Mclaren F1 pics

Erik, how many F1 have 'lived' in Scotland? I know of Kinch's car but have been told there were perhaps three at one time.

 

That's the only one I am aware of. There are a lot of cars in the UK but people rarely speak of their specific locations. I've heard that Gordon Murray has a place in the North, but perhaps not as far as Scotland.

>8^)
ER

 

Both are lovely

 

Hey, Peloton. I don't know weather you've yet provided any insight on the minor subject I'm about to address, but if you have, sorry to request that you repeat. It's easy to spend hours browsing this thread so I tend to skip through some stuff.

In these two pictures, the silver F1 next to Mr. Atkinson's has headlights unlike any of the other F1s pictured. What's the deal with these lights? Are they a custom options or are they a style derived from a certain GTR or Longtail? It appears to me that this is just an F1 with a High Downforce Kit, like the black one next to it. Correct me if I am wrong.

Also, what are the panels directly above the headlights on F1s? Are they to be removed in order to access the headlight electricals? Might the panels have a specific name?

Many thanks.

Regards,
Paul

Edit: For some reason the pictures didn't attach. Will repost, hopefully with pictures this time.

 

Here are the pictures...
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Possibly a HID/Xenon conversion? I'm sure Peloton can give you an answer, though.

 

I know the car you are speaking of - it is chassis #059. I've tried several different sources to get a real answer on the origins of the headlamps on that particular car as it's the only F1 that looks like that - so far no luck.

They were fitted from new, even before the car was upgraded with the High Downforce Kit and they are a significant change given that the headlamp lens and the panel above it are both different in size. Whether this was done to accommodate the owner's particular tastes, or as a byproduct of fitting the HID setup that was installed behind them is really the main question in my mind. As for the rest of the car as far as I know there is nothing else particularly special about it beyond the fact that it is a McLaren F1.

As for the panel, "Driving Ambition" has a page that labels all the parts - they call that one the 'Headlamp Eyebrow'. It is removeable - for access behind the headlamp, but one owner located in region with a rather tropical climate was instructed he could remove them to improve the car's cooling during heavy use at a track day.

Here's a close up of #059's unique headlamps.

>8^)
ER
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Thanks, Peloton. Now that I think of it, the lights sort of remind me of those on the Ameritech F1, but I'm sure they aren't it. Personally, I actually prefer 059's lights over the conventional F1 headlights. Anyways, do you know who 059 belonged to originally, or at least who it belongs to now? Has it ever even changed hands?

I have a few more questions...

If I am not mistaken, Dan Kennedy's F1 was for sale at one point. In an advertisement, it says his car features "upgraded A/C". What is upgraded about it? More vents or something? Do you have any pictures of the interior of this car?

You know the rare, high-mounted "wing" mirrors on some F1s. Is it possible for F1 owners to still have their cars fitted with these mirrors?

Did every standard F1 come with a Valentine One? Did every F1 come as standard with a Kenwood stereo system?

How many different styles of interiors, passenger seats, etc. are there for the standard F1s? I've seen at least 2 types of steering wheels (one with thin grips and all smooth leather and a Nardi emblem at the bottom, the other with slightly thicker grips and what looks to be perforated or cross-hatched rubber in the center), and at least 3 different styles of passenger seats in normal F1s (in pictures, of course). Are there specific names or identification codes/numbers for the different versions of components such as steering wheels? When an F1 owner takes their car to have the interior re-furbished/upholstered, can they basically point to a component and name what material and colour they would like it to be, or are there pre-set styles and materials for things such as seats, seat belts/harnesses, steering wheels, etc.? Do you know if there is a video of a rebuild of an F1 interior, or at least a description of the process and options?

I have noticed on the mclarenshop website that they are selling copies of Driving Ambition for $119.00 each. Do you know anything about this? I'm sure they're not originals - maybe reprints of the "standard" edition? Which edition(s) do you own?

-Paul

 

Steering wheels 1 and 2, and some different passenger seat types.
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that passenger seat is the LM look

 

#059 is likely still with its original owner though I did hear some murmurings of it possibly being for sale last year.

Several cars have the upgraded A/C - it includes a larger condenser and extra vents in the dash. Cars without it have only two vents at the outer-most position on the lower dash. It's a common upgrade though so two-vent cars are becoming more rare.

That's a question for McLaren to answer. It requires them to build a new set of doors for the car. I am sure its within their abilities to do so, but it has been many years since they have. #040, #050 and #071 were originally built that way and #055 and #074 had new doors supplied to upgrade them to the high mirror configuration.

The stereo system from Kenwood was standard in the road cars, the cars you see with the built-in Valentine One's were done as custom additions at a particular owner's request.

I'm going to leave this question for now as it requires a fairly complicated answer. I'll get back to it though.

The retail copy of the book went through two reprint cycles after its initial publishing in 1999. I did see those copies become available from McLarenshop.com again and the price is significantly better than what they've been selling for on Ebay so it is a good time to pick one up. I don't believe that Virgin Books have reprinted it a third time or we'd be seeing copies available in other outlets as well. Hard to say where this new supply has come from but I would not expect them to last long.

I own four copies of the standard retail edition - two from the original printing, one still in the wrapper - and then also have one copy of the Limited Edition which is leather bound and has an extra 136 pages of content. The Limited Edition is a much better book in every respect, but price wise it is no bargain.

>8^)
ER

 

Thank you very much, Peloton. I greatly respect the fact that you always take the time to answer everyone's questions in such a detailed, uniformed, and kind manner.

I will stay tuned for the interior explanations.

