McLaren F1

McLaren F1
McLaren F1

You've heard it before and you'll hear it again, the McLaren F1 is world's best supercar. It's currently the most expensive modern supercar in the used market and it has a performance pedigree to backup up the heavy price tag.

The story begins in 1988 when partners of the McLaren Cars Ltd - the world's leading Formula One team, winning 15 out of 16 races - finished their successful season and decided that they should move beyond their current program and go one step further by building the finest road car possible. To them, this meant developing a no comprise supercar, built with nearly endless funds to achieve the highest power to weight ratio but retain usability for everyday driving.

To meet these goals, technical director of McLaren Gordan Murray and stylist Peter Stevens realized that the car had to be small, use the lightest components available and have a large capacity, normally aspirated V12 engine. Little did they know, this design philosophy would break many speed records and win championships it wasn't even originally intended for.

Four years after the McLaren's costly development, the first car made its official debut at the 1992 Monaco F1 week where McLaren could finally reveal to world what they had been doing. At Monaco, the targeted customer base learned that only 100 examples would be made, and that the McLaren would be the fastest, most exclusive car in the world. These attributes and gorgeous styling helped potential clients look past the 634 500 GBP price tag and beyond competitors like the Ferrari F40, Porsche 959 and Jaguar XK220.

After its release, the F1's potential was immediately realized when it reached 0-100-0 in 11.4 seconds and a record top speed of 240.14mph in its XP5 pre-production trim. Although, the success didn't stop in the record books, as special GTR versions won Le Mans outright in 1995 and took two FIA GT World Championships.

The F1's success can be attributed the McLaren's Formula One expertise. The small dedicated team picked by Gordan Murray designed 5000 individual pieces which were predominantly carbon fiber, magnesium, titanium to keep minimum weights. The car's carbon fiber monocoque was the world's first and supported BMW's impressive BMW S70/2, 620 horsepower engine. This engine produced considerable heat, so the engine compartment was lined with pure gold and air conditioning came as standard. But the greatest innovation was its seating arrangement.

To show off McLaren's dedication and Formula heritage, Murray used a central drivers seat and provided an option for two seats on either side. Like a race car, this provided the best possible view and was the good example of how uncompromising the F1 was. Additionally the McLaren wasn't equipped with any driving aids which meant it lacked traction control, ABS, power brakes and power steering.

Included with the purchase of every McLaren was bevy of lush appointments including a specially designed lightweight stereo, a tailored golf back, custom fitted luggage and the mother of all full tool boxes, used for McLaren personal to use if they needed to do remote work on the customers car. Included was a modem, which could send data directly to McLaren. With this, one customer in Germany was found to reach 200 mph almost daily on his way to and from work!

After delivering 100 customer cars McLaren stopped production after seven prototypes, 64 road cars, 5 special F1 LMs (built to commemorate victory at Le Mans in 1995), three F1 GTs (road going versions of the long tail 1997 F1 GTR race car) and 28 F1 GTR road cars. Of these, the Sultan of Brunei owns the most, and has two very special black F1 LMs with striking Pininfarina graphics as well as an exact replica of the F1 GTR that won LeMans.

Since delivery, McLaren have stayed committed to the F1 and continue to service the many cars. Almost every car has been returned to the factory and some have received custom modifications to suit the needs of their owners. The most radical of these are the few race cars which were converted back to road cars with the most minimal of changes. Other less daring cars have treatments that include new aerodynamic packages and custom interiors. As these cars get better, they keep the F1 up to pace with modern alternatives such as the Ferrari Enzo, Porsche Carrera GT and Koenigsegg CCX.

Christies on F1 #073, `Extra High Downforce'

#073, a stunning one owner example was delivered by McLaren in 1998 and this particular collector wanted a unique car which combined the best of both worlds; the performance of the LM with the internal comforts of the standard model thus giving the uncompromised option of everyday road use.

After the car was purchased, McLaren offered to undertake this extraordinary project in their workshops in Woking, England. It began with the fitment of their GTR-inspired High Downforce Package which dramatically improved high speed road holding and stability. Later additional improvement was requested to increase the aerodynamic capability of the car in an effective but visually subtle manner thus it was decided to add louvres to the tops of the front wings and balance the rear end of the car with a 4mm 'Gurney flap'. Documented testing at Bruntingthorpe proving ground in May 2000 evaluated these additions and the conclusion was the following; `The additional downforce enhances the existing levels of grip and stability and provides a great feeling of confidence and security, particularly at high speed.' In addition to this, McLaren installed larger radiators and a sports exhaust system along with a set of forged multi-spoke wheels (exclusive to this car) brandishing suitably colossal Michelin tyres all round. To complete this marvel an updated LM engine was installed; producing an astonishing 691bhp at 7500rpm and 735 NM of torque (dyno test sheet can be provided upon request) it makes a significant performance improvement. It is important to acknowledge the significance of this upgrade as there is only one other McLaren F1 roadcar with this engine.

An additional fax sent from McLaren in August 2000 complimented this astonishing car even further; McLaren's most experienced test driver commented that this car was `the ultimate F1 variant, having the best combination of performance, stability, grip and handling, whilst still being practical for road use'.

Unbelievable to think it possible for the greatest Supercar of all time, but with performance raised to an uncompromised optimum level, seemingly there could be no further necessary requirements. However thanks to the comprehensive options and upgrade packages offered by the McLaren factory to this privileged individual, it was decided to respray and retrim the car to his desired combination. A unique dark tangerine metallic colour was chosen, as the studio photography shows, the result is absolutely mesmerising and for long-term protection from stonechips Armourfend (a ultra thin, transparent film) has been applied to the most prone areas such as the nose, headlights and wing mirrors. In complimentary contrast, the interior was trimmed to 'GT specification' with a magnolia alcantara headlining and magnolia wilton carpets, the driver s seat was privileged with magnolia nubuck leather with beige alcantara inserts and the passenger seats were mirrored in beige alcantara with magnolia nubuck leather inserts. To finish and sharpen the visual appearance the dashboard was trimmed in black alcantara and black wilton overmats adorn the footwells.

Also uprated is the air conditioning system. In the cockpit there is a 14 inch leather-trimmed steering wheel and a Phillips satellite navigation system nestles in the left footwell within a custom-made carbon fibre casing. Notably the carbon fibre instrument panel incorporates a gear change light and the chassis number is engraved into the rev counter. Whilst in the car, you have the ability to listen to the stereo, the two-way radio Motorola communication system, the navigation satellite and/or converse with each other whilst on the move (with or without using the helicopter-rated intercom system and Peltor headsets). Other factory upgrades on this most select McLaren include gas discharge headlights, lightly tinted side windows and as a custom request the F1 motifs on the doors and the sides of the rear wing have been painted silver. To complete the astonishing achievement Gordon Murray himself has hand-signed this supercar on the carbon fibre area in between the chassis plate and the gear stick in silver permanent marker.

On December 2nd, 2003, Christies sold #073 for 731 250 GBP or $1 259 00 USD. At such a price this transaction has been the highest price paid at auction for a motor car in 2003.