The McLaren F1 and why I longed for most of my life to see one

"newton" (newton) 08/24/2015 at 08:00 • Filed to: mclaren, mclarenf1, pebble beach

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It’s fascinating the way our memories work. We have the capacity to cling onto memories that have long been retired into the depths of our minds, thoughts from our youth that we treasure but now lay dormant in our subconscious. They could be insignificant, sure, but somehow we would always identify strongly with them. Even the faintest reminder of such thoughts can evoke strong emotion and bring about what was once felt. People, well into adulthood now, are capable of experiencing absolute bliss in just cleaning out their old rooms and catching a sight of a forgotten teddy bear or toy car from their early years. This is nostalgia.

It was 1997 when I first discovered the McLaren F1. I had only been 8 years old at the time and was gifted a copy of the video game Need for Speed II, my first racing game which presented an assortment of exotic cars to race. This was groundbreaking at the time. I had been a car guy my entire life, playing with Hot Wheels and Matchboxes before I mastered the ability to walk or talk. To experience driving these things in a virtual reality how ever rudimentary it may be, was beyond this world at that age.

As a kid, I had heard of Ferraris and Lamborghinis sure, and even the likes of Lotus and Jaguar despite not being quite yet acquainted with the extraordinary models of the era such as the XJ220. McLaren, however, was an obscure make. What was a McLaren F1? The car was an absolute performer in-game and seemed to defy what was possible of the automobile at the time. So much so, it did not seem unreasonable to believe the car was a figment of creative game designers, a one-off hypercar that only existed in the minds of imaginative car lovers. It could have been a kit car or a concept that never materialized. It was the 1990s. I was 8 and even I grasped the idea that production cars producing a power output in excess of 500hp were few and far between. They were the halos of the world, often automotive masterpieces.

Imagine when I found out that the McLaren F1 was an actual car.

Memories are not reliable, this is a common flaw of the mind. Given this I fail to remember the exact birthday in which I yearned for a diecast model of the McLaren F1. It must have been my 9th or 10th one. I had spotted the model while walking with my mother through a flea market. It was a 1:18 scale produced by UT Models, a version of diecast F1s that remains a collectable today. The model retailed for around $30 then, a cost my mother deemed excessive given her economic situation at the time. I remember wanting that little model more than anything in the world. It took convincing and it took expressing an utmost enthusiasm for one. In retrospect, I realize now that to her at the time it was simply a toy that would have been broken in several day’s time. To me, however, it was the only material item of the car that I would have. I held it dearly.

I remember staring at the diecast model sitting on my desk for what seemed like eternities. The design was phenomenal. The contours of the car were breathtaking and the shape introduced to me the concept of a coke-bottle side profile. I remember occupying much of my free time gathering up as much information as I was able to about the F1 with what limited access I had to dial-up internet then.

The passion I had for the car did not seem to dwindle in my adolescence. Collecting pictures and information of the car only led to the inevitable quest and desire to see one in person. As it turns out, luck was not on my side during this journey. There are a total of 106 examples of the F1 ever produced and I had narrowly missed finding one several times throughout the years. I had missed a rare XP4 prototype driving around the same city I resided in the Bay Area in the early 2000s. I missed one parked inside the showroom of the then newly built McLaren San Francisco showroom several years back by only days. At one point I came to the realization that it would be worth the time and the cost to fly out to Florida and visit the Revs Institute to see chassis #022 or just indulge and make my way over to a Goodwood Festival sometime with the hope to overwhelm myself with more than one example.

One online presence in particular I owe much of my understanding of these cars to is someone who pursues information about these cars much more ardently than anyone I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. He goes by the internet moniker of Peloton25 and has become someone of a guru on amassing McLaren F1 knowledge. I’ve sought Peloton’s assistance several times over the years to further my knowledge of these cars and locate specific chassis.

For reasons even I cannot justify, I had never managed to make my way out to the annual gathering of car collectors in Monterey Bay known as Monterey Car Week and home to the renown Pebble Beach auction. This year, however, a visit back to California fell on convenient timing and I decided it may just be worth the effort to detour for a day through the Bay.

