Flemke - Is this your McLaren? (Vol 5)

Flemke - Is this your McLaren? (Vol 5)

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Discussion

VladD

7,853 posts

264 months

Thursday 20th October 2016
quotequote all
flemke said:
AOK said:
flemke said:
The actual rev-limited Vmax is 224. When Andy Wallace established the derestricted Vmax of 241, the engine was hovering at 7500 rpm. The factory rev-limit is 7000, which equates to 224. It's easy to do the maths, although I verified them empirically myself.
Your subtle admissions don't go unnoticed! Very impressive to have taken it that far, bet very few ever will.
I just figured that, so long as the car was capable of going that fast, it would be a waste not to give it a try. At the time that I did it, it would have been the highest speed of which any production car was capable.
That must have been quite an experience.

Dave Hedgehog

14,541 posts

203 months

Thursday 20th October 2016
quotequote all
flemke said:
AOK said:
flemke said:
The actual rev-limited Vmax is 224. When Andy Wallace established the derestricted Vmax of 241, the engine was hovering at 7500 rpm. The factory rev-limit is 7000, which equates to 224. It's easy to do the maths, although I verified them empirically myself.
Your subtle admissions don't go unnoticed! Very impressive to have taken it that far, bet very few ever will.
I just figured that, so long as the car was capable of going that fast, it would be a waste not to give it a try. At the time that I did it, it would have been the highest speed of which any production car was capable.
on the M1 biggrin


RenesisEvo

3,602 posts

218 months

Friday 21st October 2016
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
on the M1 A1, a bit north of Trier biggrin
Edited for accuracy tongue out

douglas111

60 posts

114 months

Saturday 22nd October 2016
quotequote all
Hi Flemke. Not posted for a couple of years but I still follow this thread from time to time. I think it's great that you're still willing to share your F1 knowledge and personal experience.

I've got a few questions for you if that's OK.

Hypothetically, If McLaren ever found some unused chassis numbers and decided to build a couple more new F1s (similar to Jaguar and the 6 E-types built a year or two ago), then would you be interested? I guess they wouldn't be cheap though.

Another hypothetical question. I appreciate you've done your own work on brakes and wheels etc. but would you be in favour of McLaren producing a more wide ranging update package for the F1? Perhaps reduce some weight using more modern materials and technologies. Audio has moved on a fair bit, so perhaps a new stereo, or do you have something better to listen to whilst driving smile Engine improvements too perhaps?

Last question, does the fan assist actually make much difference to the handling on public roads? Have you, or do you know of anyone, that has driven the standard car with it switched off? I can understand Gordon wanting to utilise tech that he'd invented during his F1 days, but I wonder if it's weight penalty makes it worthwhile for normal day-to-day use.

Edited by douglas111 on Saturday 22 October 12:39

flemke

22,864 posts

236 months

Sunday 23rd October 2016
quotequote all
VladD said:
flemke said:
AOK said:
flemke said:
The actual rev-limited Vmax is 224. When Andy Wallace established the derestricted Vmax of 241, the engine was hovering at 7500 rpm. The factory rev-limit is 7000, which equates to 224. It's easy to do the maths, although I verified them empirically myself.
Your subtle admissions don't go unnoticed! Very impressive to have taken it that far, bet very few ever will.
I just figured that, so long as the car was capable of going that fast, it would be a waste not to give it a try. At the time that I did it, it would have been the highest speed of which any production car was capable.
That must have been quite an experience.
It was.

Once I had decided to do it, I contacted the racing driver and automotive journalist Paul Frere. At the time I had just finished his autobiography, in which he mentioned that the fastest he had been in a car was (something like) 213, Vmax in a Jag XJ220. I thought, it wouldn't be right for little old Flemke to have driven faster than the great Paul Frere. I contacted him. At the time he was 86, but I knew that for him age would not be a barrier.

He responded that the only private place in Europe in which Vmax would be possible was VW's Ehra-Lessien, but that was impossible for a normal person to get into. I knew that was true, as McLaren themselves had had to call in favours in order to get access to it for Andy Wallace's 241 run in 1998.

As I was aware, that left us with only the Autobahn. Paul said that, although in principle he would like to do a Vmax run, for safety reasons he was not comfortable doing it in a public setting. Thus he declined.

