McLaren F1 (1993)

The fastest road car on the earth

Introduction

The title "Fastest car in the world" is always fascinating. As early as the 60's, we saw Lamborghini and Ferrari chasing this title with Miura and 365GTB/4 (Daytona), and then with Countach LP400, LP500S, 5000QV, 512BB, Testarossa and 288GTO. Enter the 80's, the competition became even tougher. Porsche 959 raised the record by as much as 15 mph to 196 mph mark, then Ferrari F40 follows with similar figure but with higher overall performance. Meanwhile, Bugatti EB110 and Jaguar XJ220 raised the game higher with their 550hp output and 210-plus mph top speed. When everyone started to regard the competition had gone too crazy, McLaren launched its crazy of the crazy, F1, in 1993.

What make McLaren F1 so crazy ?

Performance

In 1993, a McLaren F1 was shipped to Italy's Nardo for top speed testing. The circular test track is the fastest in the world, which (ridiculously) was built by Fiat. A year earlier, Bugatti EB110 and Jaguar XJ220 had recorded 212 mph and 213 mph respectively in there ( Note : Both test cars were not identical to road version - the door mirrors of EB110 had been detached and the XJ220 had also got different aerodynamic tweaks ). Unquestionably, McLaren was set to break their record. The only question is : by how many mph ?

Consider the F1 has 85hp more than the XJ220 while its Cd of 0.32 is at least equally good, 220 mph seems no problem. If all work out right, and with some luck, even 225 mph may be feasible. Everybody are looking forward to break the 225 mph mark ...

The result is astonishing : 231 mph !

When I first read this news in magazine, I just couldn't believe it. No, this is true, the unmodified F1 reached this velocity even in that time the engine can develop no more than 585 hp ! With the final version's 627 hp and taller gearing, F1 may even break the 235 mph barrier ! Believe or not.

In the next year, british magazine Autocar conducted a detailed test on its acceleration. The results are:

0-60 mph : 3.2 sec
0-100 mph : 6.3 sec
0-150 mph : 12.8 sec
0-200 mph : 28.0 sec

All of these figures are world records. 0-60mph beats second places Jaguar XJ220 and Porsche 959 by as much as 0.4 sec..... 0-100 mph faster than Ferrari F40 a full 2 seconds..... 0-150 mph is half a second faster than Porsche 959 reaches 125 mph..... and no other car dare to compare with it for 0-200 mph.... The faster it go, the stronger it becomes. McLaren F1 seems to has unlimited power !

An ultimate supercar

You may be used to the slogan "ultimate supercar" during the past 3 decades. Everytime a fastest supercar born, like Daytona, Countach, GTO, 959, F40 and XJ220, the press would tell you "this is probably the ultimate supercar". Get tired of this ?

Now, McLaren F1 is going to end such repeating declaration. Not because human cannot improve further, but because the industry and market can no longer afford such crazy kind of supercars any more. After the broke down of Bugatti, the disastrous sales of XJ220, Suzuki OX99-11 and Cizeta V16T, and the huge loss of McLaren Cars itself, I don't think any sports car maker will dare to invest the huge development budget needed in this risky supercar business. See the latest Ferrari F50 and you'll find Maranello has lost their intention to regain the ultimate supercar title and in favor of a rational business.

Anyway, even a faster car than the F1 were built, there is no facility can testify its superior top speed !

Philosophy

From the beginning of the project, Gordon Murray, a famous ex-Formula One engineer and the chief engineer of the F1 road car project, set several rules for his supercar:

Mid-engined and central driving position - to provide perfect weight distribution like Formula One race car.
A normally aspirated engine - to provide instant throttle response and evenly distributed torque.
As light as possible - to improve acceleration, handling and brakes.
Apply the most sophisticated aerodynamics - to achieve record-breaking top speed and enhance high speed stability.

Undoubtedly, these ideas are exactly what made Formula one race cars so fast.

Engine and transmission

F1's astonishing performance is mainly contributed by its BMW-made V12. Gordon Murray originally asked Honda ( McLaren's Formula One engine supplier in then ) to develop an engine for them. However, Honda refused and BMW was interested in this project. The engine has no relationship with any existing engine it used. It was developed by the Motorsport department exclusively for McLaren. Specification has all a perfect engine needs : 6064 c.c., 4 valves per cylinder and variable valve timing at both the intake and exhaust valves. It develops 627 hp at sky-high 7,500 rpm and 479 lbft at 5,600 rpm. Note that 627 hp is a record in road cars and virtually matching Indycars. Its specific output of 103.4 hp/litre is probably more impressive than Ferrari F50's 109.2 hp/litres because of its larger capacity. The engine is flywheelless, thus provides perfect throttle response like racing cars.

