McLaren F1

Styled to perform

Conceived as the finest car ever produced, the shape of the F1 was driven by its function, rather than any marketing considerations; perhaps that’s why it still looks current, 15 years after it was first unveiled. When the McLaren F1 design team looked at their first blank sheet of paper, they found themselves in a most enviable position. With no regulations or previous models to dictate the design, they could do whatever they wanted. The team noticed that some cars with very low published drag coefficients weren’t nearly as aerodynamically efficient when the team tested the cars for themselves. So, one of the first decisions in the process was to learn from Formula 1 and take the wind tunnel more seriously than any other sports car manufacturer.

Design principles

In a classic example of McLaren’s ‘everything for a reason’ mantra, our design team soon locked down the ‘hard points’ of the F1. These were the immutable aerodynamic principles that the car would be designed around, and they included: no spoilers or wings raised high on struts, and total stability at high speeds. They also wanted to use the very latest ground force techniques, to create a traction-enhancing load, without adding mass to the car. When the team emerged from wind tunnel testing, they had created something truly extraordinary. With a drag coefficient of 0.32, the ‘standard’ McLaren F1 remains to this day one of the most aerodynamically efficient sports cars ever built.

Active aerodynamics

While the F1’s drag coefficient helped it to achieve a shattering 240.1mph top speed, it’s the car’s active aerodynamics that make it such a dynamic driving experience. A computer-controlled rear Airbrake ensures that the F1 maintains a constant centre of pressure when braking hard. A downforce-improving, Formula 1-style flat underbody and diffuser system integrates into the overall design, to provide critical engine and brake cooling. The F1, as a result, is still among the most advanced aerodynamic designs the world has ever seen, all thanks to the unsurpassed purity of our design principles.