Car Week 2015 saw a total of four F1s present including #073 which sold at auction. Two others roamed the streets around the bay and the fourth one was a LeMans racer displayed at McLaren’s Pebble Beach lot. That afternoon I had only hours to spare and I set to spend the majority of them hunting down the two making their way around Monterey. Once again, my efforts were failing to pay off as both F1s proved to be elusive. At one point, I was convinced I had missed one of them by mere minutes. Those who attended Car Week would know, moving around the bay was mostly characterized by sitting in heavy traffic. With the kind help of Peloton, I finally decided it would be wise to cut my losses in time and find McLaren’s F1 GTR, fortunately perhaps the most stationary F1 that week.

Shown here in the photos is F1 GTR chassis #017R, a 1996 LeMans participant. This is the first McLaren F1 I have ever seen in person.

I still occasionally visit my childhood room at my mother’s place. I’ve kept my original UT Models diecast there, on a display case and behind glass. It is dusty and it has suffered from a few accidents involving dropping it from waist height. It may be worth a little more these days on eBay than what it was originally paid for, but its monetary value renders it of little significance to me. When I see it, I can still recall how I felt when I first saw the car. It was the most beautiful machine I had ever seen.

It seems coincidental, but timely that I have written this on my birthday again. Despite the years elapsed, some things have not changed. Often I find it difficult to convey how enthusiasm for an assembly of metal and rubber can collectively form something that I find to mean so much. But then all it takes is a reminder, a recollection of how my passion for these cars began, and then I remember.

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Wilsonic > newton 08/23/2015 at 08:15

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Excellent write-up. When someone writes about how certain things influenced them growing up like Need for Speed II or Gran Turismo, it hits me right in the feels. I vividly remember when my uncle got Need for Speed II for PS1 and I played it for hours whenever I went to my cousin’s house. Not just playing the racing component of the game but also spending a lot of time in the showcases, absorbing as much information as I could. Since the internet wasn’t the easily accessible information juggernaut it is today, information on something like the McLaren F1 was scarce (really scarce for some hillbilly kid growing up in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. like me). While I gushed over the McLaren, I also really gushed over the GT90 since I came from a Ford family. I did get a diecast of the GT90 and still have it today.

I am jealous you got to see this particular McLaren, but I did manage to see a McLaren F1 in person in 2003. I convinced my high school that I needed to go to SEMA and visit a design school in California as part of a “career finding” exercise. Went out to Vegas with my dad and saw cars I never, ever, ever thought I would see. Sensory overload was an understatement. And chills ran up and down my spine when I snapped a photo of this orange beauty below.

FrogmanKouki > newton 08/24/2015 at 09:54

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This was the first McLaren F1 I’ve seen as well! Oct 2013 at Petite Le Mans/Road Atlanta

ktonl > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:06

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This describes my foray into my Mclaren passion exactly - beginning with NFS2.

Also, you should look into getting an Autoart Mclaren F1. It is by far the best representation in 1/18 scale and well worth the price.

MrMcQueen21v2 > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:07

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Excellent Article. It’s a white whale of sorts for me as well. Have yet to see one in person. Having a similar love of the Ford GT and the latest gen Astons, I know the feeling when you first see one. I went numb as a FGT drove past me, and I quite literally stopped my car in the middle of the road when I saw an Aston DBS driving around town, so that I could look at it.

TimF101 > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:15

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If you have to explain...

Wheelerguy > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:21

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It’s incredible, really, how the F1 has gotten so much respect from almost everyone. Not a whole lot of cars before or since the F1 stayed this cool and still mattering to every gearhead.

If Mt. Olympus were populated with cars, the F1 will have been Zeus. Not the Veyron, the F1.

jtech89 > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:25

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Thats so crazy; this is almost verbatim to my story. I am on the same journey to find one in person to just take a picture. It is my unicorn. Fantastic write up.

Kudos on the nfs II reference.

eforeal > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:34

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I stopped in a Moes Southwestern Grill for Lunch located in Roslyn Long Island. Aka Long Islands gold coast. Pulling into the parking lot was a white F1 GTR. This was way before every human was carrying a decent camera phone so no proof. But the dude was dropping off what I presume to be his daughter and her teenage friend to go shopping. My burritto almost fell out of my hands...

Edit - Just found youtube proof.

