Whats the story on the McLaren F1 GT?
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Whats the story on the McLaren F1 GT?
It's a race car that participated in the FIA Championships...:)
[QUOTE=Rtec Æ]It's a race car that participated in the FIA Championships...:)[/QUOTE]
That's the GTR. The GT is a road going car with a long-tail body, only 3 were made.
Two more...
Here's another... :cool:
>8^)
ER
Was the McLaren F1 at the [URL="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/showthread.php?p=619538#post619538"]SEMA[/URL] exhibition a real LM?
[QUOTE=Rockefella]Was the McLaren F1 at the [URL="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/showthread.php?p=619538#post619538"]SEMA[/URL] exhibition a real LM?[/QUOTE]
No, it's one of those aero kits that McLaren offered.
However, Peleton should be able to tell you all about it. It's really one of the more famous McLarens around, and seen pretty often.
[QUOTE=Rockefella]Was the McLaren F1 at the [URL="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/showthread.php?p=619538#post619538"]SEMA[/URL] exhibition a real LM?[/QUOTE]
No - It's, clearly, not authentic.
(It's not even painted in Papaya-Orange).
[QUOTE=Rockefella]Was the McLaren F1 at the [URL="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/showthread.php?p=619538#post619538"]SEMA[/URL] exhibition a real LM?[/QUOTE]
The details on the SEMA F1 can be learned through these three links:
[url]http://www.sportscarmarket.com/profiles/2004/August/English/index.html[/url]
[url]http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/find/4100_results.asp?&dealerid=11111&lCarID=1697003[/url]
[url]http://www.ferraris-online.com/Articles/SCM_200408_ECP.shtml[/url]
It's a very special F1, but definitely should not have been labeled "F1 LM". They probably couldn't get Ralph Lauren to loan them his and figured that most people wouldn't know any better.
>8^)
ER
Sauc3 suggested I update the information available on the Black LMs as there has been a new development in the form of an image that some of you may have already seen by now. Here's what I originally wrote about the Black LMs earlier in this thread:
[QUOTE=Peloton25]On to the subject that popped up in the course of the thread:
I am fully convinced that the story of the Black LMs is true. Unfortunately there are no photos to prove that they exist, and there is also conflicting info from McLaren and other sources that they were all painted that distinctive Papaya Orange, both of which make it quite difficult to convince people that the story is true.
I have been in contact with 3 people who all claim that the two black LMs do indeed exist. These were all very credible sources - people who worked for McLaren Cars during the time that the customer LMs were built. Each one independently described the two cars with nearly identical details, lending immense credibility to the story of the Black LMs.
Additionally, the Chassis History poster that is included with Driving Ambition - which the QV500.com list was compiled from - clearly lists LM1 and LM4 as having been painted "Black + Graphics".
Additionally, a fourth rather high ranking McLaren Cars employee has told a story about how McLaren had intended to build all of the LMs in Orange, but that "a very high profile client had rejected that color on two of the three that they ordered". That high profile client was the Brunei Royal Family. As many here will know it is not uncommon for them to spec things that are a bit out of the ordinary from many car manufacturers. Besides LM1 and LM4, Brunei also ended up with LM5, which was painted the traditional Papaya color. They also have a number of standard F1s - at least 4, and they have a replica of GTR #01R, the LeMans winning F1 GTR, built upon the GTR #09R chassis.
Another thing that lends credibility to all of this is that the two customer LMs that have been spotted and photographed turned out to be LM3 (the car in the snow there) and LM2, which is kept in a small auto museum in Japan. Both of those cars are Papaya as the poster describes.
Sadly, photos of the Black LMs will probably never surface. Brunei is a strange place and only limited photos have ever been snuck out of the Sultan's many garages. Our only hope is that they might decide to sell one or more of these cars at some point, but I don't leave much hope for that. Only one of the reported 9 F1s that went to Brunei has managed to break free - chassis #014 painted Titanium Yellow.[/quote]
Now, here's the artist's rendering of one of the Black LMs that found it's way into the public domain, along with what I wrote when it surfaced back in January '06 in the F1 forum:
[quote][b]Black LMs finally revealed![/b]
Finally being an understatement!
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1/McLaren_F1_lrg.jpg] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1/8ca8042c.jpg[/img] [/url]
[i]Clickable...[/i]
So far, three individuals with the knowledge and experiences to [u]really know[/u] claim this is an accurate representation of the Black LMs in Brunei. A fourth source has declined to comment unfortunately, but I can certainly respect that.
Adding to the crediblity of the Brunei connection is the style of front plate included in the image. You can see some examples of Brunie plates at this link:
[url]http://plaque.free.fr/as/bru/[/url]
I'm sure you are curious about the source of the image. It came my way via a very generous person who found it hidden away on this website belonging to Pininfarina Senior Designer, Maurizio Corbi.
