The first sports car with a carbon chassis
It was no coincidence that we came up with the plan to make the McLaren F1 during the all-conquering 1988 season. The MP4-4, driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, had set new standards on the track. The plan for the F1 was to do the same on the road.
The overriding design vision was of saving weight: for performance, handling, braking and sheer driving feel, the F1 design team decided there was no substitute for lack of mass.
So, to achieve this, we looked to our race team who had championed the use of carbon fibre technology on the track. With the McLaren F1, we would become the first to use it on the road too. Using the same race-bred, ultra-light, ultra-stiff, aerospace carbon composite technology would make the F1 the fastest, best-performing sports car in the world.
Creative freedom
Every conventional element of a sports car was re-thought. Designed with an attention to detail no other manufacturer would even attempt, the F1 was more than just the fastest sports car the world had ever seen. Engineers accustomed to working with the Formula 1 rule book suddenly had no restrictions to hold them back. The results were a car that shattered records and still holds the respect of the motor industry today.
A car in a class of one
The F1 GTR was entered into the 1995 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race and achieved a feat no other debutant manufacturer has ever managed. As well as winning, this McLaren technological tour de force occupied four of the top five places.
In 1998, the ultra-lightweight McLaren F1 went on to break the world speed record for a sports car, reaching an eye-watering 240.1mph (386.4kph). To put this in context, it’s rare for a Formula 1 car to break 200mph. The F1 held this speed record for over a decade.
Speed balanced with safety
Thanks to front and rear carbon composite crash structures developed on Grand Prix circuits, the McLaren F1 exceeded the world’s toughest safety requirements. We couldn’t have attempted a car this ambitious without building the chassis with our newest carbon composite materials. In fact, no other material was even discussed.