed with his views on the subject but even the car's critics generally admit that it was exceptionally good to drive even without the electronic assistance. The car also lacks power-assist in both steering and braking - again, to save weight and to provide maximum connection between driver and car.

The finished product was unusually compact and light for such a powerful car. The road car is 1140 mm (45 in) high, 1820 mm (72 in) wide, 4287 mm (169 in) long and weighed 1140 kg (2513 lb). For size, compare this to a Toyota MR2 spyder - one of the few mid-engine cars currently in large-scale production: 1138 mm (45 in) high, 1694 mm (67 in) wide, 3886 mm (153 in) and weighs 996 kg (2196 lb). For a more appropriate comparison in terms of performance, the 650 hp (485 kW) Ferrari Enzo is 1147 mm (45 in) high, 2035 mm (80 in) wide, 4702 mm (185 in) long and weighs 1370 kg (3020 lb).

The engine

Murray insisted that the engine for this car be normally-aspirated due to the light weight (turbochargers and superchargers increase power but they also increase weight and decrease the ability of the driver to control the engine). BMW's motorsport division custom-built a 6064cc (6.1 liter) 60-degree V12 engine with aluminum alloy block and head, 86mm x 87mm bore/stroke, quad overhead camshafts for maximum flexibility of control over the four valves/cylinder and chain drive for the camshafts for maximum reliability. The resulting engine was slightly heavier than Murray had specified but also considerably more powerful.

The carbon fiber body panels and monocoque required significant heat insultation in the engine compartment and so Murray's solution was to coat the engine bay with the most effecient heat-reflector: gold foil. Approximately one ounce of gold was used in each car.

The road version used a compression ratio of 11:1 to produce 627 hp 7500 rpm. Torque output 479 ft·lbf (649 N·m) at 5600 rpm. Other, more highly tuned, incarnations of the F1 produced up to 680 hp.

There is some disagreement on the topic of power output. Most sources, including McLaren, report output at "627 horsepower". However, it is unclear whether this is metric horsepower (often represented as "PS" from the German Pferdestärke) or imperial horsepower. Since the McLaren's engine was built by BMW, either unit could have been used - European carmakers tend to measure output in metric horsepower while their British counterparts tend to use Imperial horsepower. The kilowatt (kW) is sometimes used as a reference, as it is unambiguous, but in the case of the McLaren, output in kilowatts has been given as both 461 kW (equivalent to 627 PS or 618 hp) and 468 kW (equivalent to 636 PS or 627 hp).

Performance

The car may have been relatively small, but its performance was not. With a 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 240 mph (386 km/h), the F1 remains one of the fastest cars ever made.

While most car manufacturers rate their cars in terms of raw engine power, in terms of overall performance (acceleration, braking, grip and handling) a car's weight is a more important factor. The power:weight ratio is a better way to quantify performance than the power of the engine. By this measure, the F1 is one of the most powerful production cars ever made. The F1 achieves 550 hp/ton, or just 4 lb/hp, while the Enzo (even with its significantly higher raw output) lags behind the F1 at 481.75 hp/ton (4.6 lb/hp) due to its greater weight.

Models

The basic roadcar, of which 107 were built, 65 for street use and 42 for racing, saw several different modifications over its production span which were badged as different models. Of the road versions, 21 are reportedly in the United States. One of the street cars remained in McLaren's London showroom for a decade before being offered for sale as new in 2004. The company maintains a database to match up prospective sellers and buyers of the cars.

F1 GTR 95

Privately built for race teams in order to compete in the Global GT Endurance series as the result of requests by F1 owners Ray Bellm and Thomas Bscher (who is currently in charge of Bugatti). This car intruduced a modified engine management system that increased power output — however, air-restrictors mandated by racing regulations reduced the power back to 600 hp (447 kW). An unrestricted version of this engine was used in the F1 LM car (see below). The cars extensive modifications included changes to body panels, suspension, aerodynamics and the interior.

F1 LM

Just five examples of this car were built to celebrate the 1995 Le Mans win. The weight was reduced by approximately 60 kg (132 lb) over that of the road car through the removal of various pieces of trim and use of optional equipment. The car also had a different transaxle, various aerodynamic modifications (including a rear spoiler) and specially-designed 18 inch (457 mm) wheels. The roadgoing version used 17 inch (432 mm) wheels. Used the GTR engine without race-mandated restrictors to produce 691 PS (680 hp/508 kW).

F1 GTR 96

Further modified from the 95 model, size increased but weight decreased.

F1 GTR 97

Weight further reduced, body lengthened and sequential transaxle added.

F1 GT

The final incarnation of the roadcar with modified body panels and redesigned interior.

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