Weight saving was implemented by using light material - magnessium cam covers and oil pan, carbon fiber airbox and of course, aluminium head and block.

AP carbon triple-plate clutch is used to handle such power. The gearbox has 6 speeds, inevitably. 1st to the 5th gear serve speeds up to 180 mph. The final ratio, though rarely used, would take you across the final 50 mph.

Chassis and Aerodynamics

Build as a carbon fiber monocoque, the chassis is probably the strongest ever made. At the same time, its 1138 kg weight is the lightest among supercars, thanks to the extensive use of carbon fiber / aluminium honeycomb sandwich, light alloy, magnesium part (engine parts already mentioned, plus wheels) and the small dimensions.

Its dimensions are the smallest among all supercars. Here I lists 3 other cars for comparison :

	McLaren F1	Bugatti EB110	Jaguar XJ220	Lamborghini Diablo
Length (mm)	4288	4400	4930	4460
Width (mm)	1820	1960	2220	2040
Height (mm)	1140	1120	1150	1100

Small dimensions make it light and nimble to drive, but simultaneous has some drawback in handling (See Handling, Riding and Brakes).

As designer Gordon Murray was famous of innovative ideas ( his inventions during his Formula One years including Tyrrell 6 wheeler and Brabham ground effect fan car ), F1 received several first-ever inventions :

Central driver seat with 2 passenger seats on either side behind the driver : this has so many advantages. Not only enables as much as 3 passengers sit comfortably, it enables the driver sit forward without obstructed by the wheels thus increase visibility a lot. Besides, it provides perfect balance when the driver is driving alone.
Ground effect with fans assisted : Murray introduced his brilliant invention into the road car, which help eliminating lift without increasing drag, unlike spoiler.
Aero brake-assistance : A small rear spoiler will pop up to shift the center of gravity back to rear during braking, thus increasing the effectiveness of braking.

The overall aerodynamic coefficient drag is 0.32, as remarkable as 959 and Diablo.

Handling, Riding and Braking

Some testers said F1 has fabulous handling, but most of them agree it is too powerful for its chassis. In corners, it is not as stable as Ferrari huge-wing F50, nor as grippy as Bugatti's 4WD EB110. Despite the rigid carbon fiber monocoque structure, F1's tiny dimension, lightness and relatively lack of down force cannot cope with its huge torque and acceleration at some circumstances, e.g., powering at low gear through slow corner. In such case, tyre slips or even the lost of rear end (oversteer) may occur. In fact, 2 of the 4 early development cars were crashed by the heads of McLaren and BMW Motorsport during testing.

At low speed, the short travel of throttle pedal make slight output hard to be precisely controlled. Any slightly more step would suddenly increase the power. In this respect, a precision foot is needed. Besides, steering tends to understeer at low speed. At higher speed, down force builds up and the car become more stable and the steering become more neutral.

F1 seems to prefer fast run. It does not hate to run slow as much as Lamborghini Diablo or Porsche 911GT1, however, it is neither as easy to be controlled as Ferrari F50, 550M and Bugatti EB110 at such speed. Remember, it is born to run fast !

To extract all its potential out, you need to be a more-than-average driver, and have some practice to get used to its character. Once you have learned the secret of controlling driving line by precise co-operation of throttle and steering, your F1 will corner fast and secure and leave all other supercars behind.

In riding, it is a bit firm but not too uncomfortable. Brakes are very good despite the lack of ABS, but need a heavy foot.

Comforts, Build Quality and Styling

McLaren F1 is the first supercar can sit up to 3 passengers. Since the roof is high, tall occupants will find no such difficulties found on other supercars. Its racing bucket seats are less attractive to look at, but supportive. Driving position is fine, where reach and rack of the steering wheel can be adjusted.

Since McLaren is a racing team, those expect Ferrari's level of cabin taste and trim level will certainly be disappointed. Instead, it is designed for function and lightness only.

Build quality is excellent, though. External panel finish is in the very high standard, because McLaren has long experience in producing carbon fiber.

Finally, the styling is contributed by a British designer, Peter Steven, who also penned Jaguar XJR-15 and Lotus Elan MkII. Steven successfully fulfills the requirement for practical functions, simultaneously making it a fashionable and special design. The only ingredient it lack of is the aggressive style like Lamborghini Diablo.

Conclusion

McLaren F1 revoluted supercar in many ways. Its performance is certainly the most impressive. Besides, its re-adoption of normally aspirated engine was proved to be a wise decision. It handles as good as other supercars, provides more practical cabin, excellent visibility and even suitable for daily drive. It is special to look at, special to talk about ( for its performance, for its technology. ) and special to drive. As an ultimate supercar, the 600,000 plus pounds price is worthy, especially when you know McLaren actually loss money on every F1.