Please excuse me as I go buy a copy of Driving Ambition

-Paul

 

The F1 is still the best car in the world, FACT! Everything about it, the central seating, stupid power, gorgeous looks, awesome doors, quirky side luggage areas, the gold in the engine bay, it is all so unique and all works so well. No other car like it in my opinion

 

Can't argue with that. Nothing comes close...so far.

 

I think it's hard to argue with that.

 

+1

 

Spotted this on a detail forum.



Here's the link : http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/pro-studio/33430-mclaren-mp4-12c-correction-auto-concierge.htm
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This car used to belong to Paul Stewart (son of Jackie). My friend had it in his workshop for a while. From memory, the driver's seat was modified for a taller driver. It was then exported from the UK to South Africa.

 

Actually not the case. Paul owned a very similar looking car, but his F1 chassis was #023 and it did not have the unique headlamps mentioned. #023 has a unique look of its own, as its version of the High Downforce Kit has a narrower nosepiece lacking the fender flares found on all the others and a narrower front splitter as well. The car is able to retain the original 17" OZ wheels because of this unlike all other HDF Kitted F1s which run the 18" OZs.

Pictured below is #023 and you can also find some other nice images of it in this Flickr gallery taken inside the Franschhoek Motor Museum in South Africa.

Prior to Paul getting his hands on this car it belonged to Liam Howlett of The Prodigy who had been the one to have McLaren respray the car in Silver from its original British Racing Green and then later fit the High Downforce Kit.

>8^)
ER
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Has anyone seen this photo before? I suspect this was Elon Musk's McLaren F1, which has moved on to new ownership. Anyone know the serial number?

This photo was included in a SpaceX newsletter celebrating the company's 10 year anniversary, which documented the company's history including securing their first manufacturing facility in El Segundo, CA around 2002.

Link here: http://www.spacex.com/updates.php
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I've not seen that particular photo, but would agree that the car is almost surely the one that Elon Musk owned which was chassis #067. His was actually the very first F1 road car I had the pleasure of seeing in person.

After Musk sold it this was the car that later caught fire in Santa Rosa, CA in June 2009. It has since been put back together, good as new, by the factory and remains with the same owner who's had it since Musk.

Thanks for sharing!

>8^)
ER

 

it is indeed.....i can't remember the exact amounts, but apparently it was over gordon murray's specificatin for weight (by a small amount, 4kg??) but was more bhp (27?) than spec, so he allowed the weight infraction.....as you know, mr. g.m. was apparently very demanding on the weight specs during design

 

http://www.sportscarmarket.com/columns-blogs/news/5036-legendary-gulf-team-davidoff-mclaren-f1-gtr-to-headline-bonhams-quail-lodge-sale

Legendary Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren F1 GTR to Headline Bonhams' Quail Lodge Sale
Monday, 09 April 2012 11:46

This year, for its Quail Lodge Sale, Bonhams is thrilled to present an absolute icon of modern-era sports car racing: an ex-GTC Gulf Team Davidoff 1997 McLaren F1 GTR ‘Longtail’ FIA GT Endurance Racing Coupe.

The McLaren F1 GTR design is from that pantheon of victors, including the legendary Ford GT40 and Porsche 917K, to wear Gulf Oil’s charismatic pale-blue and orange team livery.

The 20th Century’s ultimate motoring icon, the McLaren F1 not only earned its place amongst such exalted company on genuine merit, but appears on most aficionados’ top-ten list of the greatest sports cars ever built.

This particular example, chassis ‘028R’, was the 28th and last McLaren F1 GTR produced by the British McLaren Cars factory in Woking, Surrey. It is the last of that final year’s batch of only ten highly developed ‘Longtail’ cars. These definingly beautiful, ultra-modern competition coupes – with their unique centerline driving position and super-sophisticated all-composite structure – were the ultimate development of McLaren’s entire Le Mans-winning F1 GTR family. Indeed, they had to be to resist the tailor-made circuit-racing projectiles then unleashed by the AMG Mercedes-Benz operation.

In 1997 ‘028R’ contested FIA GT Championship 4-hour races at the Nurburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, Austria’s A1-Ring, Donington Park and Mugello, plus the Sebring and Laguna Seca 3-hours events and the Suzuka 1,000 kms. Driven in these races by Andrew Gilbert-Scott, Geoff Lees, Anders Olofsson and John Neilsen, ‘028R’ finished sixth at Suzuka and Laguna Seca, seventh at Donington and tenth at Sebring.

As the last of this rarefied and now much coveted breed, the McLaren F1 GTR ‘Longtail’ ‘028R’ embodies all the lessons learned during that highly successful period. In short, this Gordon Murray-designed beauty is today one of the finest and most exclusive and charismatic racing coupes available anywhere in the world.

“We are delighted to have been appointed by an international collector to represent this breathtaking piece of competition machinery,” says Mark Osborne, Head of Motoring at Bonhams. “Racing legends like the McLaren F1 GTR rarely if ever appear at auction and Bonhams' appointment speaks volumes about our leadership in this sector of the market.”

This year Bonhams is very excited to present its offerings in a new, larger venue on the same Quail Lodge grounds in Carmel Valley. This new location – on the lawns at the western end of the property – provides spacious plein air viewing against the backdrop of the stunning wooded highlands. This is a much more open and accessible site and, while providing greater space on preview and auction days as two key aims behind this move, will also enable our clients to park with ease right at the sale.

Bonhams is currently accepting consignments of rare and pedigree motorcars of all vintages to go alongside the McLaren F1 GTR.
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The final variant of the S70/2 was 16kg heavier but also had 14% more horsepower than Gordon's original targets of 250kg and 550hp.

>8^)
ER

 

two weeks ago at the Retro Classic in Stuttgart was GTR #26R on display

Martin
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