beautifully engineered

The McLaren F1 is Beautifully Engineered

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 expensive materials like carbon fibre, titanium, gold, magnesium and kevlar. The F1 was the first production car to use a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis.

For the engine, the motorsport division BMW M headed by engine expert Paul Rosche designed and built Murray a 6.1 L 60-degree V12 engine called the BMW S70/2. At 627 hp and 266 kg (586 lb) the BMW engine ended up 14% more powerful and 16 kg (35 lb) heavier than Gordon Murray’s original specifications, with the same block length. It has an aluminium alloy block and head, with 86 mm x 87 mm bore/stroke, quad overhead camshafts with variable valve-timing (a relatively new and unproven technology for the time) for maximum flexibility of control over the four valves per cylinder, and a chain drive for the camshafts for maximum reliability. The engine is dry sump.

The carbon fibre body panels and monocoque required significant heat insulation in the engine compartment, so Murray’s solution was to line the engine bay with a highly efficient heat-reflector: gold foil. Approximately 16 g (0.8 ounce) of gold was used in each car.

The car features a central driving position – the driver’s seat is located in the middle, ahead of the fuel tank and ahead of the engine, with a passenger seat slightly behind and on each side. The doors on the vehicle move up and out when opened, and are thus of the type butterfly doors.

Steve Randle, who was the car’s dynamicist, was appointed responsible for the design of the suspension system of the McLaren F1 machine. It was decided that the ride should be comfortable yet performance-oriented, but not as stiff and low as that of a true track machine, as that would imply reduction in practical use and comfort as well as increasing noise and vibration, which would be a contradictory design choice in relation to the former set premise – the goal of creating the ultimate road car.

The normal McLaren F1 features no wings to produce downforce; however, the overall design of the underbody of the McLaren F1 in addition to a rear diffuser exploits ground effect to improve downforce which is increased through the use of two electric Kevlar fans to further decrease the pressure under the car. A “high downforce mode” can be turned on and off by the driver.

Production began in 1992 and ended in 1998. At the time of production one machine took around 3.5 months to make. Up until 1998, when McLaren produced and sold the standard F1 models, they had a price tag of around $970,000 USD. Today the cars can sell for up to nearly twice that of the original price, due to the performance and exclusivity of the machine. They are expected to further increase in value over time.

Configuration: - Mid Engine / RWD
Engine: - BMW S70/2 6.1L V12
Torque: - 479 lb-ft at 4000 rpm
Horsepower: - 627 bhp at 7400 rpm
Transmission: - 6-speed manual
Weight: - 2513 lbs
0-60 mph: - 3.2 sec
Top speed: - 243 mph (with rev-limiter removed)