[url]http://www.mauriziocorbi.com/html/gallery.htm[/url]
Those sources confirming the image's accuracy speculated that Maurizio could have had access to the cars in Brunei during his time with Pininfarina since they created several special cars for the Brunei Royal Family. I suspected he may have been comissioned by Brunei to create the piece of artwork, but he could have simply chosen to do the illustration on his own.
Just to see what he would information he would volunteer, I sent an email to him complimenting his work, letting him know I was a fan of the F1 and asking rather shrewdly: "Can you tell me more about that car? It is very unique looking for a McLaren F1."
I hit the jackpot with a portion of his reply:
[quote]"It's true, i took this image in Brunei infact i was there in 1996 like Pininfarina designer for some projects and i saw this magnific car in the Jerudong Park Garage.
I think is a unique car, made only for the Sultan."[/quote]
So there you have it - 4 people confirm that the Black LMs exist, that this is what they look like, and the artist confirms that the image was made while he was visiting Brunei. It really doesn't get any better than this in my mind. :cool:
Personally I don't find the graphics appealing, but my bank account isn't quite large enough for my opinion to matter. Obviously some members of the Brunei Royal Family felt this was how the cars should look, and this is how they ended up. I'm still hopeful that we can some day get real photos of these cars. [/quote]
Most of you are probably also familiar with the list of cars from Brunei. On it you will find the chassis numbers of the 9 F1s that went to Brunei. There were 4 road cars, 3 LMs, 1 GTR and 1 F1 GT.
[code]Type Reg No VIN
MCL F1 GTR NONE FIGTR009
MCL F1 BN3388 SA9AB5AC3R1048005
MCL F1 BN2008 SA9AB5AC4R1048014
MCL F1 LM KF90 SA9AB5AC9T1048LM1
MCL F1 LM BP75 SA9AB5AC4T1048LM4
MCL F1 BN73 SA9AB5AC9R1048008
MCL F1 LM BM2208 SA9AB5AC6T1048LM5
MCL F1 BN1954 SA9AB5AC1P1048002
MCL F1 GT BQ7551 SA9AR5BC8T1048054
Note: The last three digits of the VIN identify the chassis number.[/code]
Look closely at that list and you will see that the registration plate number for LM1 is a match to what you will find in Corbi's drawing. :cool:
It's really nice how it all ties together and no longer can anyone have realistic doubts that the two Black LMs in fact do exist. I'm still hoping for real photos of the cars to find there way to me someday. It seems that people who were in Brunei are just beginning to tell their stories and I know a few who claim to have personal photos albums to go along with them. They just seem hesitant to share those images right now and I guess I have to respect that too as much as it frustrates me.
>8^)
ER
Another thing I wanted to correct after looking back in this thread is the identity of the second F1 road car that was fitted with an LM-spec engine. I had originally written:
[quote]Incidentally - there are only two F1 road cars that have received the LM-spec engine upgrade - the other is a silver F1 with a unique set of headlights that also wears the High Downforce Kit. It is suspected that this car is chassis #059, but that isn't yet confirmed. Also, the name of the owner is unknown, but the car wears UK Registration plate "R66 MCL". I suspect they also have close ties to McLaren. BMW Motorsport will not be building any more LM-spec engines, so no other customers will be able to purchase this upgrade.[/QUOTE]
The actual F1 road car that received the second LM-spec engine is chassis #018. It's visually identical to chassis #073 that was seen at SEMA from a design/body modifications standpoint - only the wheels and colors are different.
Both cars wear the Extra High Downforce Kit, which in addition to the large rear wing and GTR-style front nose piece/splitter, also features the louvered cutouts on the fenders over the front wheels to improve aerodynamics. These are the only two standard road cars I have seen with those, but you will find similar ones on the longtail GTRs and the 3 F1 GTs as well.
Chassis #018 was originally dark blue with a grey interior and I am fairly certain it's first owner was Yoshio Tsuzuki in Japan. The car was spotted in Sweden in 1999 and at the time it was reportedly owned by Tom Meissner. I believe he then sold car to someone in Germany and that they were the ones who initiated the High Downforce Kit conversion and respray, and eventually the fitment of the LM-spec engine.
In January of this year the car's German owner sold chassis #018, with the car ending up in a Singapore dealer that is also the Pagani distributor. Coincidentally they had also purchased F1 chassis #065 which was formerly McLaren's own car on display in the Park Lane showroom in London.
Below are two pics of #018 taken inside the McLaren Customer Care facility following it's final refit and one of the few shots of it that have surfaced of the car since arriving in Singapore.
>8^)
ER
McLaren F1 LM #whatever number we're up to
Thanks for the latest Mclaren update D :)
Much appreciated.
can some1 post more photos of the interior please :)
[QUOTE=zdriga;754154]can some1 post more photos of the interior please :)[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Vaigra;754168]I'm sure if there were anymore high-res shots of any part of the car they'd have already been posted :)[/QUOTE]
:D :D