I spent several months trying to scope out the best place on the Autobahn in which to give it a go. I settled on the A5 near Frankfurt Airport. There is a stretch of road that is four lanes each side, dead straight and flat for 5 miles. This was the site of a Vmax competition in 1938 between Auto Union and Mercedes, with Bernd Rosemeyer in the former and Rudolf Caracciola in the latter. Rosemeyer's car was caught in a crosswind and crashed into a bridge abutment at north of 200 mph.

For me the main issue was traffic, to minimise interference to me but more importantly to minimise risk to innocent bystanders. This was a particular concern as a road near a major airport is always going to be busier than most other places.

I chose to go out at dawn on June 22, which was a Sunday. That was as traffic-free as I was going to get in daylight.

The runs themselves were largely uneventful. On the initial sighting lap, I wanted to go fairly quickly but nothing major, and was surprised to see "206" in mph on the telemetry. Going back out for the proper run, the only real event was that a red warning light came on, indicating that the engine cover was not closed. That turned out to be the engine cover's being lifted (by the aero force of negative pressure at the rear of the roof) just enough to disengage the button indicating complete closure. It was not actually a problem.

I will say that the car does not have much (if any) downforce at those speeds. I had the sense that the car was tending to "float", which is not what you want at 200+. Steering inputs must be very subtle.

Reflecting on the experience in the years since, I don't think that I would do it again. Although I did my best to minimise the risk to others, there still was some, and it really was not necessary. There was more than zero traffic. If I had had a puncture, if an animal had run into the road, if a car even in the lane farthest away from me had for whatever reason come across towards me, there could have been a real mess. Yes, what I did was legal, and I before doing it I tried to take as many precautions as possible, but still it was entirely self-indulgent and probably not something one should do. Doing 150 mph is one thing, over 220 is something else again.



twoblacklines

1,575 posts

160 months

Sunday 23rd October 2016
quotequote all
So when is the LT700 Spider out, again?

AOK

2,297 posts

165 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
flemke said:
It was.

Once I had decided to do it, I contacted the racing driver and automotive journalist Paul Frere. At the time I had just finished his autobiography, in which he mentioned that the fastest he had been in a car was (something like) 213, Vmax in a Jag XJ220. I thought, it wouldn't be right for little old Flemke to have driven faster than the great Paul Frere. I contacted him. At the time he was 86, but I knew that for him age would not be a barrier.

He responded that the only private place in Europe in which Vmax would be possible was VW's Ehra-Lessien, but that was impossible for a normal person to get into. I knew that was true, as McLaren themselves had had to call in favours in order to get access to it for Andy Wallace's 241 run in 1998.

As I was aware, that left us with only the Autobahn. Paul said that, although in principle he would like to do a Vmax run, for safety reasons he was not comfortable doing it in a public setting. Thus he declined.

I spent several months trying to scope out the best place on the Autobahn in which to give it a go. I settled on the A5 near Frankfurt Airport. There is a stretch of road that is four lanes each side, dead straight and flat for 5 miles. This was the site of a Vmax competition in 1938 between Auto Union and Mercedes, with Bernd Rosemeyer in the former and Rudolf Caracciola in the latter. Rosemeyer's car was caught in a crosswind and crashed into a bridge abutment at north of 200 mph.

For me the main issue was traffic, to minimise interference to me but more importantly to minimise risk to innocent bystanders. This was a particular concern as a road near a major airport is always going to be busier than most other places.

I chose to go out at dawn on June 22, which was a Sunday. That was as traffic-free as I was going to get in daylight.

The runs themselves were largely uneventful. On the initial sighting lap, I wanted to go fairly quickly but nothing major, and was surprised to see "206" in mph on the telemetry. Going back out for the proper run, the only real event was that a red warning light came on, indicating that the engine cover was not closed. That turned out to be the engine cover's being lifted (by the aero force of negative pressure at the rear of the roof) just enough to disengage the button indicating complete closure. It was not actually a problem.

I will say that the car does not have much (if any) downforce at those speeds. I had the sense that the car was tending to "float", which is not what you want at 200+. Steering inputs must be very subtle.