TheCraigy > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:36

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I was lucky to see 3 of the 4, didn’t make it to RM in time and the F1 ran the first night. Spotted the white one (014?) just cruising around on my last day in Monterey. I was fortunate to be able to hang out a lot with 036 during car week and it was cool to see the Fina-liveried GTR at the McLaren tent.

The F1 is truly unique in its ability to remain stunningly gorgeous, somehow without becoming dated over all these years. It’s always been the ultimate dream car for me... and until about ten years ago or so, I maintained the dream of owning one but that might have passed me up at this point.

One thing that’s sort of sad is that I doubt more than a couple of the owners ever played Need for Speed II, and probably none long enough to unlock the F1 :D

I’m gonna have to break out the PS1 now.

UncleWalty > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:38

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As a kid who grew up in the 70s/80s with similar love for Matchbox/Hot Wheels, and now as a Dad raising a 5 year old son with a similar love for cars, this article is fantastic and spot on. Just last night, as we got the kids ready for bed, my boy and I were laying there watching the replay of F1 at Spa and he asked me “Daddy, can we go to an F1 race someday? Just the two of us?”. You can’t take those moments away. And of course my answer to his question was, “Yes, absolutely we can”.

W00D > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:43

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Saw the same one at 6hrs at Watkins Glen

Mr Ordinary > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:48

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Long time fan of F1’s and fortunate enough to live 15 minutes from Goodwood where they are usually out racing!

I’ve got hundreds of pics of the different F1’s as I’ve seen them many times.

I also have a short video of the mechanics prepping the car and reving it. It’s always shocking to me how quickly they rev. It sounds like idle - boom 5k revs, very different from nearly every car I’ve ever heard.

Alas, I’ve never been out in one though. Maybe I will get the opportunity one day.

16 of them!

These Fina F1 pics are from different events. I have a lot but below are just a few.

This one is of the car arriving back into the pits at Festival of Speed ‘15. It was by a huge margin the loudest car in the pits!

Inside

And finally one of my favourite F1’s!

Eddie Brannan > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:51

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I’m ten years older than you and grew up in London, a petrolhead from when I was a very young boy, and when the F1 came out I remember making a special trip to the Mayfair showroom to look at the one on display. They also had a motor on a plinth, I seem to recall.

Sn210 > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:51

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Sounds familiar! I remember reading up on the F1 online as a kid. A Motor Trend article about the F1 LM put me over the top. It took years for me to see one in person. It was probably ten years ago when Ralph Lauren’s silver car was on display at the Boston museum of fine art; that was the first one I saw. I saw an F1 for the second time last year in Monterrey at the Gooding auction. I watched it cross the block and get bids up to $10mil only to have it go unsold.

2012-Challenger-R-T > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:55

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I saw this car run at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL.

It was the fastest thing on the track ALL weekend and it was absolutely stunning to look at. The newer McLarens are not as visually appealing to me. THIS is beauty.

Honda DD is Best DD > newton 08/24/2015 at 10:57

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Fantastic read, 10/10. This really shows how most of us got into this hobby. I also started out playing with model cars before I could walk or talk, and video games were a big part of it later on

Dasupersprint - base trim is enough > newton 08/24/2015 at 11:07

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Great read! I saw that very car in 2007, Montreal, during the Grand Prix. After I took the pictures I wanted, I spent like 2-3 hours sitting on those concrete blocks behind, looking at it.

marzen5382 > newton 08/24/2015 at 11:09

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I work close to Sotheby’s in NYC and often go to their Cafe for lunch. In the weeks leading up to the Pebble Beach auction they had a few different cars from the collection displayed in their lobby. The first time I walked in and saw the F1, it felt like someone had punched me in the gut and all of the air was taken out of my lungs. What a beautiful car. I’m still speechless.

Remember dialing "popcorn" for the time? > newton 08/24/2015 at 11:15

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I was reading about the F1 while it was being developed (a little older, I guess) and it was crazy ... center seating position, big V12, amazing specs. When it came out, all I could do was devour articles/pictures in Road & Track (yes, I pre-date the interwebs).

