The Mc Laren Tour - The F1 part

The Mc Laren Tour 2017
part 1 : the F1

Although the Mc Laren F1 was manufactured to more than 100 copies, it refused for a long time to let itself be approached. I have finished with this bad luck only a few years ago and since, everything happens much better. Now it is Mc Laren models that come directly to me.... Indeed, by chance the 2017 edition of the Mc Laren Tour packs his suitcases at the "Source de Caudalie", near Bordeaux to spread for a few days in the countryside.

On the menu of this journey in the heart of Bordeaux vineyards, two master words : quality and quantity. No less than 22 Mc Laren F1, including 14 Road cars, 5 GTR and 3 GTR long tail, 14 Mc Laren P1 including 3 P1 LM (Lanzante modified P1 GTR), 4 675 LT, 3 720 S and some 575 models.
This update is dedicated to the Queen of the party, the F1 model, for an oustanding line up, almost unbelievable.

The chassis 02R was built in 1995 and raced throughout the 1995 season by owner Ray Bellm and Maurizio Sandro Sala. First finished in the well known Gulf livery, it was painted for the 1995 1000 km of Suzuka race with the Ueno Clinic colors, the same livery used on the 1995 Le Mans 24hr winner, the GTR 01R (text from Ultimate car page).

The F1 chassis 003 was built in 1994 and was probably the second production car assemblied by the factory. The car remained a few years in Japan before being sold in the USA.

Sold new to French industrialist JL Maury-Laribière, chassis 05R was extensively campaigned for three seasons in the BPR and FIA GT championships. Its most famous appearance was at the 24 Hours of Le Mans where it sported a striking art-car livery created by French sculptor César (text from Ultimate car page)..

Another car sold new in Japan, first finished in Magnesium silver and refurbished later in Piano Black. The car was then exported to Bahrain, now part of a huge collection, one of the biggest supercar collection of the Middle East.

With Harrods backing, chassis 06R was raced in the 1995 BPR Series with considerable success. Andy Wallace and Olivier Grouillard won three races late in the year. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans Andy Wallace was joined by Justin and Derek Bell. The three experienced racers finished third overall and second in the GT1 class behind its sister car that took the outright victory. Grouillard and Wallace raced '06R' again in 1996, adding yet another win to its tally. Today the well raced McLaren F1 GTR has been converted for road use by marque experts Lanzante (text from Ultimate car page).

First sold in UK, the car was exported to USA, in the Massachusetts, near Boston. Produced in 1994, it is one of only three F1s finished in metallic black. The F1 007 was then bought by S. Kidston and licensed first in Switzerland and then in UK with a nice custom plate.

Delivered in August 1994, the chassis ‘012’ was built for the president of the Japanese importer for TAG-Heuer watches and stayed 14 years in Japan. The car was then for sale in switzerland and sold in UK.

Built for Team Lark McLaren, this F1 GTR was raced in the 1996 All Japan GT Championship. Piloted by Naoki Hattori and Ralf Schumacher, the brightly liveried machine won three of the six rounds. This was however not enough to take the title as the pairing was beaten by the more consistent sister car driven by David Brabham and David Nielsen. Not raced again, chassis 13R remained in Japan until 2005 when it was sold to a German enthusiast through an Australian dealer, who it had it adapted for road use by McLaren in 2006 (text from Ultimate car page).

After finishing the 1996 edition of 24h of Le Mans as the second place of the F1GTRs fleet and 5th overall, 15R was raced by Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones in the BPR series for a couple of years before being acquired by the Rofgo Collection.

Chassis 018 has quite a globetrotting history, it started off life in blue rarely ever seen, subsequently turning up in Germany in dark silver with the High Down Force kit (HDF) installed. The F1 has made a temporary appearance in Singapore before finally settling in New Zealand - the spiritual home of McLaren. It also features a GT (the long-tail roadcar) interior and is one of only 2 cars to be fitted with a LM spec engine which boosts it to 680hp.

The F1 chassis 043 spent a large part of its life in Japan, originally owned by Motokazu Sayama, the owner of the 'Ueno Clinic' which was the major sponsor for the McLaren F1 GTR that won Le Mans in 1995. Sayama leased GTR #01R with the idea to keep it at the end of the season but part of the contract for #01R stipulated that if it won the race that McLaren would keep the car. Shortly after their victory, this F1 road car N°043 was built for Mr Sayama with special financial conditions and was painted in similar colors to the Le Mans winner - black on top and grey on the bottom.

