Car Lust--McLaren F1
I've mentioned before that I don't feature too many supercars in this space; not because I don't like them, but because they already receive enough attention as objects of automotive lust. As usual, though, I'm not particularly consistent on this point, and I'm making an exception for the McLaren F1.
The McLaren F1 gets special supercar dispensation because it was innovative, purposeful and, as a result, truly exciting. Most supercars are very fast, but their speed is secondary to the primary goal--to separate multi-millionaires from their money by making them feel 17 years old again. This was especially true when the F1 debuted in the mid-1990s. Doubt me? Take a look at the supercars of the time--the Dodge Viper, the Lamborghini Diablo, even the Bugatti EB110 were all luridly styled, all, in their own way, a rolling testosterone injection.
The McLaren F1 eschewed all such pretension in favor of a clear goal, executed with clinical precision--producing the fastest, quickest, most technologically advanced supercar the world had ever seen. And, of course, who better to execute such a goal than McLaren, one of the great Formula 1 racing teams of all time, and chief designer Gordon Murray, who had penned some of the most revolutionary Formula 1 cars in series history. The result? An instant classic.
A grown-up's car, the F1's purposefulness made other supercars look like ridiculous playthings of the wealthy. The F1 broke with convention by placing the driver in the exact center of the cockpit, on the centerline of the car, with two passengers flanking and slightly behind the driver's seat. Normal? No. Better for the driver? Absolutely. Most supercars used stylish but drag-inducing wings to keep the car fully planted on the road, but the F1 eschewed such compromises in favor of fully-active movable wings and fans that maintained optimum downforce with a minimum of drag penalty.
Power, ironically enough, came from BMW--ironic since in Formula 1 McLaren would later associate with BMW's arch-rival Mercedes, while BMW would partner with longtime McLaren competitor Williams. Setting that aside, the 600-plus horsepower mill, combined with an incredibly lightweight 2,500-pound carbon-fiber body combined for record-breaking performance. The sprint to 60 mph took only 3.1 seconds, and the car topped out at more than 230 mph, making it the fastest production car ever at the time, and putting it on par in terms of absolute performance with purpose-built race cars.
The F1 was not designed for racing, but the car was just too capable to not hit the track. McLaren produced both short- and long-tailed version that dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans and was a force in the early stages of the FIA GT championship. It's a measure of the original F1's greatness that the street car's ground-breaking active aerodynamics weren't allowed on the racing version, and it was still dominant in top-level motorsports.
Because form so clearly followed function, the F1 was chillingly beautiful, achieving both aggression and elegance without having to work at either. The F1 was lovely and purposeful in street car trim; as a racer clad in the classic Gulf colors reminsicent of great Le Mans cars of the past, it nearly brings a tear to the eye.
--Chris H.
Zarba on May 13, 2008 at 09:45 AM
Let's not forget that the F1's street engine was DETUNED for LeMans with an inlet restrictor.
The F1 is one of the great cars of all time. It is one of the few cars that is instantly a classic.
Rob the SVX guy on May 13, 2008 at 12:12 PM
Split windows are hot. :)
I still like the XJ220 more though, for some reason. I know it's not as fast.... but the XJ220 was going to be a competitor with the McLaren F1 until they screwed it all up with the execution.
Mochi Mochi on May 13, 2008 at 01:10 PM
The Le Mans connection just does it for me. If it were just another supercar I'd honestly be bored. But given that this baby came from McLaren and ended up on the track actually winning Le Mans - you got me. The Gulf colors would definitely get me misty-eyed.
I'm not surprised that they pulled the active ground effects from this machine. There's always been that stigma about fan cars - or cars with active aerodynamic devices. What happens when the fan stops or the suction is lost... it's a valid point. The old Chaparrals with their wings that were mechanically liked to their suspension were fantastic until the linkages fatigued and broke... then they didn't work as well. Mostly fan cars get banned because they are just so devastatingly effective - and therefore they allow almost unreasonable levels of performance. I find the way racing rules change to be an interesting cat and mouse game. The cars get faster, then the rules get tougher, things get slower again, then the cars faster, and the rules... etc. and so on.
