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Hello and welcome to Car Retrospective.
Where today we take a look at a car that may not look so amazing today,
But back in the nineties this thing was practically futuristic- the Mclaren F1.
Let's have a look.
The Mclaren company was founded in 1963.
And for around 30 years this new company in the market only made a few cars.
The M2B and the M7A to name a couple.
However, apart from one car, the 1970 M6GT,
Mclaren never really ventured into road going cars.
They were a relatively unkown company known for making track cars only.
But a man by the name of Gordon Murray wanted to change that.
But it was going to just be any road going car, it was going to be special- it was going to put them on the map.
Although just an design at first Murray finally managed to convince Rob Dennis, the CEO of Mclaren at the time, to back the idea.
Calling it a car that combined their knowledge of Formula One with the comfort of a road going vehicle.
He later has Peter Stevens, a well-known vehicle designer,
On board to design the body and interior.
Eventually, Murray approached BMW to create the engine,
And they came up with a 6.1-litre V12 able to produce 618 horsepower.
The car was also conservative where it needed to be.
For example, the regular F1 featured no spoiler.
The design itself allowed for adequate downforce to be produced without a spoiler.
As well as this, the F1 was to have no turbochargers, it was to be naturally-aspirated only.
The chassis was also to be made out of carbon-fibre reinforced polymer, a very light material.
And the entire car itself is actually very light, and this is even possible with the F1's unique setup.
Featuring 3 seats, 1 more than most supercars.
With the driver being centered and the two passengers seats being positioned further back and to either side.
This is said to be much better for the driver providing much better visibility.
the F1 was also well kitted-out for a supercar of the time.
Featuring full air-conditioning, electric windows, an electric defogging windscreen
Electric central-locking, a Stereo and even a gold plated titanium Tool Kit and First Aid kit.
Even with all these heavy addons in the car, the naturally-aspirated f1 could reach a top speed of 240.1 miles per hour, or 386.4 kilometers per hour.
Destroying the 1992 Jaguar XJ220's speed of 217.1 miles per hour
And this record held until 2005 when the koeniggsegg CCr broke it, followed by the Bugatti Veyron.
Upon release, although only 106 cars were built, the F1 was met with critical acclaim.
With Autocar saying:
"The Mclaren F1 is the finest driving machine yet built for the public road"
Later stating that:
"The F1 will be remembered as one of the great events in the history of the car
And it may possibly be the fastest production road car the world will ever see".
As well as Channel 4 putting it at number 1 on their best cars of all time list.
Whether that means anything remains to be seen.
Even though production began on the F1 in 1992,
The naturally-aspirated car matches the speeds of more modern naturally-aspirated supercars,
Such as the 2002 Ferrari Enzo and even the 2009 Astone Martin One-77.
And, although being designed for the road, the F1 found success in competitive racing, starting in 1995.
When specially modified F1s, known as F1 GTRs,
Managed first, third, fourth, fifth and thirteenth at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A truly incredible achievement, being that this was Mclaren's first attempt.
Not only did they win, but took up 4 of the first 5 places
Ferrari being the only other manufacturer manage this.
And later on, Mclaren released five brand new F1s, known as the F1 Lm's,
To celebrate the 5 cars.
it once again found success, being the first non-Japanese car to win a race
In the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship in 1996.
The big sendoff for the F1 came in 1997 came with the F1 Lm (should be F1 GT)
Mclaren's response to the growing competition from manufacturers such as Porsche and Mercedes.
Mclaren likely realised that they needed to develop a new supercar to remain competitive,
After the F1 completed 5 years of service.
And that's where the story ends.
Personally, I adore this car.
Whether its the design, that 90's aesthetic or simply the fact that it was born and bred in England,
Who knows?
But I do know that I want one.