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The McLaren F1 is a roadcar manufactured by McLaren Cars, a British company. Only 107 cars were manufactured, 65 of those for use on public roads and the rest for racing. The car was conceived as a "cost is no object" excercise in creating what its designers hoped would be considered the ultimate road car. Famous owners have included George Harrison, Larry Ellison, Ralph Lauren, Naseem Hamed, and Rowan Atkinson.

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 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 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 German Pferdestärke (metric horsepower) or Imperial Horsepower. Since the McLaren's engine was built by BMW, either unit could have been used. Likewise, 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).

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.

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 an ounce of gold was used in each car.

Murray also 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 1140mm high, 1820mm wide, 4287mm long and weighed 1140kg.

For size, compare this to a Toyota MR2 spyder - one of the few mid-engine cars currently in large-scale production: 1138mm high, 1694mm wide, 3886mm long and weighs 996kg.

For a more appropriate comparison in terms of performance, the 660bhp Ferrari Enzo is 1147mm high, 2035mm wide, 4702mm long and weighs 1370kg.

While most car manufacturers rate their cars in terms of raw horsepower, in terms of performance the more important measure is horsepower per ton (hp/1000kg). By this measure, the F1 is one of the most powerful production cars ever made. The F1 achieves 550bhp/ton (627 / 1.14) while the Enzo (even with its higher raw output) gets 481.75bhp/ton (660 / 1.37).

Performance

The car may have been relatively small, but its performance was not. With a 0-60mph time of 3.2 seconds and an independently verified top speed of over 242mph, the F1 remains one of the fastest cars ever made.

The various models

The basic roadcar, of which 65 were built, saw several different modifications over its production span which were badged as different models.

F1 GTR 95

Privately build 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 the Bugatti Veyron project for the Volkswagen Audi Group). This car intruduced a modified engine management system that increased power output - however, air-restrictors mandated by racing regulations reduced the power back to 600bhp. 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

Five examples of this car were built to celebrate the 1995 Le Mans win. The weight was reduced by approximately 60kg 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 wheels (the roadgoing version used 17 inch wheels). Used the GTR engine without race-mandated restictors to produce 680bhp.

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.