McLaren F1 LM

McLaren F1 LM By John Lamm

For all the car’s potential, Gordon Murray never planned to race the McLaren F1. Then he came under pressure from several race teams who knew what the F1 could achieve against the likes of Ferrari F40s and Porsche 911 GT2s. Murray relented. Hence the McLaren F1 GTR.

This is the first McLaren GT, based on the successful M6A Group 7 racecar. It was aimed at the Group 4 GT series, but when the FIA demanded a production run of 50 cars the project was ended.

They first raced in 1995 and would continue to do so in various series for a number of years. What sealed the GTR’s reputation was the 1995 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In their first Le Mans outing, GTRs finished 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 13th. To celebrate the win, McLaren decided to built a commemorative edition, which would be the F1 LM.

Here is the McLaren F1 GTR that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995, inspiring the F1 LM. Entered by Kokusai Kaihatsu Racing, it was driven by Yannick Dalmas, Masanori Sekiya and JJ Letho.

Integrated into the design were many elements off the race cars, so they were arguably competition machines homologated for the street. Given that high finish by five GTRs it was decided to create five F1 LMs. Was it a chancy undertaking? Jeff Hazell, then Head of Motorsports at McLaren Cars, was quoted as saying, “We weren’t actually sure if we would even sell five, but we launched it at the production facility and we sold five cars probably in five minutes. Perhaps we should have made more...”

To celebrate winning Le Mans, McLaren built the F1 LM using many of the pieces developed for the Le Mans machines and painted Bruce McLaren’s papaya orange.

There was a sixth F1 LM, the prototype that is called XP1 LM. The other five are in private hands, the one you see here owned by Ralph Lauren.

Acceleration to 60 mph is said to be 2.9 seconds, the top speed around 225 mph.

At the back, the F1 LM replaces the “normal” F1’s dynamic rear wing with an adjustable carbon fiber wing and there is a new rear diffuser.

Among the race parts used on the road-going F1 LM are the unique front bodywork and the ground-effects underbody.

On a scale, the F1 LM weighs in at 2341 pounds, some 172 pounds less than the produciton F1.

McLaren built 5 F1 LMs for sale and another that was the prototype and is named XP1 LM.

For racing, the F1 GTR’s 6.1-liter BMW V-12 ran a restrictor that cut horsepower from the standard 627 to 600. Minus the restrictor, the F1 LM’s engine is rated at 680 horsepower.

McLaren kept the 3-across seating positions for the F1 LM, but finished the driver’s seat in orange. Each car came with helicopter-style headsets and those of us who have ridden in LMs can assure you they are needed.

All business, the tach showing the 8500-rpm rev limit. Max speed on the speedometer would have the needle past top dead center.

Pedals in the F1 LM demonstrate the car’s race heritage.

To demonstrate the respect McLaren holds for this past, this is the 650S GT3 that will race in the 2016 season.

Appreciate

John Lamm

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McLaren F1 LM By John Lamm

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