Reflecting on the experience in the years since, I don't think that I would do it again. Although I did my best to minimise the risk to others, there still was some, and it really was not necessary. There was more than zero traffic. If I had had a puncture, if an animal had run into the road, if a car even in the lane farthest away from me had for whatever reason come across towards me, there could have been a real mess. Yes, what I did was legal, and I before doing it I tried to take as many precautions as possible, but still it was entirely self-indulgent and probably not something one should do. Doing 150 mph is one thing, over 220 is something else again.

Thanks for sharing, quite the story! A few months ago some footage was posted of Henry Catchpole pushing 200+ on a dual-carriage section of a drest-Autobahn in a 911R. It made for good viewing, but I couldn't help noticing that he had a passenger on board... an utterly huge responsibility for such a superfluous activity.

flemke

22,864 posts

236 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
douglas111 said:
Hi Flemke. Not posted for a couple of years but I still follow this thread from time to time. I think it's great that you're still willing to share your F1 knowledge and personal experience.

I've got a few questions for you if that's OK.

Hypothetically, If McLaren ever found some unused chassis numbers and decided to build a couple more new F1s (similar to Jaguar and the 6 E-types built a year or two ago), then would you be interested? I guess they wouldn't be cheap though.

Another hypothetical question. I appreciate you've done your own work on brakes and wheels etc. but would you be in favour of McLaren producing a more wide ranging update package for the F1? Perhaps reduce some weight using more modern materials and technologies. Audio has moved on a fair bit, so perhaps a new stereo, or do you have something better to listen to whilst driving smile Engine improvements too perhaps?

Last question, does the fan assist actually make much difference to the handling on public roads? Have you, or do you know of anyone, that has driven the standard car with it switched off? I can understand Gordon wanting to utilise tech that he'd invented during his F1 days, but I wonder if it's weight penalty makes it worthwhile for normal day-to-day use.
I might be interested, but it would depend on the price. If I thought that the price would make it an attractive investment, then yes.

If McLaren themselves did an update/upgrade package, that certainly would interest me, depending. For one thing, the new braking system would have to be superior to what I have now, and I am not sure that it would be. For another, whatever they did would have to be reversible, as my modifications are.
I doubt that McLaren would embark on such a project, however, as they are focused on the future. Before I started my own independent development programme, I offered them the chance to do the work on my car, and they declined.
The standard engine is so good already that I wouldn't think there is much room for improvement.
They do offer an MP3-whatever upgrade for the audio system to supplant the CD player.

The fan system is there to help cool the brakes and to provide additional rear downforce. I don't know how much it weighs, but it's probably not more than a couple of kilos. If I needed to take 2 kilos out of the car, I'd rather remove the CD player.

flemke

22,864 posts

236 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
twoblacklines said:
So when is the LT700 Spider out, again?
I'd say 2019 or 2020.

flemke

22,864 posts

236 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
AOK said:
Thanks for sharing, quite the story! A few months ago some footage was posted of Henry Catchpole pushing 200+ on a dual-carriage section of a drest-Autobahn in a 911R. It made for good viewing, but I couldn't help noticing that he had a passenger on board... an utterly huge responsibility for such a superfluous activity.
To my mind that is not so bad, assuming that the passenger was an adult and chose to be there.
My concern are people in other vehicles who have no knowledge of or reason to expect what might be happening around them. To cause harm to them would be indefensible.

anniesdad

14,589 posts

237 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
Hi Flemke,

Apologies if this has been covered already but is my mind playing tricks on me or did you (or maybe it was a journalist driver?) drive your CGT to it's maximum (or at least near to) on the autobahn in a feature in evo magazine once upon a time? If so, how did the two experiences compare? Did it feel much safer in the CGT as opposed to the F1 due to the obvious difference in aero between the two?

As an aside if I may, what would you say is the safest road car that you have driven at speed say >150mph?

S

_dobbo_

14,327 posts

247 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
flemke - bit OT but hope you don't mind answering: Rumours swirling that Ron Dennis is going to be removed from McLaren by the end of the year, assuming that also means the road cars division what's your view on that happening?

br d

8,388 posts

225 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
flemke said:
It was.

Once I had decided to do it, I contacted the racing driver and automotive journalist Paul Frere. At the time I had just finished his autobiography, in which he mentioned that the fastest he had been in a car was (something like) 213, Vmax in a Jag XJ220. I thought, it wouldn't be right for little old Flemke to have driven faster than the great Paul Frere. I contacted him. At the time he was 86, but I knew that for him age would not be a barrier.

