Mclaren F1

Mclaren F1

The Mclaren F1 is more than a hedonistic plaything. We knew already that it was the fastest, most powerful road car we were ever likely to test: Jonathan Palmer’s 231mph at Nardo had put the  Mclaren F1 firmly on pole for straight-line speed. We knew it was the most expensive, too at £540,000, nothoing else gets close for outrageous extravagance. That the  Mclaren F1 was the lightest, least compromised of the great modern supercars was ancient history. And that it embraced the Gospel according to Murray was engraved in stone, too. It took a talented team to put the  Mclaren F1 on the road, but Murray is the driving force behind it. The  Mclaren F1 is his car, his dream, his achievement.We knew all these things and much, much

BMW X6

more. What we didn’t know was what the  Mclaren F1 was like to drive. No-one outside the company bar a few prospective customers had driven an  Mclaren F1  never mind driven one in anger. CAR – who else? – would be the first to do so.There would be no demonstration run, no inhibiting company minder, no strings other than to sign a rather frightening indemnity. My brief was to be at  Mclaren F1 pristine Woking headquarters by 8am, have Jonathan Palmer, McLaren’s marketing director, show me around the car, and then get it and go. Destination: Wales, via a circuitous route that would take in several favourite roads. God, it’s a hard life.

Mclaren F1

My departure was delayed by a small technical hitch with XP5, the fifth  Mclaren F1 prototype which is representative of customer cars dynamically, but not in finish. While the snag was sorted, I boned up again on the car’s targets and design.To dismiss the  Mclaren F1 as a rich man’s toy is to sell it short. Compromise was not in Murray’s script. Perfection and cutting-edge technology were. Murray’s 10-hour concept brief in 1990 to the close-knit team charged with the task of developing the first  Mclaren F1 Road car has already passed into motoring folklore.  Mclaren F1 provide the ultimate uncorrupted driving experience, Murray decreed a three-seater, with the driver in the middle, sitting well forward as in a racer. Anything that diminished driver pleasure, the car’s raison d’etre, was out. Mclaren F1 definitive adrenaline pump would have minimal front and rear overhangs, and all its masses – engine, transmission, fuel, occupants, luggage – would be contained well within the ‘dumb-bell’ weight distribution. Low moments of inertia, regardless of load, were essential. So were low centre of gravity and light weight.Murray is obsessed by weight. His ambitious target of 1000kg (2200lb) – which was nearly achieved – meant compact dimensions and ruthless paring. Not for the  Mclaren F1 masterpiece the gross obesity of a Jaguar XJ220 or Testarossa, both of which weigh hundreds of kilogrammes more. It also dictated Formula One carbon-composite construction for the immensely strong body/chassis unit. That a test driver escaped unscathed from a high speed crash in an  Mclaren F1 prototype is testimony to the monocoque’s integrity and strength.

Mclaren F1

Packaging was key to the  Mclaren F1success. Get that right and the rest would fall into place. Fashion would have little to do with the car’s timeless styling. Ground-effect aerodynamics  Mclaren F1 cab-forward driving position, spinal air-intakes…these and other considerations dictated how designer Peter Stevens would shape the car. Another Murray edict that raised eyebrows was that there would be no turbo motor. Only the linear delivery of a big, high-revving, normally-aspirated engine would do for a car that was to be the fastest in the world, and civilised with it. Mclaren F1 talked to several engine manufacturers before accepting BMW Motorsport’s proposal to build a 6.1 litre 60-degree quad-can V12. Awesome though it is, this purpose-built 48-valve powerhouse, which yields considerably more torque than a Formula One engine (more than 479lb ft from 4000-7000rpm), draws heavily on existing BMW technology: variable valve timing from the M3 six, for instance. Dry-sump lubrication that reduces the depth of the crankcase squared with the quest for a low centre of gravity. Mclaren F1 drive to the rear wheels is through a slimline six-speed gearbox. There’s no traction control, for that would diminish driver involvement, not to mention add weight.  Mclaren F1  have ditto power steering, anti-lock brakes, and adaptive damping. There’s not even a servo to assist the Italian Brembo brakes – huge, cross-drilled ventilated discs clamped by four-pot callipers. Nothing has been allowed to diminish the tactile relationship between man and machine.

courtesy by http://www.carmagazine.co.uk