The Motor Gallery
Gallery III, 1990sGordon Murray asked what a perfect driver’s car would be. Then refused to compromise.
Carbon monocoqueThe first road car built like a Formula 1 chassis.
Autocar, 1994“You slide in. The driver sits dead center. Everything else is geometry.”
240.1 mphA production car record that stood for over a decade.
Next ExhibitAnalog perfection hands off to the digital thousand.Enter Bugatti Veyron →
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1990s · Exhibit
McLaren F1
Gordon Murray's uncompromised love letter to the driver.
McLaren F1 · 1992–1998 · Woking
Produced
1992 – 1998
Engine
6.1 L BMW V12
Top speed
391 km/h
Units built
106
The Exhibit
McLaren
F1

No committee designed the McLaren F1. Gordon Murray sketched it on a whiteboard after a long flight home from the 1988 Italian Grand Prix, and the brief was simple: build the purest road car ever made, and accept no compromise to reach it.

The cabin seats three, with the driver centered. The tub is carbon fiber — a first for a production car. The engine bay is lined with gold foil, the best available heat reflector. BMW supplied a naturally-aspirated 6.1-litre V12 specifically engineered to Murray's weight target. The result, in 1998, set a production-car speed record of 391 km/h that stood for more than a decade.

The written primary source for this gallery is Cropley, Steve. "McLaren F1: Full Test." Autocar, May 11, 1994..1

Tier 1 · Primary

Primary Source Artifacts

06 artifacts
Autocar's editorial photograph of the McLaren F1 from Steve Cropley's May 11, 1994 full test.
Figure 1

Autocar's editorial photograph of the McLaren F1 from Steve Cropley's May 11, 1994 full test.

Autocar, *McLaren F1 Road-Test Photograph*, May 11, 1994. (Fair use, magazine editorial photograph) [Source]2

Second editorial photograph of the McLaren F1 from Cropley's May 1994 Autocar test.
Figure 2

Second editorial photograph of the McLaren F1 from Cropley's May 1994 Autocar test.

Autocar, *McLaren F1 Road-Test Photograph 2*, May 11, 1994. (Fair use, magazine editorial photograph) [Source]3

Third editorial photograph of the McLaren F1, Autocar archive.
Figure 3

Third editorial photograph of the McLaren F1, Autocar archive.

Autocar, *McLaren F1 Road-Test Photograph 3*, May 11, 1994. (Fair use, magazine editorial photograph) [Source]4

Interior / central-driving-position photograph of the McLaren F1 from Autocar.
Figure 4

Interior / central-driving-position photograph of the McLaren F1 from Autocar.

Autocar, *McLaren F1 Interior*, May 11, 1994. (Fair use, magazine editorial photograph) [Source]5

Additional Autocar editorial photograph of the F1.
Figure 5

Additional Autocar editorial photograph of the F1.

Autocar, *McLaren F1 Road-Test Photograph 5*, May 11, 1994. (Fair use, magazine editorial photograph) [Source]6

Additional Autocar editorial photograph of the F1.
Figure 6

Additional Autocar editorial photograph of the F1.

Autocar, *McLaren F1 Road-Test Photograph 6*, May 11, 1994. (Fair use, magazine editorial photograph) [Source]7

Tier 1 · Secondary

Secondary Source Artifacts

04 artifacts
Car Magazine June 1994 cover, the companion peer publication to Cropley's Autocar May 11, 1994 test.
Figure 7

Car Magazine June 1994 cover, the companion peer publication to Cropley's Autocar May 11, 1994 test.

*Car Magazine*, June 1994 cover. (Fair use, magazine cover scan) [Source]8

First spread scan of Car Magazine's June 1994 original McLaren F1 road-test.
Figure 8

First spread scan of Car Magazine's June 1994 original McLaren F1 road-test.

*Car Magazine*, June 1994 McLaren F1 road-test, first spread. (Fair use, magazine spread scan) [Source]9

Second spread of Car Magazine's June 1994 McLaren F1 road-test showing the central driving position.
Figure 9

Second spread of Car Magazine's June 1994 McLaren F1 road-test showing the central driving position.

*Car Magazine*, June 1994 McLaren F1 road-test, second spread. (Fair use, magazine spread scan) [Source]10

Third spread showing the BMW V12 engine bay.
Figure 10

Third spread showing the BMW V12 engine bay.

*Car Magazine*, June 1994 McLaren F1 road-test, third spread. (Fair use, magazine spread scan) [Source]11

Tier 2 · magazine

Magazine & Press Coverage

05 artifacts
Fourth spread of Car Magazine's original F1 test.
Figure 11

Fourth spread of Car Magazine's original F1 test.

*Car Magazine*, June 1994 McLaren F1 road-test, fourth spread. (Fair use, educational, magazine page scan) [Source]12

Fifth spread of Car Magazine's original F1 test.
Figure 12

Fifth spread of Car Magazine's original F1 test.

*Car Magazine*, June 1994 McLaren F1 road-test, fifth spread. (Fair use, educational, magazine page scan) [Source]13

Sixth spread of Car Magazine's original F1 test.
Figure 13

Sixth spread of Car Magazine's original F1 test.

