McLaren F1

McLaren F1
File:McLarenF1BetterPhoto.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer	McLaren Cars
Production	1994–1998 107 produced
Designer	Gordon Murray
Body and chassis
Class	Supercar
Body style	2-door 3-seat coupe
Powertrain
Engine	6.1 L V12
Dimensions
Length	4287 mm (169 in)
Width	1820 mm (72 in)
Height	1140 mm (45 in)
Curb weight	1140 kg (2513 lb)

The McLaren F1 is a supercar engineered and produced by McLaren Cars, a British company subsidiary of the McLaren Group that, among others, owns the McLaren Mercedes Formula One team. The car features a 6-litre 60º V12 BMW engine and it 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, 64 of those for use on public roads and the rest for racing. Production began in 1994 and ended in 1998.

The McLaren F1 was the fastest production car ever built until 2005 when the Koenigsegg CCR recorded a speed of 388 km/h (241 mph), a record which has in turn been broken by the Bugatti Veyron, with a top speed of 407 km/h (253 mph).

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 and very expensive materials like carbon fiber, titanium, gold and magnesium. The F1 was the first production car to use a carbon-fiber monocoque.

The car

1996 McLaren F1 from the Ralph Lauren collection. Note the side-mounted luggage compartments, illustrated here in detail.

McLaren F1 interior showing the three-seat cabin.

Gordon Murray originally designed the car as a three-seater in order to place the driver in what he believed to be the optimum 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 the option of a customized TAG-Heuer watch engraved with the car's chassis number and a titanium Facom tool kit in a mechanic's chest. The carbon fibre driver's seat was also moulded 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. However, many reviewers were less favorably disposed to the car's handling at speed. Jeremy Clarkson, among others, has often noted that the McLaren was rather "twitchy" above 200 miles per hour, a marked contrast to the Bugatti Veyron, which has been described as rather less "tossable" than the McLaren, but more secure at the edge of its performance limit. When cornering at the limit where pure mechanical grip is the dominant factor the car has a natural tendency to understeer, however power induced oversteer is easily provoked.

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 recently in large-scale production): 1138 mm (45 in) high, 1694 mm (67 in) wide, 3886 mm (153 in) long 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 to increase reliability and driver control. Turbochargers and superchargers increase power but they increase complexity and can decrease reliability as well as the ability of the driver to maintain maximum control of the engine. BMW's motorsport division custom-built a 6.1 L (6064 cc) 60-degree V12 engine with aluminum alloy block and head, 86 mm x 87 mm 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 originally specified but also considerably more powerful.

This look into the McLaren F1's engine compartment shows the mid-car placement of the engine and the gold foil used as a heat shield in the exhaust compartment.

The carbon fiber body panels and monocoque required significant heat insulation in the engine compartment and so Murray's solution was to coat the engine bay with the most efficient heat-reflector: gold foil. Approximately 25 g (one ounce) of gold was used in each car.

The road version used a compression ratio of 11:1 to produce 627 HP at 7400 RPM. Torque output 479 ft·lbf (650 N·m) at 5600 RPM. Other, more highly tuned, incarnations of the F1 produced up to 680 HP. The engine has a redline and rev limiter at 7500 RPM.

There is some disagreement on the topic of power output. Most sources, including McLaren themselves, 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. Therefore, the German company BMW may have used either measurement for an engine to be delivered to British company McLaren. 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) - thus the various quotes of horsepower output given as 618, 627 or 636 horsepower.

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 an official top speed of 240 mph (386 km/h), although without catalytic converters fitted, 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.

• 0-60mph 3.2 sec.
• 0-100mph 6.3 sec.
• 0-120mph 8.8 sec.
• 0-156mph 13.8 sec.
• 0-190mph 22.4 sec.
• 0-200mph 27.8 sec.

