Cars - McLaren F1

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	Cars - McLaren F1

The McLaren F1 is a supercar engineered and produced by McLaren Cars, a British company subsidiary of the McLaren Group that, among others, owns the McLaren Mercedes Formula One team. The car features a 6-litre 60° V12 BMW engine and it was conceived as a "cost is no object" exercise in creating what its designers hoped would be considered the ultimate road car. Only 107 cars were manufactured, 64 of those for use on public roads and the rest for racing. Production began in 1994 and ended in 1998.

The McLaren F1 was the fastest production car ever built until 2005 when the Koenigsegg CCR recorded a speed of 388 km/h (241 mph), a record which has in turn been broken by the Bugatti Veyron, with a top speed of 407 km/h (253 mph). This however has yet to be confirmd by official agencies, but has been tested in an issue of Car and Driver.

The concept

Chief engineer Gordon Murray's design concept was a common one among designers of high-performance cars: low weight and high power. This was achieved through use of high-tech and very expensive materials like carbon fiber, titanium, gold and magnesium. The F1 was the first production car to use a carbon-fiber monocoque.

The prototype version of the F1 is based on a Ultima MK3 chassis numbers 12 and 13, the last two MK3s. Number 12 was used to test the gearbox with a Chevy V8 to mimic the torque of the BMW V12, plus various other components like the seats and the brakes. Number 13 was the test of the V12, plus exhaust and cooling system. When McLaren was done with the cars they destroyed both of them to keep away the specialist magazines.

The car

Gordon Murray originally designed the car as a three-seater in order to place the driver in what he believed to be the optimum position. This created a certain amount of difficulty for the driver when entering or exiting the car, but there were few complaints. Drivers report that visibility to the front and sides is excellent and that the car is tractable for in-town driving.

By fitting the car with three seats, Murray created an unusually practical supercar. He also designed in a pair of side-mounted luggage compartments, another unusually practical feature in such an exotic car. Customized luggage to fit into these compartments was also included.

Each buyer of a new F1 received the option of a customized TAG-Heuer watch engraved with the car's chassis number and a titanium Facom tool kit in a mechanic's chest. The carbon fibre driver's seat was also molded to fit its owner.

Murray refused to fit the car with electronic "driver's aids" like traction control or anti-lock brakes (ABS) as he believed that these did not make the car any safer but rather interfered with the ability of the skilled driver to control the vehicle. Not everyone agreed with his views on the subject but even the car's critics generally admit that it was exceptionally good to drive even without the electronic assistance. The car also lacks power-assist in both steering and braking - again, to save weight and to provide maximum connection between driver and car. However, many reviewers were less favorably disposed to the car's handling at speed. Jeremy Clarkson, among others, has often noted that the McLaren was rather "twitchy" above 200 miles per hour, a marked contrast to the Bugatti Veyron, which has been described as rather less "tossable" than the McLaren, but more secure at the edge of its performance limit. When cornering at the limit where pure mechanical grip is the dominant factor the car has a natural tendency to understeer, however power induced oversteer is easily provoked.

The finished product was unusually compact and light for such a powerful car.

The road car is 1140 mm high, 1820 mm wide, 4287 mm long (45 in by 72 in by 169 in) and weighed 1140 kg (2513 lb).

For size, compare this to a Toyota MR2 Spyder (one of the few mid-engine cars recently in large-scale production): 1138 mm high, 1694 mm wide, 3886 mm long (45 in by 67 in by 153 in) and weighs 996 kg (2196 lb).

For a more appropriate comparison in terms of performance, the 650 hp (485 kW) Ferrari Enzo is 1147 mm high, 2035 mm wide, 4702 mm long (45 in by 80 in by 185 in) and weighs 1370 kg (3020 lb).

The engine

Murray insisted that the engine for this car be normally-aspirated to increase reliability and driver control. Turbochargers and superchargers increase power but they increase complexity and can decrease reliability as well as the ability of the driver to maintain maximum control of the engine. BMW's motorsport division custom-built a 6.1 L (6064 cc) 60-degree V12 engine with aluminum alloy block and head, 86 mm x 87 mm bore/stroke, quad overhead camshafts for maximum flexibility of control over the four valves/cylinder and chain drive for the camshafts for maximum reliability. The resulting engine was slightly heavier than Murray had originally specified but also considerably more powerful.

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Cars - McLaren F1

The concept

The car

The engine

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