McLaren set new record - 240.1 mph !

In April 1998, McLaren took its 5-year old F1 to Germany's Ehra-Leissen test track, after 3 runs, it set a new top speed record as 240.1mph (386.7kph) two-way average.

That F1 is identical to any production F1, with the same side mirrors, same tyres, standard tyre pressure, same suspensions setting.... the only difference is - the 7500rpm rev limiter was disabled.

After two runs, racing driver Andy Wallace tried seriously in the final run. The V12 rev to 7800rpm while oil temperature was still acceptable, two-way run was performed for eliminating the effect by wind and the average speed is calculated to be 240.1 mph. A new record was set !

All the measurement was done by track's official equipments. Track officers issued a certificate to prove this, so there won't be any argument that which is the fastest car in the world.

In 1993, McLaren set 231mph record in Italy's Nardo test track. It was recorded by themselves without third-party observers.

Derivatives of McLaren F1

Silver: standard F1

Orange: F1 LM

Black: F1 GT

From 1994 to May 1998, McLaren built a total of 100 F1s, 72 of which were road cars and the remaining were GTR race cars. Among the road cars, 64 were the normal F1, 5 were F1 LM and 3 were F1 GT. GTR consists of three generations - GTR ’95, GTR ’96 and GTR ’97, with production numbers of 9, 9 and 10 cars respectively.

F1 LM

The LM is the most powerful and most accelerative F1 of all. Basically, it is the street version of the GTR ’95 race car, which won Le Mans in 1995. The removal of air restrictors enable the V12 engine to output 680 hp instead of GTR’s 600 hp or normal F1’s 627 hp. Besides, it retained GTR’s weight saving measures such as the deletion of equipment, electric aerodynamic aids and the use of lighter trimming. Fan-assisted ground effect and automatic rear spoiler were replaced by a simple and effective big rear wing which increased downforce a lot in the expense of top speed. That said, the F1 LM could barely reach 225 mph, according to McLaren.

However, weighing just 1062 kg, it is 76 kg lighter than the F1 yet has more punch. Therefore acceleration should be even more astonishing. In November, 1999, CAR magazine witnessed McLaren’s test driver Andy Wallace driving the F1 LM set the world record for 0-100mph-0 in 11.5 sec. The previous record, as I know, was set by Caterham Seven JPE (a 250hp superlight weight launched in 1992) with a time of 12.41.

F1 GT

The GT was the last road-going F1 produced. Mechanically it differed little from the standard F1, but the body work was vastly revised. The tail was massively extended, accompany with longer nose, to improve downforce (from the standard F1) without adding the slightest drag. Overall width was extended by 120 mm, accompany with widened tracks and skirts, to give a more racing-car profile, thus improve cornering balance. The changes mirrored the ’97 GTR.

However, GT was actually slower in acceleration than other F1s, blame to the 1220 kg kerb weight, although it might have the best compromise between top speed and handling. Its cabin was also the most luxurious, thanks to full leather trim.

Racing for Speed

Since motor car was invented, human did not stop trying to raise top speed. In early days, such work was mainly because of practical needs, for instance, even the fastest pre-war car, Alfa Romeo 8C2900, can barely reached 125mph, thus one can see how necessary to raise speed.

As automotive technology developing, top speed became irreasonably high, especially after speed limits were legislated by governments. How many drivers need to travel at over 150mph? However, car makers still continued their race for speed, solely for the purpose of lifting their image. "The fastest car in the world" is always a fascinating title, every sports car maker wants to acquire it. The real battle started in the '60s by two of the most admirable sports car makers - Lamborghini and Ferrari.

Ferruccio Lamborghini established his company in the early '60s intended to rival Ferrari. Of course, for a new sports car maker, the fastest way to make name is to build "the fastest car in the world". Therefore in 1966, he created the mid-engined, V12-powered Miura, the first 170mph sports car in history.

2 years later, Ferrari responded with front-engined Daytona, whose 4.4-litre V12 developed more horsepower at 352hp. Road test found it was 2 mph faster than Miura.

Enter the '70s, the title of fastest car still controlled by these two Italian marques. In 1971 Geneva motor show, Lamborghini unveiled Countach prototype, which claimed to be 200mph ! However, when the production car launched in 1974, old engine and inferior aerodynamics made it actually slower than Miura, although many people still believed it could do 200mph, simply suggested by its space-age styling. Luckily, Ferrari's contemporary mid-engined 512BB also appeared to be slower than its predecessor, mostly because of smog control.

As oil crisis hit the sports car market, the battle silent down for a few years until 1984, when Ferrari launched its Group B limited production supercar, 288GTO. Racing technology including Kevlar body, twin-turbo 32-valve V8 engine helped it to taste 180mph top speed. 400hp was also a record high in road car. Meanwhile, within a year, Maranello created another supercar, the boxer-engine Testarossa. 390hp from 12 cylinders enable the same speed as GTO, but this car is a production car which eventually built more than 10,000 units.