Progress up to 2004, and I join a friend in a Shelby-American Auto Club track day at Laguna Seca. Walking through the paddock, hang a left and spy a blue F1! Never seen one before! As I get up to it, it has “XP4” on the side ahead of each rear wheel. Turns out, my friend knows the owner, so we get to chat with him. It was the fourth “experimental prototype”, thus the marking. This guy is there with his two sons, who obviously each have their own seat on either side. I casually ask what he drives everyday, and his reply, “Oh, you mean to drive the boys around? A Porsche Turbo.” Put my everyday driver into perspective.

He took the F1 on track, lost it around turn 9, and scuffed the front bumper. He literally said, “It’ll buff out”!

NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts > newton 08/24/2015 at 11:27

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NFS was my first introduction to the F1 as well. I had a collection of die-cast cars from matchbox/hotwheels to the larger 1:18 scale as well. My brother was given a silver F1 and my other brother was given a blue EB110 (both of which I have now inherited). Granted I never sought the same level of knowledge about the car beyond production numbers, power, cost, etc. However it was always a holy grail of mine to be able to see one in person. McLaren made that possible for me this past april at the NY international auto show when they brought a dark green F1 longtail. I spent a good 30 minutes trying to take as many pictures of it as I could while practically just sitting there and staring at it. This one is an F1 GT “56XPGT” which was kept by the factory. Only three total were made...one went to the black hole known as the sultan of Brunei’s collection and the second one is in Japan. http://cars.mclaren.com/featured-artic…

My thoughts exactly kid......

dolby_fm > TheCraigy 08/24/2015 at 11:29

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Oh, lordie. ISDERA IMPERATOR! I’d forgotten about that. And that game. Heck, I don’t even remember if I still own a PS1. But you know I’m now going to spend no less than four hours tonight digging through the house searching for it in the vain hope I might be able to boot it up and drive that thing.

Blair > newton 08/24/2015 at 11:38

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Gret article......I collect die cast models as well and I bought the 1:18 Auto Art Mclaren F1 and F1 LM a year ago. They truly are amazing

Viggen > newton 08/24/2015 at 12:16

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Illustrious and compelling, but one of the most damned mechanically impractical cars in the history of everything.....

appliance5000 > newton 08/24/2015 at 12:17

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I’m not a supercar guy, but the f1 is a special car. Saw one on the street - for a million dollar car it’s remarkably compact. purposeful, and modest in a spectacular way.

olason > Wilsonic 08/24/2015 at 12:28

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Nice, I won the sema scholarship 2 years in a row in college. The first year I was stoked as I talked my way into getting out of coursework or fails for not showing up to things. Second year nobody minded again. 2013 I saw the Pagani Huayra in raw carbon thanks to the GoPro booth. It definitely was hard to get back to reality afterwards.

CarGuyPilot > newton 08/24/2015 at 12:52

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I remember my first time seeing an F1 in person was quite powerful, because it happened when I least would have expected it. My Mom was driving me home from middle school and one passed us going the other way on East Main St in my small Connecticut town. I remember almost having my head fall off as I snapped around to watch it drive up the hill and off into the distance. I remember saying to her something along the lines of “Do you have any idea of the significance of that car?”

A close second was my first (and only) XJ220 sighting. Again my Mom was driving me home from school in the same town (this time Freshman year of HS I believe) and we drove passed a dumpy looking auto mechanic shop that I had never paid any attention to in the past. This time there was a silver XJ220 on the back of a flatbed in the parking lot. I convinced my Mom to turn the car around and go back. As I was admiring the car in the parking lot, the shop owner came out and asked if I knew what it was. I remember him being impressed that I did in fact know exactly what it was. He ended up being really cool about us stopping and even ran inside to give me an exotic car calendar and to show me the other vehicles they were working on (I think they kept the outside of the shop grubby looking to camouflage the caliber of cars that they were working on inside.)

dodge_viper > newton 08/24/2015 at 13:09

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Very cool, glad you finally got to see one up close. I was fortunate to see road car #001 a few weeks ago—-my first time seeing one in person.

D-Livs > newton 08/24/2015 at 13:16

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Nice Post.

I feel lucky; I learned how to bleed brakes on a McLaren F1. I had an internship at a race shop that had 2. Never got to drive it though.

