XP5 makes another public appearance - this time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Press Preview held yesterday. >8^) ER Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Agreed, but i think this color would fit an McL without an HDF kit better. A racey looking car should have an flat/non bling color imo.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ABIpHXiOdM&feature=relmfu[/ame] Love the mechanical sounds of the GTR! Gr. Martin
There might be a few F1s in the world that still exist in this condition but this one is chassis #029. This car was originally delivered new to Japan and painted in a very unique mixture of brown and metallic pink. The chassis history info you will find from a few sources online will list the color of this car as "Brazilian Brown" however I think that's inaccurate info. I believe the car that was painted Brazilian Brown was #039 (last seen in Mexico) and the actual color name for #029 is "Creighton Brown" which those same sources of info show as the color name for #039. I'm not sure who is responsible for the naming switcheroo but it also appears this way on the poster that is included with "Driving Ambition" and it's pretty clear these online sources are simply duplicating what that poster provides. There was an article printed in Performance Car magazine in March 1995 that told the story of a special paint color created for a recently completed F1 made by mixing brown and pink metallic. The story went that when the color was finalized, it needed a name and someone came up with the idea of using "Creighton Brown" as a joke. You see, the real 'Creighton Brown' was McLaren Cars' Commercial Director and had been one of the four men who originally participated in the 1988 airport lounge discussion that sparked the F1 project. The other three participants were Gordon Murray, Ron Dennis and the head of (at the time) the TAG/McLaren Group, Mansour Ojjeh. The article also mentions this special brown/pink F1 went to a customer in Japan, and that's where the car in that photo remains today. The fact that the article mentions the car being recently completed jives with the production timeline for chassis #029. At that point in history, chassis #039 was still at least a few months away from being built, if not more. At one point about 3 years ago chassis #029 was offered publicly through the Japanese exotics broker known as ArtSports. When they listed the car they provided the images below and while "Brown and Pink" sounds like the sort of combination that might turn your stomach I think this car ends up being one of the better looking F1s out there - especially with the interior treatment that was selected. If I could afford to own this car the only thing I would consider changing are the numbers that appear on the odometer. Last I heard, the asking price for the latest effort to sell this car was 400M Yen - factor a conversion to about $4.5-$5M USD. And yeah, I can't afford that yet. >8^) ER Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
You don't really see the pink in any of these photos, but if you check this one it comes through pretty clear. I still wouldn't kick it out of the garage if I found it there. Before anyone asks - no, I unfortunately don't have this one in a larger size. >8^) ER Image Unavailable, Please Login
I really like the interior of #029. Erik, when you ramble off the history of these cars, it sound like a lot of them have been repainted at some point. Any idea how many remain in original or near original condition?
Definitely a large percentage have been given a respray/refit by a second owner, or sometimes even the original owner. There are 9 or 10 road cars that have been fitted with the downforce kit too and most of them have been resprayed. I'll put my thinking cap on a little later and come up with a number to the best of my knowledge. Off the cuff, it's more than 25% I'd guess, and I think if the factory wasn't directly involved you'd see a lot less of this behavior. Completely original F1s are getting kind of scarce. I'm not sure whether originality plays a huge factor in the valuations since any new owner can also choose to have the factory refinish the car to suit their own tastes. It probably depends largely on who is buying. There are a few original cars left that would be at the top of my purchase list if I had the funds. Chassis #029 is definitely one, and so is #051 which I covered here when Tony asked me to pick just one. Chassis #011, the blue car just above, is another car I would love to have, but it is far from original. Assuming none of those could be acquired I'd buy one of the 'boring' silver cars and have my way with it. >8^) ER
I do wonder if the price of the Japanese cars would've been affected by recent events, what with the economy being massively affected? Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things (obviously I wish the very best to the entire nation of Japan for their recovery), but it would be interesting to see what exotics will be going for over there in the coming months/years.
Here is a shot of the ultimate Mclaren F1 GTR that I took at Sebring in 1997 during the FIA race. This thing was fast and loud, infact I think I almost lost my hearing a week later when I saw and heard it at Laguna Seca!! They had 2 Fina and 2 Gulf cars trying to beat the CLK's both weekends. Tom Tanner/Ferrari Expo 2012-Chicago March 2012 Image Unavailable, Please Login
For all you McLaren F1 lovers, EVO has a special free offer for you: http://www.fourpm.co.uk/data/mclaren_f1/
I'm back on here for the first time in many moths and its good to see theres still a steady stream of good pictures, and that Peloton's knowledge is ever increasing ! Talking of Peloton I have 3 questions for you: 1. All McLaren F1 owners are given the option to have their F1's interior fitted, and the exterior resprayed and add options, well is the HDF Kit and accompanying wheels still available? 2. Do you think this level of customer care will be maintained well into the future from McLaren? I mean realistically can they provide such a great service for the car and its owners as the years go by and the cars get older and older and more generations ago 3. Finally d you think the status of the McLaren F1 will remain as important as the years go by, e.g. do you think it will still be such an iconic, loved and increasingly valuable car as years go by, I know I certainly would have an F1 regardless if I could and am sure you would, but do you reckon it will stay this way for most people ? Thanks Mairtin777 Also I meant to ask - Does anyone have any very high resolution pictures of #11 (Blue - HDF Kit) that I could use as a screensaver/wallpaper as it is my absolute favourite McLaren F1 !
Modena Motorsport Trackdays 2011: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Gr. Martin
Answers in blue. Most of the good ones you will find are on Flickr - there are a handful of them mixed among the images I have favorited here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peloton25/favorites/ >8^) ER
Not good: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/mr-bean-and-blackadder-star-rowan-atkinson-in-hospital-after-fiery-supercar-crash/story-e6frf96o-1226108975848