He responded that the only private place in Europe in which Vmax would be possible was VW's Ehra-Lessien, but that was impossible for a normal person to get into. I knew that was true, as McLaren themselves had had to call in favours in order to get access to it for Andy Wallace's 241 run in 1998.

As I was aware, that left us with only the Autobahn. Paul said that, although in principle he would like to do a Vmax run, for safety reasons he was not comfortable doing it in a public setting. Thus he declined.

I spent several months trying to scope out the best place on the Autobahn in which to give it a go. I settled on the A5 near Frankfurt Airport. There is a stretch of road that is four lanes each side, dead straight and flat for 5 miles. This was the site of a Vmax competition in 1938 between Auto Union and Mercedes, with Bernd Rosemeyer in the former and Rudolf Caracciola in the latter. Rosemeyer's car was caught in a crosswind and crashed into a bridge abutment at north of 200 mph.

For me the main issue was traffic, to minimise interference to me but more importantly to minimise risk to innocent bystanders. This was a particular concern as a road near a major airport is always going to be busier than most other places.

I chose to go out at dawn on June 22, which was a Sunday. That was as traffic-free as I was going to get in daylight.

The runs themselves were largely uneventful. On the initial sighting lap, I wanted to go fairly quickly but nothing major, and was surprised to see "206" in mph on the telemetry. Going back out for the proper run, the only real event was that a red warning light came on, indicating that the engine cover was not closed. That turned out to be the engine cover's being lifted (by the aero force of negative pressure at the rear of the roof) just enough to disengage the button indicating complete closure. It was not actually a problem.

I will say that the car does not have much (if any) downforce at those speeds. I had the sense that the car was tending to "float", which is not what you want at 200+. Steering inputs must be very subtle.

Reflecting on the experience in the years since, I don't think that I would do it again. Although I did my best to minimise the risk to others, there still was some, and it really was not necessary. There was more than zero traffic. If I had had a puncture, if an animal had run into the road, if a car even in the lane farthest away from me had for whatever reason come across towards me, there could have been a real mess. Yes, what I did was legal, and I before doing it I tried to take as many precautions as possible, but still it was entirely self-indulgent and probably not something one should do. Doing 150 mph is one thing, over 220 is something else again.

Great account. About as PH as it gets!

Monty Python

4,812 posts

196 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
Have you fitted any of the 2010 upgrade package?

douglas111

60 posts

114 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
Thanks Flemke.

flemke said:
For one thing, the new braking system would have to be superior to what I have now, and I am not sure that it would be.
Were the original F1 design team much help when you started your works, assuming you were able to contact any of them? Just wondering if they had any ideas, although based on the time you've been developing your own setup, I guess you've covered a lot of ground since then.

What do you think of Lotus? I saw an Evora yesterday and thought it was a nice size for a road car and didn't look stupid or out of place on public roads. I read a magazine interview with the new Lotus boss a few months ago and his emphasis is firmly on building upon Lotus' strengths such as lightness, rather than introducing expensive new models such as a new Esprit and trying to compete with the big boys. He said they are selling very well in the US now. I guess the weak pound will help that even more now.

I know, like many, you also think that most sports and super cars are too fat. The strange thing is that all cars are so big now that a very small sports car like an old MG can look like a kids toy in comparison and slightly at odds with all the other cars around it. Even old 911s look quite small these day.

Edited by douglas111 on Monday 24th October 15:44


Edited by douglas111 on Monday 24th October 22:39

Storer

5,024 posts

214 months

Monday 24th October 2016
quotequote all
If I needed to take 2 kilos out of the car, I'd rather remove the CD player.

flemke

If, like me you are a touch portly these days the a couple of kgs off the waistline would do the tick!



To my mind that is not so bad, assuming that the passenger was an adult and chose to be there.
My concern are people in other vehicles who have no knowledge of or reason to expect what might be happening around them. To cause harm to them would be indefensible.

flemke


We may view high speed runs on German de-restricted Autobahns as dangerous but I suspect local users get to expect fast cars passing them. They must also be aware there is more risk of a high speed incident.
It is, however, a shame that there is nowhere the ever increasing number of 200mph+ cars can stretch their legs (max speed runs) anywhere in Europe without endangering the public.

