One of the most exotic models in all of BMW history is arguably the McLaren F1. Gordon Murray is the man behind the McLaren F1. His creation was the fastest production car in almost a decade and, until recently, the most powerful BMW. Murray insisted that the car have a naturally aspirated engine to increase the reliability and control of the driver, so he asked Honda for a 550 hp engine with a maximum weight of 250 kg. At that time, the combination of Honda and McLaren dominated Formula 1, so the desired engine should be derived from the actual racing car.
When Honda refused, Isuzu was keen to provide its brand new 3.5 V12 engine, which was tested on a Lotus chassis. Nevertheless, the designers rejected Isuzu’s project, so that BMW finally decided to develop the engine. The BMW S70 / 2 V12 engine was the beating heart of the F1 GTR and was used by BMW in the F1, V12 LM and LMR Le Mans prototypes.
The 6 liter engine produced 618 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque and was redlined at 7500 rpm. Ironically, the rules of the Le Mans GT1 class limited the power of the racing engines, so the F1 GTR’s engine actually produced slightly less power (closer to 600 hp) than the road car thanks to an air restrictor. That slight limitation was more than offset by the race car’s dramatically more aggressive aero package and lower overall weight, as evidenced by the speed of 236.7 mph on the Mulsanne Straight when it arrived at Le Mans in 1995.
Last month, BMW of North America hosted an M3 / M4 reunion in Palm Beach, so of course they brought out some of their iconic racing cars as well. This special McLaren F1 GTR, chassis # 17R, was used by BMW Motorsports (in cooperation with its Italian partner Bigazzi Team SRL) at Le Mans in 1996 and finished 8th overall (and 6th in the GT1 class). Nelson Piquet, Johnny Cecotto and Danny Sullivan shared the driving duties.
It is now part of BMW North America’s BMW Classics collection and recently received an engine tuning to keep things going right.
The post The legendary McLaren F1 GTR with the BMW S70 / 2 V12 engine first appeared on monter-une-startup.