KSEGGFTW > newton 08/24/2015 at 13:34

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Sissyfoot > newton 08/24/2015 at 13:46

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I believe the only McLaren F1 I’ve ever seen in person was in London, probably around ‘98. I was on a tourist bus, up on the second level. If I’m not mistaken, McLaren had a ‘dealership’ in the city at the time. I saw the car through the shop window.

Hank Scorpio > TheCraigy 08/24/2015 at 13:52

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The F1 is truly unique in its ability to remain stunningly gorgeous, somehow without becoming dated over all these years.

You know what I think it is? They put style second to substance everywhere. They didn’t try to make it flashy, or recognizable enough to build up the image of the brand. They built it to be the ultimate driver’s car, and then let it speak for itself. The body shape is ultimately pretty plain, just dictated by aerodynamics, but that’s what makes it not look gaudy. The center driver position feels like someone said, “Race cars have the driver in the center, but then where do the passengers go? Aha!” Butterfly doors? Sure they’re gorgeous, but you used to see ‘em all the time on GT cars cuz they’re better in the pits.

Oh, and still being in the top five fastest road cars ever built twenty years after introduction doesn’t hurt!

TheCraigy > Hank Scorpio 08/24/2015 at 13:58

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Yep!

I believe the F1 is still the fastest naturally aspirated car, 20 years running.

megastef74 > newton 08/24/2015 at 14:16

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As a teen back in the days, I’ve been lucky enough to see one racing in the BPR series. It was at the 1995 1000km de Paris, held at the Montlhéry road course (not the speed ring). You could hear the McLaren from anywhere around the track while racing.

There’s some lo-fi footage from this race available here :

BRP 1995 Montlhéry

Peloton25 > eforeal 08/24/2015 at 14:32

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This F1 is a road car, not a GTR, but one that has been upgraded with the optional High Downforce Kit by the factory.

Hank Scorpio > TheCraigy 08/24/2015 at 14:36

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Pretty sure you’re right. As far as I know, the only things faster are a couple of Koenigseggs, SSC Ultimate Aero, Hennessey Venom GT, and the various Veyrons, and all of those are forced induction. It might also be the fastest accelerating, non-electric, NA car.

I think it’s also the fastest car that comes with a real manual instead of a sequential or dual clutch (unless you count the Agera...) That means no launch control. No traction control either, for that matter. These only makes its performance that much more impressive!

BrainForest > NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts 08/24/2015 at 16:20

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This is also the first (and only) F1 I’ve seen in person. You must’ve been there at a really good time. I couldn’t even get a photo because the crowd was so thick.

Instead, it was the best I could do to get near the car with my four-year-old boy on my shoulders, trying to explain why this is the best sports car ever made, and why daddy is panting and drooling...

Mycal > newton 08/24/2015 at 16:32

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newton > TheCraigy 08/24/2015 at 16:34

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Oh god the nostalgia...

newton > NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts 08/24/2015 at 16:41

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So gorgeous. And so glad there are many others who shared a near identical experience growing up. I would love to see that longtail one day.

newton > Wilsonic 08/24/2015 at 16:43

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Man I love that color. I also loved the GT90 and have never seen one in person. Also got a GT90 diecast. There are dozens of us with similar childhoods!

newton > Mr Ordinary 08/24/2015 at 16:46

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The jealousy is strong with this one.

newton > ktonl 08/24/2015 at 16:48

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The Autoarts are gorgeous. Ideally I’d love a Minichamps 1:12 but being an adult now I have to spend money on adult things lol.

NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts > newton 08/24/2015 at 17:02

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I’m a huge star wars nerd as well...I’ve met the vast majority of the actors from the films, even went out to dinner with some of them but I’ve always viewed them as normal people and never felt weird of nervous about meeting them. Yet the anticipation of seeing this car, this inanimate object, for the full week leading up to and once I arrived had me feeling nervous as if I was meeting a celebrity. One of the McLaren reps claimed the car is valued at 3.5 million....needless to say I was very skeptical of his valuation of this thing.

Skreamies1234 > Mr Ordinary 08/24/2015 at 17:29

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Love Goodwood for this reason. I shall also add that the ‘red’ on the Lark McLaren is actually a shape of pink which not many people know.

