McLaren F1 LM
| McLaren F1 LM | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | McLaren Cars |
| Production | 1995 (5 produced) |
| Assembly | Woking, Surrey, England |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car |
| Body style | 2-door coupé |
| Layout | RMR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 6.1L BMW S70/2 V12 |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,718 mm (107.0 in) |
| Length | 4,365 mm (171.9 in) |
| Width | 1,820 mm (71.7 in) |
| Height | 1,120 mm (44.1 in) |
| Kerb weight | 1,062 kg (2,341 lb) |
The McLaren F1 LM is a track oriented edition of the McLaren F1. The LM is based on the McLaren F1 GTR, with modifications necessary for the modified GTR to be a road legal car—but without the engine intake restrictions that racing regulations impose on the GTR racing edition.
In late 1995, McLaren built five F1 LMs (LM for Le Mans) in honour of the five McLaren F1 GTR's that finished the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans and took the overall win.
McLaren designed the standard F1 as an ultimate road car, in the sense that it strives to be comfortable and usable in everyday conditions despite being a potent sports car. However, the LM edition is a lower and stiffer, track-oriented vehicle, with a stripped down, bare interior, and solid aluminium bushings in place of the rubber bushings in the suspension system and without the Ground Plane Shear Centre system on the standard F1.
Although only five F1 LMs were sold, a sixth chassis exists in the form of XP1 LM, the prototype for modifications to the existing F1 to form the new F1 LM. This car is also painted Papaya Orange and is retained by McLaren. This car, reportedly worth $4 million, was promised by McLaren CEO Ron Dennis to his driver Lewis Hamilton if he should win two Formula One World Championship titles. Subsequently however, Lewis Hamilton left McLaren with his single World Championship title to drive for the rival Mercedes Formula 1 team in 2013.
The F1 LMs can be identified by their Papaya orange paint. The F1 LM's were painted in this colour in memory and tribute to Bruce McLaren, whose race colour was Papaya orange.
It has been discovered however, that contrary to the official word from McLaren at the time, only four (including the prototype) of the LMs were originally painted 'Papaya' orange, with two of the three delivered to The Sultan of Brunei being painted black with graphics.
The weight was reduced by approximately 60 kg (130 lb) over that of original, through the removal of various pieces of trim and use of optional equipment, i.a. no interior noise suppression, no audio system, a stripped down base interior, no fan assisted ground effect and no dynamic rear wing—giving the McLaren F1 LM a total mass of 1,062 kg (2,341 lb).
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