Chassis 21R was one of four Longtail F1 GTRs raced by BMW Motorsport in 1997. In the hands of J.J. Lehto and Steve Soper, it scored a debut victory at the Hockenheim round of the FIA GT Championship. Later in the year the combination started from pole and took another win at Helsinki. In the other three races chassis 21R was used, it finished in third place on two occasions. It made a brief appearance in the British GT Championship before it was sold to a collector (text from Ultimate car page).

Completed in time for the 1997 FIA GT season, chassis 22R was part of the Gulf Davidoff team's three car effort that season. The main drivers were John Nielsen and owner of the car Thomas Bscher. They scored a couple of podium finishes early in the year and won the GT1 class at the Le Mans 4 Hours race. Repainted in Davidoff colours, it was raced a second year by Bscher, now joined by Geoff Lees. Amongst the 1998 season highlights were outright victories in the Vallelunga 6 Hours and the Monza 1000 km. A veteran of two 24 Hours of Le Mans races, chassis 22R has since been restored to its original livery and is today part of a startling collection of Gulf sponsored machines (text from Ultimate car page).

Chassis 28R was the spare chassis allocated to the GTC team. It was pressed into service halfway through the 1997 season, making its debut at the Nürburgring. It was later part of the infamous opening-lap collision at Spa that took the entire team out. Retained by GTC after its contemporary career, the F1 GTR was eventually sold to Japan. In 2006, it was acquired by an American enthusiast, who only rarely run the car and never at a track. He has now decided to part with the Gulf-liveried machine. In 2012, it was offered at the Bonhams Quail Lodge sale, where bids failed to reach the reserve set. It did eventually change hands and re-appeared at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it was driven by the current owner and Emerson Fittipaldi. Early in 2017, it was modified by Lanzante and subsequently road registered (text from Ultimate car page).

Completed in 1995, this chassis was originally finished in 'Genesis Blue Metallic'. It was delivered new to F1 GTR racer Ray Bellm, on what fittingly was his 46th birthday. The car was later repainted silver and since then, it has been regularly used by its latest owner. Recentley, the car was resprayed to its originel color (adapted from Ultimate car page).

(From Kidston site) Chassis ‘048’ was built for the current owner as a 50th birthday present from his wife and delivered by McLaren on 4th December 1996. The Brilliant Metallic Blue livery has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated: subtle, elegant and distinctive, it makes a welcome change from the usual colour palette, especially when combined with matching blue leather upholstery and carpets.
The car was immediately imported and registered in Switzerland, where it has lived ever since in climate controlled storage with rare outings including a holiday to the South of France, but otherwise this has been one of the least-spotted F1s.

The McLaren F1 chassis 061 was delivered new to British actor Rowan Atkinson of Mr Bean fame. A true enthusiast, he has driven the car extensively but also was involved in two headline grabbing accidents, which required extensive repairs. In the second, he also slightly hurt his shoulder. The repairs necessary that time were reportedly in the GBP 900,000 range, making it one of the most expensive repairs of all time. Following the completion of the work by McLaren, Atkinson has vowed to continue driving his prized possession and expressed to be eager to brake the 100,000 miles barrier (text from Ultimate car page). Since the car was sold.

The Mc Laren F1 chassis 064 was built in 1997 and was the 50th F1 built. It is finished in Magnesium Silver and is licensed in Guernsey.

Completed in 1997 and finished in Magnesium Silver, this McLaren F1 was sold new to German Thomas Groth. He used the car for his daily commute on the Autobahn and with a year the mileage was at 7,500 km. Although he continued to cherish the 54th F1 road car built, he used the car much less frequently in the following years. In 2009, chassis 066 was eventually sold to an American enthusiast, who bought not one but two examples while visiting McLaren. In his ownership, the still highly original McLaren was meticulously cared for and maintained by the official service centre in Oxnard. With around 22,000 km on the odometer, it was offered at Gooding's 2013 Pebble Beach sale where it changed hands for a record breaking $8.5 million (text from Ultimate car page).

The Mr Bean's Mc Laren F1 was not the only F1 that had known some setbacks. The chassis 067, which until 2007 belonged to Elon Musk, co-founder of Paypal and Tesla, was partially destroyed by an engine fire in 2009. The car was completely rebuilt by McLaren and is part today of an American collection .

Chassis 069 : During 1998, only six examples of the original McLaren F1 were completed, and chassis #069 was the 60th model overall to be hand-built in Woking. The car is finished in Carbon Black complimented by subtle detailing throughout, including a stealth finish to the 17-inch centre-locking magnesium wheels. The central driving seat is finished in black and contrasting red leather, with the dual passenger seats upholstered in Alcantara.

The McLaren F1 chassis 075 is the last F1 built, owned by Mansour Ojjeh, the boss of the TAG group.