Scouting For Zen > newton 08/24/2015 at 18:20

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I feel the same way about the Lancia Delta Integrale Evo and the R34 Skyline. People like you are inspiring, the way you care and dream about something so much. If there were more people like that in the world, it would be a much better place

Aerogrp > newton 08/24/2015 at 20:57

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Glad you were finally able to see that fine machine in person. I was privileged enough to look it over a few years ago when BMW had the car at Barber Motorsports Park for the BMWCCA Oktoberfest. For $200, you could have had a couple of laps in it with Bill Auberlen at the controls. I wonder if they’ll bring it to O’Fest at NJMP this year.......(note to self: bring extra cash and another pair of pants).

TA4K > newton 08/24/2015 at 22:00

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My first day of work experience as a young 16 year old, there was an F1 GTR road car in the lobby.. That was an OMG moment. Only one in the country too, and one of only a couple F1’s in the country.

5chnell > newton 08/24/2015 at 22:55

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Much like seeing a 1992 Metallica for my first concert ever, the McLaren F1 was the first exotic car I’d ever seen. I grew up in Northeast Mississippi where seeing a Porsche 924 in 6th grade was a maybe a once-in-a-year event. I had 959, F40, and Countach/Diablo posters all over my walls as a teen, but never saw any of them. We were extremely fortunate to spend the summer of 1995 in Oxford, England. On our first bus trip back into London, we saw the magnificent beast (Orange F1) inside a showroom display window on the way into Victoria Station. I hit the emergency stop on the bus, and sprinted back 2 blocks with my sister in tow. I must have spent an hour making several faceprints on the outside of that showroom glass. The BMW S70/2 was shimmering on a stand outside of the car. It was glorious!

newton > Remember dialing "popcorn" for the time? 08/25/2015 at 00:20

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Man. And I also mention XP4 in the article. It makes its way around the Bay Area.

bae125 > newton 08/25/2015 at 00:58

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The F1 is truly a special car. From one Mclaren fanboy to another, thank you for the article.

Peloton25 > jtech89 08/25/2015 at 05:50

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Where are you located - sometimes I can offer a bit of advice in tracking one these cars down.

BrainForest > NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts 08/25/2015 at 09:31

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Also, those louvers!

v12mind > newton 08/25/2015 at 09:46

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Wow...It’s eerie how similar our experiences are: NFSII beginnings, begging our mothers for a UT model, Peloton25...Even having an elusive F1 right under our noses near where we live, but never seeing actually seeing it.

I did finally get to see one in person recently. Not just any old F1, but one in the rarest flavor of F1 GT. #56XPGT was on display at the NYIAS in April for anyone to get up close to see.

v12mind > jtech89 08/25/2015 at 09:47

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Same here. Weird how us F1 nuts have similar origin stories.

v12mind > NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts 08/25/2015 at 09:54

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I also went to go see #56XPGT at NYIAS, too. Only time I ever saw one an F1 in person. Good thing we got to the show early, because the line to go see it just got longer as the day went on.

NeedsmoreaftermarketXTparts > BrainForest 08/25/2015 at 10:55

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I went on thursday (my day off from work)...only had to wait in line for about 15 minutes to get in. While we were in there, Michael Strahan showed up to look at some of the newer models (shopping I suppose?) so they stopped the line but didn’t kick anyone out. I was distracted by my picture taking but suddenly realized there was nobody around me...we were pretty much the only people that hadn’t left the area so it worked out even better. perfect accidental timing to say the least

AlexioFlexio > newton 08/25/2015 at 12:14

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i spy, with my little eye... something randomly parked at this house during car week at pebble beach...

here you go... check out what parked behind that Huayra...

AlexioFlexio > AlexioFlexio 08/25/2015 at 12:18

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i guess i could add all the other mclaren’s parked in the same driveway.. but somehow their presence paled to that baby blue F1 hidden away in the shadows.

AlexioFlexio > appliance5000 08/25/2015 at 12:19

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for $12 million, even more so.

AlexioFlexio > CarGuyPilot 08/25/2015 at 12:20

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that was most likely Ralph driving around..

AlexioFlexio > D-Livs 08/25/2015 at 12:20

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no... really? can you tell us some anecdotes?.. and special processes required? like how to remove the wheels, the special tools required.. anything else?

