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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, Nick Mason, 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 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).

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 one 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 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).

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 550 hp/ton (627 / 1.14) while the Enzo (even with its higher raw output) gets 481.75bhp/ton (660 / 1.37) due to its greater weight.

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 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.

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 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

Just 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.

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