Chronicle: XXV Anniversary of the McLaren F1

In the absence of a proper club made up of the owners of a Ferrari 250 GTO (they meet every 5 years), surely the most exclusive club of car owners in the world is the McLaren F1. The McLaren F1 Owners Club - Richard Mille was created in 2012 by the former official McLaren driver Ray bellm as a meeting point among their owners. It was about encouraging them to socialize in luxurious surroundings and drive their supercars on dream roads.

Considered one of the best automobiles in history, the McLaren F1 (1992-1998) was the work of the genius of GordonMurray, one of the most prolific and versatile engineers that motorsport has produced. Initially conceived as a road car, it went on to win Le Mans in 1995 in its version prepared against cars that had been designed on purpose for 24 hours.

McLaren F1, one of the few street cars with GTR specs

Among other GTR specifications, this F1 mounts an aerodynamic kit

The angular lines of the F1 are one more of its charismatic elements

Rear 3/4 perspective of the unit with GTR specs

The evening light lets us appreciate the central and forward position of the driver

McLaren F1 cars have 3 seats, great!

Although the rocker covers read McLaren, the engine is a 12-liter BMW V6

25 grams of gold help dissipate heat

Unit # 02R, 4th at Le Mans in 1995

Interior of a racing GTR

The stamp of this anniversary has been impressive

The design of the F1 is not intended to be bombastic but practical in every way

Thanks to its 12-liter, 6 hp, naturally aspirated BMW V627 engine, and its lightness and aerodynamics, it became the fastest production car in the world; in 1998 he raised the bar for the record to 386 km / h, which has only been surpassed today by the Bugatti Veyron. Original and intelligent, it is a true gem of technique.

McLaren F1: 25th Anniversary in Bordeaux

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the presentation of the McLaren F1 at the Sporting Club de Monaco on May 28, 1992, the eve of the Grand Prix of the principality, and thanks to the luxury watch manufacturer Richard Mille, the club held an event in style around Bordeaux.

Nothing less than 22 units McLaren F1 (including several GTR units and Long tail), plus 15 McLaren P1s (with a street Gtr and 3 P1 LM units) and a dozen Special Series (720, 675, 570) gathered at the Les Sources de Caudalie hotel, which served as the base for operations. 52 cars valued at around 400 million euros.

Thursday at sunset, a dream come true

This is how the F1 posed on the Les Vigiers golf course

The license plate of this F1 commemorates the victory at Le Mans in 1995

Single engines, liters and liters

Cars and their owners enjoyed themselves like a king

# 061 is groomed, ready to roll

This GTR was 3rd in the 24 Hours of 1995

This GTR was left with the small road

# 018, New Zealand street F1 with GTR specs

The # 018 negotiating a curve

From vineyard to vineyard in Bordeaux, an ideal route to celebrate one of the best cars in history

In principle, the # 22R was not approved for driving on the road

Among the displaced models we can highlight some units of special interest:

Street models

• #006 arrived from Barheim of what is possibly the best collection of supercars in the world (not counting that of the Sultan of Brunei)
• #007, Simon Kidston's unit that only participated on the first day of the event.
• #018, one of the few GTR spec street F1 cars from New Zealand
• #046, one of the units with the most miles traveled in which I had the honor of being a co-pilot for a whole day.
• #061, belonged to actor Rowan Atkinson. It was the most expensive car repair paid for by insurance in UK history (Atkinson made it mush). Its new owner also took advantage of the event to bring a P1 LM accompanied by the famous youtuber Mr. JWW
• #075, the last street unit manufactured that belongs to one of Mclaren's owners, Mansour Ojjeh himself.

Portrait of # 048 with the doors open

Again # 018 with its fierce GTR stamp

In the foreground # 06R, who finished 3rd in the 24 1995 Hours of Le Mans driven by Andy Walace and Derek Bell and son

F1s were revered from birth

It is considered the perfect car

More than a work of engineering, a work of art

Two F1 cars parked in a hotel, with the # 15R leading the way

The McLaren GTR 'Cesar', on the way

The # 15R belongs to the Rofgo collection, specialized in Gulf decoration

# 013R from 1996 built for the 1996 Japanese GT Championship

Designed for the street, but good enough to race and win

# 006 arrived from Barheim

Racing models

• # 05R, painted and finished in 13th position at the 24 Le Mans 1995 Hours.
• # 06R, in the colors of the Harrod's department store that came close to winning the 24 1995 Hours of Le Mans.
• # 13R, in Lark livery whose owner also carried a P1 GTR with the same livery.
• # 15R and # 22R long tail version. Both belong to the Rofgo collection (the private collection that brings together practically all the racing cars sponsored by Gulf). Finally neither of them participated in the routes. His owner did it in street unit # 064.
• # 21R, Sold at auction in the United States for more than 5 Million Dollars in 2014, its owner also used a Mclaren P1 with a chrome body.
• # 28R, the latest "long tail" made with Gulf and Davidoff liveries.

As a curiosity, the unit participated in the event McLaren P1 LM # XP1 (the prototype of the 5 sold to customers), which had just broken the Nürburgring record, leaving the record for road cars in 6 minutes and 43 seconds. In addition, the Rolls Royce Swaptail presented only a couple of days before at the Hotel Villa d'Este was in our parking lot throughout the event. Can you think of a better way to brand new a custom-made car than traveling the little more than 1.000 kilometers that separate Lago di Como from Bordeaux?

The last longtail GTR up for auction, the # 21R

Here you can see the difference between 'tails'

P1 Xp1 that recently broke the Nürburgring record for road vehicles

The new McLaren do not impress us as much as F1 did in its day

# 15R poses for us with a younger brother

# 15R in front of the hotel reception

# 22R, the other very rare long-tailed specimen

For a supercar, the lines are quite modest

Rear of an F1 from Florida

A steering wheel without buttons?

Cesar, already hot

Gordon Murray, present

During three unforgettable days the McLaren entourage was able to enjoy wonderful scenery on back roads. In addition, he also enjoyed the famous French gastronomy and its wine; And it is that he visited winery after winery: Château Cheval Blanc, Château d'Yquem, Château Montrose, Château Cos d'Estornel, Château d'Alesme, making the last stop at the Domaine du Château des Vigiers, in the heart of the Dordogne.

The cars also had good care: McLaren and Lanzante themselves, (the same company that prepared the F1 GTR for competition and is now in charge of adapting the P1 GTR and LM to make them suitable for driving on the street) transferred a legion of mechanics and cleaners that they left ready cars before and after traveling the routes of more than 250 kilometers a day.

Unit # 043 with the Châteu Smith Haut Lafitte

Wild interior of a racing GTR

The sensation of the closing party was some violinists playing inside giant spheres

Time to load in the trucks to go home

See you soon F1 (hopefully!)

The party he put on the finishing touch The anniversary was held at the Château Smith Haut Lafitte, a few meters from the hotel, and served to honor two of the architects of the creation of such an iconic car who were present throughout the event: Mansour Ojjeh and Gordon Murray.

Ultimately, it was an unrepeatable event. Not only for being able to experience it from inside an F1, but for the beautiful experience of meeting owners and true fans of the model. Some come from as far away as Finland or the United States.

I hope I don't have to wait another 25 years to have a similar experience… 😉