The irony is that there are stretches of French AutoRoute where you can see for many miles into the distance, and where there is sometimes no traffic. Rather tempting!




flemke

22,864 posts

236 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
quotequote all
anniesdad said:
Hi Flemke,

Apologies if this has been covered already but is my mind playing tricks on me or did you (or maybe it was a journalist driver?) drive your CGT to it's maximum (or at least near to) on the autobahn in a feature in evo magazine once upon a time? If so, how did the two experiences compare? Did it feel much safer in the CGT as opposed to the F1 due to the obvious difference in aero between the two?

As an aside if I may, what would you say is the safest road car that you have driven at speed say >150mph?

S
Yes, a writer from evo (it may have been Roger Green) and I did such a run. I think it was in 2004. IIRC I got to 205.9 and he did about 203. At those speeds, the CGT was more stable than the F1. In the CGT, you can feel the downforce start to have an effect at about 120.
Although the CGT is more stable at speed in a straight line, when pushed the car can definitely bite you. Walter Rohrl has said as much.
The funny thing about that evo piece was that, as usual, the photographer wanted to do moving shots at slow speed, with the subject car following the camera car with the photographer hanging out the back. They wanted to do these shots on the Autobahn.
Try finding a bit of the Autobahn where, in the middle of the afternoon, you can safely drive a pair of cars at 20 mph!

"Safest" at 150? Probably the P1, in which 150mph is pretty much a non-event.

flemke

22,864 posts

236 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
quotequote all
_dobbo_ said:
flemke - bit OT but hope you don't mind answering: Rumours swirling that Ron Dennis is going to be removed from McLaren by the end of the year, assuming that also means the road cars division what's your view on that happening?
I don't think that would include the road car business (McLaren Automotive), which has a different shareholder and control structure.

I would be disappointed to see Ron leave. His long-time business partner Mansour Ojjeh had a double lung transplant not long ago. I don't know whether Ojjeh's health has been a factor in what appears to be a serious disagreement between the two men, or whether it is actually Mansour or rather a close relative with an interest in the family business who is behind the schism.

Apple has got to be at the centre of the current dynamic. Do the Ojjehs (not to be confused with the O'Jays!) and the Bahrainis want Apple to buy them out, but Ron is standing in the way? Does Apple want to buy only the whole thing, but Ron won't sell? Do Apple insist in rebranding? I could not say.

flemke

22,864 posts

236 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
quotequote all
Monty Python said:
Have you fitted any of the 2010 upgrade package?
What was that? confused

VladD

7,853 posts

264 months

Tuesday 25th October 2016
quotequote all
flemke said:
Monty Python said:
Have you fitted any of the 2010 upgrade package?
What was that? confused
Apologies for the formatting, cut and paste from t'web.