Placing the driver dead center in the car is one of those ideal balance situations. It can make getting in and out of the car more of a challenge, but what a great place to sit, and once you are there, who cares about getting out.
Just for fun - since we are talking about F1 cars here. I thought I'd include this one more time. It's a mighty little beast - the Renault Sport Espace F1 1995 Car - a super car of a different sort ;)
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=fEDwfk8EYR0&feature=related
David Drucker on May 13, 2008 at 01:50 PM
Well, if we're going to be talking about cars with a LeMans heritage, allow me to commend your attention to my 1951 Cadillac. As for the F1, it's exactly the sort of car I'd expect to see a pantyless Paris Hilton stumble out of. And like Ms. Hilton, it's kind of pretty, way too expensive, and mostly pointless.
Chris Hafner on May 13, 2008 at 03:00 PM
David Drucker: "As for the F1, it's exactly the sort of car I'd expect to see a pantyless Paris Hilton stumble out of. And like Ms. Hilton, it's kind of pretty, way too expensive, and mostly pointless."
The McLaren F1 is a fantastic example of superlative engineering; it's not really fair to hold the fact that it could be purchased by morons (the McLaren Mercedes seems to be guilty of this crime) against it.
The beauty of the McLaren F1 is that it wasn't designed just for beauty - I'll use the word superlative again, because that's the best word for its engineering and performance.
The only way you could legitimately compare the McLaren F1 with Paris Hilton would be if Paris Hilton had a 210 IQ or was a world-class athelete. Or, if the McLaren was made only for glitz and wasn't actually a great, ground-breaking car. I don't think either of those things are true.
I'd agree that most supercars are ultimately irrelevant, but I think the McLaren F1 is the exception to that rule.
Mochi Mochi on May 13, 2008 at 03:20 PM
David Hah! :) a "pantyless Paris Hilton" stumbling out of a McLaren F1. You got me there - never saw that one coming. I have to agree with Chris that the McLaren is a different breed of car. "Production cars" - of various sorts always needed to exist for certain types of racing. There are a lot of morons who have enough money to drive almost anything, but the cars can't be held accountable for that... it's not the car's fault.
The 51 Cadillac gets great points in my book for endurance and speed at Le Mans. Honestly any car that can complete Le Mans in good form has something going for it. There were a lot of 914/6's that ran LeMans too - that's pretty heroic. I'm sure we all have our favorites. Mine is definitely the 917 Porsche. But I've also become very enamoured of the 908.
More trivia from the Le Mans movie... if you have not read through the hail storm of posts I put up for the Pop Culture Awards... The camera car used to film the 1970 Le Mans 24hrs was a Porsche 908 ( a beautiful race vehicle if ever there was one). It ran the race as an unofficial entry, and it was loaded with heavy cameras. Driven by Porsche's Herbert Linge and Jonathan Williams, it travelled 282 laps (3,798 km) and finished the race on 9th position. That's pretty great for a camera car! It would have done better it had not covered the required minimum distance due to long stops to change film reels. Your average race car at Le Mans tries to minimize pit stops. The camera car was burdened by cameras, controls, and mounts, AND it had to stop for lengthy changes of film. 9th place. A Porsche 908 running with Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s. I give those drivers and that car some real credit.
Now I don't have anything bad to say about the McLaren F1, and I'm not even going to slam Paris Hilton... even if she does deserve it. If you compare the McLaren or the LamboGatti there is a difference between those cars. The McLaren is a tremendous achievement - it gets away with things that have been banned from the race track! But if you compare any of these cars to a Porsche 908 or a 917, the McLamboGattis of this world come up short.
These new super cars pale in comparison. And perhaps this is what you're really getting at David. I think it's the fact that current cars are calculated to a tee of perfection is what ultimately makes them fail. Before they are even built everything is known and validated. The art is there, but it is so over-aided and guided by computer design tools that there is little of the organic edge that a racer's love and passion infused in the older cars. There was a time when passion, genius, and madness were integral parts of auto design. Sure, if they had computers to do their design work back then they would have used them, but the computer as a tool changes the final design product. The Lotus23 never saw a computer, but it's a fantastically beautiful car. The 908 is gorgeous beyond belief. The place where old cars shine above all else is that they have a feeling of personality that comes from the direct human interaction with their design and final form.
