Gordon Murray as soon as outlined to TopGear.com eight things he really didn’t like about the McLaren F1. He stored this stuff on an inventory and vowed that ought to the day ever come the place he’d get one other alternative to construct an epoch-defining hypercar, he’d repair them. (Hey there, GMA T.50.)
For the remainder of us? Yep, the McLaren F1 stays just about good. Poached by McLaren in 1987, Murray – a Brabham F1 designer on the time – was requested by then boss Ron Dennis to construct the most effective manufacturing sports activities automotive the world had ever seen.
Murray set about creating the purest driving expertise doable, utilizing methods and supplies that might later change into business normal for unique initiatives like this. Famously the automotive featured an costly carbon fibre and aluminium monocoque chassis, carbon fibre bodywork (penned by Peter Stevens), and a bespoke naturally aspirated V12 constructed by BMW particularly for the F1.
Including to the F1’s aura wasn’t simply its beautiful materials choice, singular pursuit of driving pleasure over prime pace (although it was after all the world’s quickest automotive on the time), or mad V12, however its rarity. Solely 106 McLaren F1s had been inbuilt complete, and Hagerty has now shared with TopGear.com the areas the place the world’s (remaining) McLaren F1s at the moment reside.
“An in depth evaluation by Hagerty of all of the McLaren F1 automobiles recognized to exist has confirmed that the UK and US dominate the place the automobiles are positioned,” stated Hagerty UK value information editor John Mayhead. However there’s an fascinating line that emerges once you dig into the information a little bit extra…
So, the USA is house to 25 McLaren F1s, whereas the UK – the place it was designed and constructed – homes solely 18. Nevertheless, these numbers are from the 64 highway automobiles constructed, spanning the ‘common’ F1, 5 prototypes and three F1 GTs. McLaren after all, constructed fairly a number of racing variants, and once you issue these in, the numbers change fairly considerably.
“When the race variants are thought of,” Mayhead informed TG, “it’s a unique story: the UK roars into pole with 40, with the US behind on 30.” (Of the racing F1s, they’re categorised thusly: 28 F1 GTRs, 5 F1 LMs and a single ‘XPLM1’.)
Apparently, 6 McLaren F1s have been destroyed, the Sultan of Brunei has 7 – 3 highway automobiles, 4 race automobiles – and each Australia and Singapore have a single F1 of their territory.
So whereas Murray may need a number of issues he doesn’t like about his gamechanging hypercar, right here’s one factor he may. “As probably the most priceless British automotive ever produced, the F1 is now additionally the automotive to have for any prime British collector,” Mayhead informed us. Try the desk beneath for the total breakdown.
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