McLaren F1 2010 upgrade package 20st July 2009. Today Mclaren Automotive announces a major upgrade package for it's legendary McLaren F1 road car. Frank Stephensen McLaren Automotive Design chief: “Through this upgrade package we have taken the highly advanced framework of the F1 and updated it in a number of key areas that have seen major advances over the years, providing our customers with the final and ultimate evolution of the McLaren F1.” The Engine The first area to see a significant upgrade is the F1's famous BMW S70/2 V12. The revised engine, type number updated to S70/4, sees it's capacity grow to 6121 cc as a result of an increased bore from 86 to 86.4 mm. Further changes include larger yet lighter pistons, lighter conrods, a raised compression to 12.0:1 from 11.0:1, redesigned cylinder head, new inlet and exhaust valves, new camshafts with variable valve timing now also on the exhaust side, a new and completely reprogrammed ECU as well as other smaller improvements. The result of these changes is an engine that now produces 491 lb.ft at 5300 rpm compared to 480 lb.ft before and an increased output of 691 bhp at 8200 rpm over the 618 bhp (627 PS) of the original while maintaining it's smooth running characteristics and in the mean time improving emissions and it's already proven efficiency. Frank Stephensen: “Countless engine development ideas continuously circulate engineering departments, however we feel the offered upgrade provides the best balance between strongly improved performance and maintaining durability, best chassis compatibility and reasonable use of development resources.” The 6-speed transmission has remained unchanged. Continuing: “The existing transmission works fine, our customers value it and thanks to it's new higher revving engine it now has exactly the right ratio to reach it's full top speed potential.” Ceramic composite brake system Another major improvement with the 2010 upgrade package is the first ever use of a ceramic composite brake system on the McLaren F1 road car. Mr. Stephensen: “While a highly desired feature during it's conception, composite brake technology was not considered mature enough for initial adoption on the F1.” The ceramic 380 mm front and 320 mm rear discs with respectively 6 and 4 pot callipers provide extreme stopping power without fading and reduce the unsprung weight by approximately 40 kg. “On a light vehicle as the F1 such a unsprung weight reduction has a very profound influence on the cars cornering performance and ride quality.” he adds. The Chassis The 2010 upgrade package further features a completely newly developed adaptive engine mount system. Frank Stephensen: “The V12 engine in the McLaren F1 is a substantial part of it's total mass and it's dynamics have a very significant influence on both the ride comfort as well as on cornering performance. The newly developed adaptive engine mount system allows us to avoid compromises we had to make with the original design, further reducing engine vibrations during every day driving and enabling us to much better contain the V12's significant mass in cornering.” Not only is their a new adaptive engine mount system, but the dampers have been made adaptive as well, another first on the McLaren F1. Mr Stephensen: “The drastically reduced unsprung mass, new 18-inch magnesium wheels, new tires as well as both the new adaptive engine mount and damper systems have prompted a major redesign of the total suspension system, raising the F1's cornering performance and handling to new levels while still maintaining it's well established ride quality.” The Bodywork With the upgrade the McLaren F1 also sees a few changes to it's bodywork. The most important ones being the removal of the automatic brake and balance aerofoil system as well as the active underbody air management system. Mr. Stephensen: “While in itself very effective systems, we wanted to focus on improving weight, weight placement and aerodynamics. Through several evaluations we found that improvements of various technologies allowed us to achieve the goals we set through more conventional means thus lowering weight, the centre of gravity and polar moment of yaw.” The weight reducing measures have resulted in a substantial weight loss of 63 kg, with the total weight now being down to 1077 kg. Further detail attention to the aerodynamics has also allowed the drag coefficient to be reduced to 0.31. Together with the F1's small frontal area of 1.79 square meters this results in an extremely low air resistance index of only 0.55 helping the F1 to it's amazing top speed potential. Performance The described changes to the McLaren F1 have caused it's cornering grip to rise to well over 1.0 G and power to weight ratio to improve with 18% to 478 bhp / ton. As a result the 0-60 time has dropped to 2.9 s, the quarter mile is now done in 10.1 seconds at 144 mph and top speed is now estimated to be significantly faster than 250 mph.* * Only on approved tyres, final data to be disclosed end of 2009. More information including images, compatibility with existing packages as well as pricing and availability for the 2010 McLaren F1 upgrade package can be provided by our nearest McLaren Authorised Service Centre.

2. Interview with two key people behind the McLaren F1 2010 upgrade package At the McLaren Technology Centre McLaren Automotive in Woking, Surrey (UK), sales and marketing director Rob Lindley and Design chief Frank Stephensen answer a few questions about the backgrounds and considerations behind the new McLaren F1 2010 upgrade package. Why did you decide to offer this upgrade package? FS: Because it was technically possible and economically viable. RL: Our customers have always inquired for various technical upgrades, we found ourselves in a position to have a unique window of opportunity for making a major improvement on our already legendary car and that opportunity was simply too good to let pass. Why is it offered now, quite a long time after the cars launch and so close to the launch of it's successor? FS: The core strengths of the McLaren F1, it's layout, dimensions, carbon monocoque and engine still are state of the art even today, yet lot of technologies that now allow us to work around a few design decisions we had to make with the original design, have only recently become available. Offering this package at this point in time also allowed us to share a lot of development work with what was already planned for the F1's successor. In fact without the shared development approach it wouldn't have been possible for us to offer this upgrade package. Aren't you afraid the upgrade package will threaten sales of the P11, the F1's successor? RL: No not at all, the F1 was produced in only very limited numbers and as such will not negatively impact any other car we offer or will offer in the future. What we were your goals for this upgrade? RL: Our goal was to give our customers the option of a final and ultimate evolution of their McLaren F1 road car. FS: We wanted to take the still unrivalled core strengths of the F1 and by use of the latest technology undo it of all the originally unavoidable compromises necessary to make it a super car for the road in stead of a racecar with limited usability in the real world. Our secondary goal will become clear probably before the end of this year. (subtle smile). Many see the McLaren F1 as a legend, a piece of art even by the hand of Gordon Murray, in that light was it a controversial decision to make such far reaching changes to the car? FS: Of course many within McLaren view the car exactly the same way, it is thé McLaren road car, the car we are best known for. However, McLaren is also first and foremost a company about engineering and innovation and as engineers we always strife to improve. RL: Most of our customers take a keen interest into all the various technical aspects of our cars, so most are really thrilled about this new upgrade. Of course our customers can also keep their cars in the original spec and I can fully understand that as well, our service to all our customers will remain equally excellent regardless of specification. How many people you think will opt for this package? RL: Of course we have asked our client base before deciding on this upgrade package and we feel confident the vast majority of them will opt for the upgrade. Is it possible for customers to only adopt a selection of the upgrades from the package? FS: Yes, in fact some of our customers have already previously opted for various minor upgrade packages and as a result automatically will only get part of the 2010 upgrade package. That said for all the standard spec cars it is of course relatively more expensive the fewer upgrade options you take and we feel the total package is more than the some of it's parts and therefore we feel strongly in advising our customers to choose the complete upgrade.