At the same time, Lamborghini upgraded its Countach LP500S to Countach 5000QV, boasted by 5.2 litres 4-valve V12 good for 455hp. Due to inferior aerodynamics, it topped roughly the same as the Ferrari GTO and Testarossa. By the way, Aston Martin collaborated with designer / coach builder Zagato and created a car simply called "Zagato", with 432hp 5.3-litre V8 and a drag-free body, it was claimed to be capable of 187mph (300km/h) ! However, since only 50 were built, no wonder no test data was available.

When nobody seems to be dominating, Porsche 959 stunned the world in 1987. Built according to Group B rules like Ferrari 288GTO, it also employed Kevlar body and twin-turbo engine, but the Porsche flat six good for 450hp, accompany with 0.32 drag-coefficient, no wonder it reached 197mph in a test held by AMS magazine.

Ferrari responded a year later with F40. Even more racy than the 959, but twin-turbo V8 output 478hp. Although overall performance was better, top speed was marginally lower because of higher drag.

Entered the '90s, the competition raised to the toughest ever seen. Lamborghini was lucky to launched its 202mph Diablo just before the new battle broke out, until now it is still the fastest production car. In 1992, Bugatti EB110 raised the record to 211mph, Jaguar then recorded 217mph in its XJ220 development car. Both of them were powered by a 3.5-litre turbocharged engine.

LEFT : Bugatti EB110 Super Sport. RIGHT : Jaguar XJ220

A year later, McLaren F1 rewrote the record to 231mph, this is the final record. A few years later, Gordan Murray suddenly appeared to be eager to find out the real potential of F1, thus disabled rev-limiter and recorded 240 mph. This is the final record *.

* There were several Porsche 962-based road cars appeared before 1993, they may be even faster than McLaren F1. Nevertheless, they were not qualified in our scope because of their racing car root.

Where to record top speed for supercars ?

Autobahn, Germany

As many car enthusiasts know, Germany's Autobahn is one of the most famous super highways in the world that has no speed limit. Autobahn is a highway network interconnecting major cities in the country, it was building since the 30's under Hitler government's policy to make Germany the most modernised country. Consists of many multi-lane long straights and high speed bends, though not all sections has no speed limit, it is the most perfect public road to record top speed. Driving in Autobahn must remember that never engage the fast lane if you are not fast enough, otherwise you may be slammed by a 200mph supercar from behind.

Ehra-Lessien, Germany

This is Volkswagen's test track. 2 parallel long straights connected by arcs at both ends. Cars accelerates in the 9 km long straight, where speed will be recorded, then slow down, enter the arc, record speed again in the other long straight. As a result, 2-way average speed can be calculated. In 1998, McLaren F1 measured 240.1 mph there.

Nardo, Italy

Strangely, Fiat built the fastest track in the world. It locates in Nardo of Northern Italy. This is simply a circular loop, with slope to compensate the centrifugal force. McLaren F1, Bugatti EB110, Jaguar XJ220 and Lamborghini Diablo were all tested there.

Nevada desert, USA

Although running on sand, Nevada desert is the only place for breaking land speed record, because it has unlimited "straight". Thrust SSC set a supersonic record there.

Specifications

Model	F1	F1 LM	F1 GT
Year of production	1994-98
No. produced	64 units	5 units	3 units
Layout	Mid-engined, Rwd	Mid-engined, Rwd	Mid-engined, Rwd
Dimensions (mm)	L / W / H / WB: 4288 / 1820 / 1140 / 2718	L / W / H / WB: 4365 / 1820 / 1120 / 2718	L / W / H / WB: 4928 / 1940 / 1200 / 2718
Engine	V12, dohc, 4v/cyl, VVT.	V12, dohc, 4v/cyl, VVT.	V12, dohc, 4v/cyl, VVT.
Capacity	6064 c.c.	6064 c.c.	6064 c.c.
Power	627 hp	680 hp	627 hp
Torque	479 lbft	520 lbft	479 lbft
Transmission	6M	6M	6M
Suspensions	All: double wishbones
Tyres	F: 235 / 45 ZR17 R: 315 / 45 ZR17	275 / 35 ZR18 345 / 35 ZR18	N/A
Weight	1138 kg	1062 kg	1220 kg
Top speed	240 mph**	225 mph (claimed)	N/A
0-60 mph	3.2 sec*	3.9 sec***	N/A
0-100 mph	6.3 sec*	6.7 sec***	N/A

* Tested by Autocar ** Tested by McLaren, without rev limiter *** Tested by McLaren, witnessed by CAR