The F1 was designed as the ultimate road car, penned by Gordon Murray and powered by a bespoke BMW-built V12 engine, unlocking a top speed of more than 385km/h – a record at the time.
Though it was never intended to go racing, it did just that in 1995, when the winged F1 GTR was taken to Le Mans, where it won unexpectedly over the purpose-built WSC class cars.
June 18 will make 30 years since that famous win, and now McLaren is celebrating it with a special edition 750S coupe, limited to just 50 examples globally.
To honour the winning #59 car’s Ueno Clinic livery, the 750S Le Mans can be ordered in Le Mans Grey or McLaren’s iconic orange and carbon black exterior paint finishes, while the interior can be upholstered in Dove Grey or Carbon Black with McLaren Orange materials.
All examples of the 750S Le Mans will be fitted with a new MSO High Downforce Kit, which includes a raised carbon fibre DRS-style Active Rear Spoiler with integral endplates and an enlarged carbon fibre splitter.
McLaren claims this results in a downforce increase of 10 per cent, while “echoing the famous McLaren F1 LM edition’s aerodynamic additions”.
Additional changes to the Le Mans edition include a roof scoop and five-spoke LM wheels, with a design that’s straight out of the 1990s.
Inside, there are a pair of racing seats, a six-point harness and half a roll cage, with McLaren wanting this to be more than just a show-pony for the road.
Power continues to come from a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine, developing 551kW and 800Nm – enough to propel the supercar from 0-200km/h in just 7.2 seconds.
Of course, the link between the 750S and Le Mans isn’t exactly tenuous, though it goes beyond the F1 and McLaren road car lineage.
The DNA of its V8 engine can be traced back to the twin-turbo unit found in Nissan’s R390 Le Mans racer, though it’s received a lot of re-engineering work over the past 30-plus years.
McLaren is competing in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, albeit in the LMGT3 class with two United Autosport-entered 750S GT3s.
It is due to return to the top-flight Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship in 2027, almost 30 years after it last raced in the outright class at Le Mans in 1998.
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