The key to the F1’s abilities on both road and track lie in its concept. As Gordon Murray explained in 1992: “The prime directive for the F1 project can be summed up in four words: small, slim, light, and powerful. It is a driver’s car first and foremost, and a car for driving.”
The F1 is about the length of the Porsche 911 of its day, but significantly wider to encompass its unique three-abreast seating configuration. Yet it is still anything up to a foot narrower than the widest major-league supercars. “The central driving position alleviates placement problems on the road and indeed the cost of making right and left-hand-drive versions,” Murray said.
Indeed, this choice of driving position reflects the no-compromises approach taken when it came to designing this ultimate car, and it has not been repeated since.
Even in its styling, the F1 reflects a tremendous sense of unity of purpose and synergy. In this respect, the McLaren F1 is more functional in appearance and far from the flamboyant beauty of the Lamborghini Diablo or the Jaguar XJR-15 of its era. It will turn heads but it does not shout ‘look at me’ like many of its Italian supercar counterparts.
The proportions of the F1 also bear more than a passing similarity to a Ford GT40.
“This was not intentional,” chief designer Peter Stevens said, “but we certainly did not want to produce a 1992 design that would date the car. Rather, our objective was to create a shape that would be classic in its proportions to stand the test of time.”
Looking at it today, there is little doubt that this is one of the most beautiful and harmonious supercar designs of all time.