Maybe a few years from now I'll look back on these contemporary missiles and get just as passionate about them as the 908 of the 917. Or maybe I wont. Maybe I'll never yield. Maybe the race cars of the late 60's and early 70's will still reign supreme in my books as being amongst the greatest achievements of man's ability to design for speed. I'm guessing the latter will be true rather than the former;)
David Drucker on May 14, 2008 at 05:53 AM
I seem to have been bitch-slapped, and worse than that, I seem to have deserved it. Mea culpa on all counts: I didn't acknowledge the very real engineering achievement that is the F1, and I made a too-clever-by-half generalization about the people who might be expected to own one. I'll retract my comments, and trot them out again when something more deserving appears here.
And thanks, MM, for the eye-opening trivia about Porsche and the LeMans movie. I had no idea!
Cookie the Dog's Owner on May 14, 2008 at 07:39 AM
I dunno David, the idea of a McLaren F1 with the Paris Hilton interior accessory bling option package is at least amusing.
Chris Hafner on May 14, 2008 at 07:59 AM
David Drucker: "I seem to have been bitch-slapped, and worse than that, I seem to have deserved it. Mea culpa on all counts:"
No worries - I didn't mean to be so punishing. It was funny, but probably better suited to one of the more glitzy supercars.
Cookie the Dog's Owner: "I dunno David, the idea of a McLaren F1 with the Paris Hilton interior accessory bling option package is at least amusing."
When (McLaren F1 designer and engineering purist) Gordon Murray wakes up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, it's because he's having this nightmare.
Some guy on May 14, 2008 at 12:19 PM
i've seen one in the wild, it was last year, intersection of Rt 22 and 35 near Katonah, NY. it was beautiful. Not as cool as the H-D i was on, but still all kinds of awesome.
Tucker on May 14, 2008 at 01:43 PM
I was lucky enough to be given a ride in one of the race versions at Lime Rock Race Track at a BMW event. Hans Stuck was driving, and I got shoe-horned into the baby-seat-sized side seat.
It was breathtaking. I'm still smiling just thinking about it. He hit 171 on the straightaway (and Lime Rock's not a big track). All the BMW guys were laughing at me as I got out of the car due to the size of the smile on my face.
One heck of a car. I'm sure Paris would crash it in short order. ;) But that was definitely not the target market for this car.
mochi mochi on May 14, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Tucker - I'm envious, for two reasons. First getting a ride in the McLaren. Second getting a ride in the McLaren at Limerock. Limerock is a great track. I'm imagining the back straight and the uphill bend, in the Le Mans version that would be amazing. Given that the LM version is a detuned street machine - think what it would be like in the road version... never expected I'd say that. The race version is a detuned street version, what's wrong with this picture.
on May 14, 2008 at 02:18 PM
The subtle beauties of this car cannot be fully appreciated unless you're close enough to touch it. The curves are perfect. I dare say that it tends to make a lot of other so-called supercars look arbitrary and contrived in comparison.
Mike on May 14, 2008 at 09:15 PM
Puleeeze
Want a Supercar?????????
Not a "Pussy' McLaren!
A Diesel! No, not Vin!
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/13/detroit-2008-audi-unleashes-its-diesel-monster-the-r8-v12-tdi/
Mochi Mochi on May 17, 2008 at 01:45 PM
I would love to see a shoot out with these contenders: McLaren F1, Porsche 917, a 935, and the, err, R8 V12TDI(?). Put them all on a track and let them have at it. It would be really interesting to see a 35year old air-cooled 4.5L flat 12 producing 1000hp/1000ftlbs go head to head with the latest and greatest. Throw in the 908 and Ferrari 512M, to complete the picture - and maybe a LamboGatti street whatever for some amusement.
Aside from the Quattro coupe in rally dress, has Audi produced any real cars since its AutoUnion and NSU days? ;) But seriously I have nothing against Audi (aside from their hideous reliability issues). They make some very nice little street sedans, hatchbacks, and stationwagons.
jimbob on May 27, 2008 at 07:08 AM
gthe car is amazing and it kits the crap out of the xj220