Car of the Day 10.2.09
Landin Williams and Evan Griffey, 10.1.2009
McLaren is known more for its F1 racing efforts where it won the 2008 world championship with Lewis Hamilton than its manufacture of road cars. The F1 team founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren merged with Ron Dennis’ Project Four Racing in 1981 and soon thereafter Dennis negotiated taking control of the enterprise.
Recently, McLaren has restructured and retooled creating McLaren Automotive to produce more road-going McLaren sports cars, joining the McLaren F1 and Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren. The epicenter of this effort is the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom, a ying-yang-shaped facility with one half being the building and the other a vast reflecting pond. Savvy FM3 gamers may choose to reflect upon the car that started it all; the McLaren F1.
The car in the spotlight today is one of the rare race-prepped versions. From the 100-car production run, only 28 were F1 GTR ‘long tail’ race cars, specially built for private customers competing in the BPR Global GT Series (current FIA GT) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As good as the F1 is on the road, going racing required much more than applying some stickers and adding safety equipment. The F1 needed aerodynamic downforce in a big way. The GTR retains the F1’s carbon fiber monocoque but the bodywork was all purpose built with a dramatically longer nose and tail, as well as a wider, more aggressive rear wing. The wheelwells were also widened to accommodate the largest tires rules would allow.
From its signature center driving position the McLaren offers a unique motoring experience. Its BMW M-Power-built 6.0-liter V12 deals out 600 horsepower and is one of the few engines to be detuned for racing. Road going F1’s are rated at 627, sprint 0-60 in 3.2 seconds and stretch out to a top speed of 240 mph. The road-going car was the world’s fastest production car for 12 years from its 1993 debut until the Koenigsegg CCR dethroned it. Racing GTR’s dominated at Le Mans taking first, third, fourth, fifth and 13th in the ’95 race. Team Davidoff won the GT class at Le Mans finishing second overall in 1997 wearing the infamous Gulf livery.
But the writing was on the wall and the program wound down as the ‘98 season approached. The Mercedes CLK-GTR was coming into its own. BMW officially left the F1 GTR effort after the ’97 season to work on its own Le Mans prototype. And finally, McLaren withdrew its factory teams. It should be noted that the GTR was a converted street car racing against clean-sheet racers. Team Davidoff and Parabolica Motorsports continued on with their aged cars in 1998, but could finish no better than fifth in a single race. Team Davidoff were the only ones to score points that season, finishing 6th in the teams championship. After 1998 the GT1 class was abolished due to the dominance by Mercedes Benz, and McLaren F1s never raced in FIA GT again.
The pedigree of the 1998 #41 Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren F1 GTR, the Last of the Mohicans, includes famed Le Mans. It retired but a sister car managed a fourth overall. The GTR’s impressive R2-846 is a testament to its legacy and the abilities of McLaren. Be wary, there was an editorial item in “Autoweek” back in the day touting a McLaren F1 replacement muffler costing $17,000, so watch that damage counter!
#41 Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren F1 GTR Gallery
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