The Mclaren F1 has a top speed of 231 mph, restricted by the rev limiter at 7500 rpm. The true top speed of the Mclaren F1 was reached in April of 1998 by the five-year-old XP5 prototype. Andy Wallace (racer) piloted it down the 9 km straight at Volkswagen's Ehra test track in Wolfsburg, Germany, setting a new world record of 386.4 km/h (240.1 mph) at 7800 rpm.

The title of "world's fastest production road car" is constantly in contention, especially because the term "production car" is not always well defined by the media. Callaway's Sledgehammer Corvette, the road going version of the Porsche/Dauer 962 LeMans car and most recently a version of the 911 Turbo produced by French tuner 9FF have all proven in testing that they're capable of top speeds matching or in excess of 240 mph, although none of them are considered production cars, and hence cannot displace the McLaren's record. More recently, the Koenigsegg CCR recorded a speed of 388 km/h (241 mph), a record which has in turn been shattered by the Bugatti Veyron, with a top speed of 407 km/h (253 mph). Both of these are considered to be production cars, and have therefore each beaten the McLaren's record. As a sidenote, both the Corvette and 962 as well as the turbocharged version of Saleen's S7 and RUF's Rt 12 can hit 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds or less, meaning that even where certain cars (the Saleen and RUF) can't break the McLaren's top speed, they are capable of matching or beating its 0-60 time.

Models

The basic roadcar, of which 107 were built, 64 for street use and 43 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. This vehicle was chassis number #065. The showroom, which was on London's luxurious Park Lane, has since closed. 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 introduced 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 (six if you count XP1, the prototype) of this car were built to celebrate the 1995 Le Mans win and the five Mclaren GTRs that finished the 24 hour race. 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. The LM used the GTR engine without race-mandated restrictors to produce 691 PS (680 hp/508 kW). The few LMs that were made are easily recognized by their colour as they were painted "Papaya Orange" as a tribute to the memory of Bruce McLaren who used the same colour for all his contemporary Formula One and Can Am cars. Whether or not all of them were painted Papaya Orange remains unknown, as there have been many reports that two LM's (LM1 and LM4) are black. There are also rumors that these two vehicles have the paint job of the winning LeMans vehicle without the graphics and that they are owned by the Sultan of Brunei. The LM was used by CAR Magazine when they broke the world record for 0-100mph, doing it in 6.1 seconds. The car also reached a record by doing the 0-100-0 mph in 11.5 seconds being driven by Andy Wallace (Ex Harrods GTR Race Driver). This record has now been broken by the Ultima GTR.

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. This is often referred to as a McLaren "longtail".

A quote taken from the original McLaren F1 Build Schedule:

Chassis #27R & #28R

'This spare chassis was used to replace GTR 027R damaged during shakedown tests prior to delivery to the customer. The original 027R chassis was later repaired and plated as 028R'

F1 GT

The final incarnation of the roadcar with modified body panels and redesigned interior. The three examples of the McLaren F1 GT were created to homologate the '97 GTR for racing. The interior included the same Nardi Steering Wheel used in the F1 Roadcar. This GT model did not include the Rear Wing, as the body width of the car was increased to maximize downforce.

Competitors

Even if one were to exempt the Porsche/Dauer 962 and Sledgehammer Corvette, the F1 had several competitors at the time of its release. The Jaguar XJ220 and Ferrari F50 were the McLaren's closest rivals being sold by established manufacturers, while the Hennessy 650R Viper and RUF CTR2 also came very close to the McLaren's performance, with 0-60 times in the low to mid 3 second range and top speeds well in excess of 200 miles per hour.

Owners

Famous owners, included Jay Leno, Larry Ellison, Wyclef Jean, Elon Musk, Ralph Lauren (who owns three including an LM), Nick Mason and Rowan Atkinson. Former BMW chairman, Bernd Pischetsrieder, has reportedly crashed the vehicle (most likely prototype XP3, which has since been rebuilt and is now owned by Gordon Murray). The current Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is rumored to own 7 McLarens, including both black LMs. Eric Clapton is rumored to have George Harrison's old F1 roadcar. 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.

External link

• McLarenCars.com - The official McLaren F1 and Mercedes SLR website