Mclaren F1 Top Speed Record...Finally Broken!

Under 600hp? How were they able to acheive a higher speed despite more drag? Why doesn't the official McLaren website tell me this? No offense intended, but I think that's a bunch of BS.

Cubby, I have to disagree with your statement that the CC-R was built purely to break the record. The car is a legitimate supercar and an all-around performer. All cars are developed with performance goals. One of the performance goals for the CCR was to break the record for top speed of a production car and it acheived that goal. That doesn't mean it was the only goal or that the rest of the car was compromised to acheive that goal.

 

Not BS but you are entitled to your opinion. The LM car did not have a higher top speed than the street car, just the opposite. The LM car was more manageable and more dependable with the lower hp. It was endurance that McLaren was going after, not top speed. NOt on the official website?? It was in an interview with Gordon Murray when the car was first designed.

Sir, I do not blow smoke at anyone, so the BS thing is offensive. If you have no experience with the car in person and cannot back it up with any proof on your own, I would suggest you do not attack someone else. I happen to have been in one of these cars for three days while my friend was undergoing helicopter training and he left the car with me. I know some of what I speak. Of course, you can become defensive and dis me now, but so be it.........

 

I said that no offense was intended, which is to say that I am ready to be proven wrong. Here is a quote from mclarencars.com, the official website:
"Thus the LM runs the most powerful engine of any F1, road or race, by using an 1995 GTR engine without the air restrictors." Do you now see why I might question someone who says that the LM was actually less powerful? I have driven many cars. This does not mean that I have the authority to dictate the statistics of those cars. I did not mean to attack you, I am simply looking for information. If you can provide me with proof of your statement, I would really like to see it. The F1 is a fascinating car and I am not hesitant to learn more about it. Once again I will say that I did not mean to offend you and I did not mean what I said as a "dis." I would like to correct myself about the LM having a higher official top speed than the regular F1. A regular F1 chassis was fitted with selected mods from the LM, thus leading me to believe it was an LM.

 

I think there may be a miscommunication here. There are 5 McLaren F1 LMs.They were produced to commemorate the victory of the GTR at Le Mans. The McLaren F1 racecars were called the F1 GTR and finally evolved into the Longtailed F1 GTR's. The initial run of F1 GTRs had slightly more power and torque then the road going F1. Later on McLaren reduced displacement slightly by a few cc's because the rules favored the smaller capacity. These cars then produced about 600 horsepower. The F1 LM is the roadgoing version of the GTR. It runs a GTR engine that is not forced to breath through the restrictors required by the FIA because it is a roadcar. This is why the F1 LM produces approx. 680 hp, compared with the 635 hp for the 1995 GTR's and 600 hp. by the longtail GTR's.

-Also the F1 that set the record at Ehra-Lessien was XP5. The final production spec prototype. It was a standard F1 roadcar in everyway with the exception that on each different run of the track for the record attempts the rev limiter was raised because the car kept pulling.

 

Didn't they change/remove the mirrors and windshield wiper, and tape over all the panel gaps?

 

Nope, McLaren was adamant about the car being in showroom condition. Nothing was done to the car. The Jaguar XJ220 previously held the record at Nardo, and that cat had its catalytic converters removed as well as its side mirrors. McLaren viewed this record as not in the spirit of a production car and decided that their car was to be in production spec in everyway.

 

I found this pic on my computer, it is from their top speed test. There is no windshield wiper and there is tape on the hood joints and also the turn signals.
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That picture is very interesting, thank you for posting it. In driving ambition they make no mention of it being taped off, and I have repeatedly heard that it was completely stock other than rev-limiter. I will look into it more.

 

McLaren Car's customer care manager Harold Dermott tells XP5's story: "This car has led a hard life. As we completed the record run it clicked 77,003km (47,849 miles). It's done gearbox durability, plus other development testing, virtually all the marketing stuff, Autocar's acceleration figures, worldwide demonstrations, and it still has its original chassis, engine and gearbox. It was built five years ago, before production specification was finalised. Whenever it's at the factory, we update it with all the latest production tweaks. We do that with customers' cars, too, in our preventative maintenance programme - anything new that we develop is fitted free for three years." XP5 was not specially modified for the record attempt, apart from raising the rev limiter and polishing it underneath. Dermott says: "We gave it the standard, major 18-month service and fitted new suspension bushes. It was absolutely standard. Even the Michelin tyres were run at normal pressures. Using standard road tyres made the point that this is an average F1, without special tweaks.

 

This is very interesting. BTW, I just thought about checking where the MLaren 231mph record was set and it was at Nardo, the place the Koenigsegg pulled 242. I think the Koenigsegg has enough speed left in it to eclipse the F1 beyond all doubt.