The ultimate road-going car is the McLaren F1 and the GTR version became the track-oriented version that delivered amazing performance on the tarmac.

The GTR model took the F1 from the road to the track, which sounds like going backward for the McLaren brand. This racing model was made for grand touring style racing, including the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGT, and British GT Championship. The GTR uses a naturally aspirated, rear-mounted V12 engine and six-speed manual transmission to deliver amazing speed and power on any track.

Let’s look at some of what makes the F1 and F1 GTR amazing cars.

The F1 was conceived after a race loss

The McLaren F1 wouldn’t come into existence until 1994, and the GTR model was created a couple of years later, but the idea came to the racing team in 1988. After the team lost a Formula 1 Grand Prix, one in which Ferrari took first and second place, the McLaren team of four came up with the idea of the F1 hypercar. This team of four racing experts included Creighton Brown, Ron Dennis, Mansour Ojjeh, and Gordon Murray.

The F1 followed Murray’s principles

Gordon Murray is the main brain behind the McLaren F1 GTR and its road-going predecessor. This car revolves around the principles found in Murray’s car collection, which are small, simple, and lightweight. The McLaren team took much of its inspiration from the Honda NSX (Acura-branded in North America) to give it the simplicity and style that makes it one of the most incredible cars ever built. McLaren racing machines used Honda engines for Formula One racing at the time, giving Ayrton Senna the job of ensuring these engines were ready for action. That said, Gordon Murray chose to build a much higher-performance version of the Honda engine for the F1.

The F1 arrived at a time of transition

The new Honda NSX showed the world that a supercar could be useable as a daily driving machine. This prompted other supercar brands, Lamborghini and Ferrari, to go back to the drawing board and fix their cars for this feature. Although the McLaren F1 GTR is a racing machine, the original model was made to be a useful and enjoyable supercar for those who wanted to drive their special car and show it off around town.

A BMW engine powered the F1

Instead of using the Formula One engines or a version of them from Honda for the F1, McLaren turned to BMW to develop the S70/2 V12 engine for this car. This engine features a 60-degree V-angle and has four valves per cylinder, and the BMW version of V-Tec called VANOS. The engine weighed 20 pounds more than Gordon Murray wanted, but it produced 627 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque, which were incredible figures for the mid-1990s.

No flywheel; no problem

Power figures for the McLaren F1 GTR closely matched the road-going version, which made many owners happy. More interesting than this close power relations is the lack of a flywheel for the F1. The V12 was smooth and balanced enough that Murray was able to convince BMW engineers to build the engine without a flywheel. At the time, the McLaren F1 was the only car with a manual transmission without a flywheel.

The exhaust system provides added safety

The exhaust system used in the F1 is made out of Inconel. If you’re not familiar with this material, don’t fret, many aren’t. Inconel is a lightweight material that’s highly durable and nickel-chrome based. This material has been used in space shuttles but isn’t found in many exotic cars. The material is good enough to provide an incredible exhaust sound for the F1, but it doubled as something else. This durable material serves as the rear crumple zone for this hypercar in case of an accident.

The F1 was made for more than speed

Although the McLaren F1 GTR was developed for speed and track dominance, Gordon Murray stated on many occasions that the road-going F1 wasn’t made only for speed. This car was supposed to be a daily driver for those who owned it, and one person used it for this purpose. This use led to the McLaren team learning how fast the F1 could go when Andy Wallace raced this car to 242.9 mph, which became the longest-held speed record of any production car.

The McLaren F1 GTR was excellent on the track, but the F1 road car was even more interesting and still maintains its place as one of the most amazing hypercars ever made.