*Car Magazine*, June 1994 McLaren F1 road-test, final spread. (Fair use, educational, magazine page scan) [Source]14

The McLaren F1 GTR that won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans outright, the racing validation of the road car Cropley tested the year before.
Figure 14

The McLaren F1 GTR that won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans outright, the racing validation of the road car Cropley tested the year before.

Spycatcher58, *1995 Le Mans-Winning McLaren F1 GTR at Goodwood Festival of Speed*, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. (CC BY-SA 4.0) [Source]15

The Nielsen/Bscher McLaren F1 GTR at the 1995 Donington BPR round, in-period competition photography of the racing F1.
Figure 15

The Nielsen/Bscher McLaren F1 GTR at the 1995 Donington BPR round, in-period competition photography of the racing F1.

Martin Lee, *McLaren F1 GTR, Nielsen and Bscher at Donington, 1995*, 1995, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. (CC BY-SA 2.0) [Source]16

Tier 2 · celebrity-owner

Designers, Builders, and Owners

04 artifacts
A 28-year-old Elon Musk taking delivery of his silver McLaren F1 in 1999, bought for roughly $1 million after selling Zip2. The F1 was one of only 64 road cars built and Musk's first supercar.
Figure 16

A 28-year-old Elon Musk taking delivery of his silver McLaren F1 in 1999, bought for roughly $1 million after selling Zip2. The F1 was one of only 64 road cars built and Musk's first supercar.

CNN archival footage, *Elon Musk Takes Delivery of His McLaren F1*, 1999, via InsideEVs. (Fair use, educational, news photograph) [Source]17

Another still from the 1999 delivery footage, Musk watching the F1 being unloaded from the enclosed transporter.
Figure 17

Another still from the 1999 delivery footage, Musk watching the F1 being unloaded from the enclosed transporter.

CNN archival footage, *Elon Musk Receives McLaren F1*, 1999, via InsideEVs. (Fair use, educational, news photograph) [Source]18

Musk standing beside the delivered F1, the young dot-com millionaire beside the car that, a year later, he would crash on Sand Hill Road while giving Peter Thiel a ride.
Figure 18

Musk standing beside the delivered F1, the young dot-com millionaire beside the car that, a year later, he would crash on Sand Hill Road while giving Peter Thiel a ride.

CNN archival footage, *Elon Musk Standing Beside His New McLaren F1*, 1999, via InsideEVs. (Fair use, educational, news photograph) [Source]19

Gordon Murray, the F1's designer, in the paddock at Le Mans, one year after his F1 GTR won the 24 Hours overall.
Figure 19

Gordon Murray, the F1's designer, in the paddock at Le Mans, one year after his F1 GTR won the 24 Hours overall.

Martin Lee, *Gordon Murray in the Paddock at the 1996 Le Mans*, 1996, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. (CC BY-SA 2.0) [Source]20

Tier 2 · schematics

Design & Engineering

02 artifacts
Detail of F1 chassis 063 front end, showing the under-bumper crash structure and aerodynamic splitter characteristic of Murray's production design.
Figure 20

Detail of F1 chassis 063 front end, showing the under-bumper crash structure and aerodynamic splitter characteristic of Murray's production design.

Chelsea Jay, *1996 McLaren F1 Chassis No. 63 Front End*, 2019, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. (CC BY-SA 4.0) [Source]21

The BMW S70/2 V12 engine bay of a McLaren F1 LM, the gold-foil heat-shield lining Gordon Murray specified for thermal reflectivity is clearly visible.
Figure 21

The BMW S70/2 V12 engine bay of a McLaren F1 LM, the gold-foil heat-shield lining Gordon Murray specified for thermal reflectivity is clearly visible.

Chelsea Jay, *1995 McLaren F1 LM Engine Bay*, 2018, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. (CC BY-SA 4.0) [Source]22

Footnotes

  1. Cropley, "McLaren F1: Full Test."
  2. Cropley, "McLaren F1: Full Test."
  3. Cropley, "McLaren F1: Full Test."
  4. Cropley, "McLaren F1: Full Test."
  5. Cropley, "McLaren F1: Full Test."
  6. Cropley, "McLaren F1: Full Test."
  7. Cropley, "McLaren F1: Full Test."
  8. Car Magazine, June 1994 cover.
  9. Car Magazine, June 1994 McLaren F1 spread 1.
  10. Car Magazine, June 1994 McLaren F1 spread 2.
  11. Car Magazine, June 1994 McLaren F1 spread 3.
  12. Car Magazine, June 1994 McLaren F1 spread.
  13. Car Magazine, June 1994 McLaren F1 spread.
  14. Car Magazine, June 1994 McLaren F1 spread.
  15. Spycatcher58, 1995 Le Mans-Winning McLaren F1 GTR.
  16. Lee, McLaren F1 GTR, Nielsen and Bscher at Donington, 1995.
  17. CNN archival footage, Elon Musk Takes Delivery of His McLaren F1, 1999.
  18. CNN archival footage, Elon Musk Receives McLaren F1, 1999.
  19. CNN archival footage, Elon Musk Standing Beside His New McLaren F1, 1999.
  20. Lee, Gordon Murray in the Paddock at the 1996 Le Mans.
  21. Jay, 1996 McLaren F1 Chassis No. 63 Front End.
  22. Jay, 1995 McLaren F1 LM Engine Bay.
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Bugatti Veyron →
1001 horsepower, delivered in a three-piece suit.