AlexioFlexio > Scouting For Zen 08/25/2015 at 12:26

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aha.. i can help there. my cousin in rome had one (the integrale) and he mounted some moo-ing cow sounds instead of the horn. yes.. my moments of zen were riding around in a yellow integrale and making old ladies jump out of their skin at stop lights with ultraloud MOOOOOO sounds. i’ll dig up some pics

AlexioFlexio > Mr Ordinary 08/25/2015 at 12:33

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what a treasure trove of pics... i had never seen that grey and black one.

AlexioFlexio > Remember dialing "popcorn" for the time? 08/25/2015 at 12:35

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was it the powder blue/light blue one? i saw it parked during car week.. posted pics above.

austin s > newton 08/25/2015 at 13:19

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Same story here although I was born in the mid 80s. Did not make it to pebble beach this yr for my first visit to Monterey (went to the RM Auction/Laguna Seca), but got a glimpse of this amazing white F1-LM at a hotel near the RM auction. So proud catch a glimpse of my unicorn. The local “car spotting Tulsa” Facebook group was very impressed.

newton > v12mind 08/25/2015 at 13:20

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How many moms did you have?

maroli > TheCraigy 08/25/2015 at 13:32

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Notice how the Cala concept evolved into the Gallardo?

Remember dialing "popcorn" for the time? > AlexioFlexio 08/25/2015 at 14:05

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It was a darker blue (if I remember correctly), and I’m sure it would still, and forever, say “XP4” on the side.

AlexioFlexio > Remember dialing "popcorn" for the time? 08/25/2015 at 14:30

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YOU’RE RIGHT! xp4 was darker blue.. well, as soon as my comments and pictures above come out of the restricted zone, you’ll be able to see a light blue mclaren f1 parked in the garage.

AlexioFlexio > AlexioFlexio 08/25/2015 at 14:31

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and if you think i’m talking about the huayra in the pics above you’re missing the point.

TheCraigy > maroli 08/25/2015 at 14:32

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Yeah, although I have to say I liked the Cala more :D

Mr Ordinary > AlexioFlexio 08/25/2015 at 15:18

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The black and grey F1 is a special one (well they are all special but maybe this is a little more special!) that McLaren sometimes display.

The McLaren stand at Festival of Speed was pretty special with engines and other components stripped for viewing. You could also buy McLaren merchandise.

Jake Girardet > Peloton25 08/26/2015 at 16:32

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I have a ton of respect for your vast knowledge of these magnificent machines. I am in the Buffalo, New York area. I don’t suppose you know of any within several hundred miles of me? Also, I understand that beggars can’t be choosers, but I am particularly interested in the standard, road-going production models, exactly as they left the factory; I strongly dislike the look of all the added-on and revised parts for the LM and GTR variants.

I’m assuming there are none around me, but if that is the case, could you possibly tell me where one may be on display that I could travel to in order to see? Thanks in advance for any information you can provide to me.

Peloton25 > Jake Girardet 08/26/2015 at 17:50

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There is only one road car in the USA on public display at the moment that I am aware of and it is at the Revs Institute for Automotive Research, a museum in Naples, Florida. It is the standard car without any aero add-ons. The museum requires you book your visit in advance and I’d suggest choosing the guided tour option. There website is here: http://revsinstitute.org/

Closer to you are several other F1 road cars - a pair in Ralph Lauren’s collection and another pair nearby with separate owners in the Westchester County area. With all these being in private collections a bit of luck or inside contacts would definitely be required to see one of them.

In the Boston area, Herb Chambers has a silver F1 road car. If you’d be open for some travel, there is an upcoming opportunity to see his car at a show called the Boston Cup to be held on September 20th. Admission is $50, plus your travel expenses. You can find out more here on their website: http://thebostoncup.com/

Good luck tracking one down - I hope you get your chance to see one soon.

Jake Girardet > Peloton25 08/26/2015 at 20:06

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Thank you very much! I hope so too!

Snorkleboy13 > newton 08/30/2015 at 12:25

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I was in London in 1999 on business and was staying at The Dorchester. I went walking around a bit and found a showroom that had ONE car in it and a bit of furniture. It was the Mclaren F1 and it was fantastic. I stood there in the grey, drippy late November weather and just stared at it. I think I muttered, “Fuck Me” a few times as that seemed quite appropriate at the time. Actually, it still does.