There’s probably nothing more terrifying than watching someone hop out of a Honda Civic (or put into another car known to have a loud exhaust) wearing a t-shirt that says something like ” Speed is my drug “it says. Well, despite the fact that those words are enough to make you shudder, you should know that there may actually be some truth to the sayings on this shirt. Yes, we actually claim that it is possible to become addicted quickly (there is even some scientific evidence to back this up).
While this phenomenon is not fully understood, it is widely believed that people enjoy the sensation of speed because it activates our adrenal glands (also known as adrenaline). For some of us, the repeated activation of these glands can actually lead to an addiction. As you might expect, those of us who have faced this fixation will do everything we can to experience it again.
However we look at this event, there is no question that we owe it a lot as it is responsible for bringing us cars like that of the McLaren F1 LM. “How did you come to this conclusion?” you ask. Well, without such constraints we would have probably just stayed with the McLaren F1 (which was already the fastest production car in the world) and broke up. Instead, a thrill junkie named Gordon Murray decided this wasn’t good enough and kept pushing the envelope.
To show you how much better it was compared to the original, let’s take a look at some of the best features on the F1 LM.
The engine is hands down the best feature
Via: Wikimedia Commons
The original F1 was officially considered the fastest car in the world when it came out. So if the F1 LM is to be better than the original F1, then of course it has to have a pretty fantastic engine, right?
Well, luckily the F1 LM doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Mounted in the center of this supercar is the same BMW V12 engine that was used in McLaren’s 1995 F1 GTR racing cars, but without the restrictors.
As a result of these changes, the output was increased from 618 hp (in the base F1) to 680 hp; This makes it the fastest version of the F1 model that has ever existed. And all of this can be attributed to a man named Gordon Murray who decided that the fastest car in the world still wasn’t fast enough.
The F1 LM only comes in this iconic McLaren Papaya Orange
Via: Wikimedia Commons
If you know anything about McLaren, you probably know that they have a fixation on the ‘papaya orange’ color. What you may not know, however, is that this color was actually the original racing colors of company founder Bruce McLaren’s. Since McLaren (the company, not the person) felt the F1 LM was very special, they decided to adorn each and every unit in this super bright color to honor and commemorate the late company founder. Or at least that’s what McLaren was telling the public anyway.
In a bizarre twist, two F1-LMs were actually painted black, tagged with graphics, and then sold to the same person without the public’s knowledge (we’ll get to that person a little later). While it’s probably not a big deal why they did this, it’s still a bit strange that they all lied to in the first place.
It was built just for the route
Via: Wikimedia Commons
The original McLaren F1 was designed to be a supercar that you can live with. In other words, you could go to stores, drive down a normal (somewhat bumpy) city street, and even take long car trips without breaking your spine. The F1 LM, on the other hand, was not designed for comfort; Instead, it should be a raging track monster.
This becomes clear as soon as you get in, because you will notice that the interior has been completely slimmed down. This includes removing “luxury” like air conditioning and even the original (more comfortable) seating arrangements. As you have probably guessed by now, this was all for the purpose of weight loss. This resulted in a total of 132 lbs being shed.
Other key differences include the installation of lower and stiffer suspension both front and rear, as well as the addition of 18-inch OZ racing wheels. Even more important, however, was the installation of aerodynamic parts taken from the McLaren GTR racing car. Oddly enough, the F1 LM still uses the same Brembo steel discs and four-piston calipers as the regular F1.
The F1 LM is extremely exclusive
Via: Dong liu / Shutterstock.com
While the color may have been used to commemorate their founder, the cars themselves were designed to celebrate the five McLaren F1 GTRs that competed (and won) the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours. To do this, McLaren decided that they would only produce and sell five units in total while still keeping a single prototype to themselves.
Lucky owners currently include the likes of Ralph Lauren and the Sultan of Brunei (who currently owns three F1 LMs, which include the two black F1 LMs discussed earlier).
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About the author
Austin Cassell
(116 published articles)
Austin Cassell is a Purdue Global University graduate majoring in Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Although he has spent the last 6 years writing about laws, he made the decision to also write about some of the cars that are more than capable of breaking the law. He lives in an area of north New York bordering both Quebec and Vermont. Because of the area, he’s a big fan of cars that look great on a mountain bike or snowboard.
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