3. Were there any changes made to the exterior design of the car? RL: No, we feel that the McLaren F1's exterior design is of timeless quality and felt absolutely no need whatsoever to make any changes to it. Can you tell a bit more about the various technical improvements? FS: Well most of the detailed technical information will be first made available directly to our customers through our Authorised Service Centres, but I can't tell you how exited we are about how the different updates together have transformed the dynamic capabilities of our 2010 spec prototype during testing, it really takes the platform to a whole new level. That said, more details and full specifications will be provided in short notice. It must've been difficult to cost efficiently develop these changes for such a small number of cars? RL: Yes, many people think that it is easy for us to offer all sort of improvements since some cars are now worth over 2 million pounds. However with only 64 cars ever produced the total amount of packages we can sell is very limited so we had to be very prudent with the resources available. FS: Development and test work for instance on the adaptive dampers, engine mounts and the ceramic brakes could be shared with the P11 project. Also through the years a lot of engine upgrade ideas have surfaced ranging from direct injection to a magnesium / aluminium crankcase to even a high performance version of BMW's larger N73 V12 engine. However BMW already had done a lot of the necessary development for the engine upgrade for several other projects and therefore we were able to offer this normally too costly engine update within the scope of this upgrade package. With the engine of the F1 coming from BMW and being so heavily involved with Mercedes, that must've caused some tensions? RL: Not everything is always as it seems (smiles), but no, that was not an issue. So we can expect to see some of these technologies on the P11 as well? RL: Some yes (smiles again), but I can't share much information on that at this point in time. Mark Harrison Head of PR of McLaren Automotive.

4. McLaren F1 Roadcar – 2010 UP Specification Body Length 4287 / 168.78 mm / inches Width 1820 / 71.65 mm / inches Height 1140 / 44.88 mm / inches Wheelbase 2718 / 107.01 mm / inches Front Overhang 970 / 38.18 mm / inches Rear Overhang 599 / 23.58 mm / inches Front Track 1568 / 61.73 mm / inches Rear Track 1472 / 57.95 mm / inches Luggage Capacity - 2 283 / 10 litres / cu ft. occupants (VDA) Luggage Capacity - 3 227 / 8 litres / cu ft. occupants (VDA) Fuel Tank Capacity 90 litres Kerb Weight 1077 / 2375 kg / lbs Weight Distribution 41.1/58.9 F/R Drag Coefficient (Cd ) 0.31 Drag index (CdA) 0.55 Performance* Top Speed ** 0-60 mph 2.9 seconds 0-100 mph 5.5 seconds 0-150 mph 10.7 seconds 0-200 mph 21.7 seconds 1/4 mile 10.1 seconds @ 232 / 144 km/h / mph Standing km 18.9 seconds @ 303 / 188 km/h / mph * 2010 UP spec prototype data. ** To be disclosed end of 2009. Powertrain Type Number S 70/4 Cylinder Arrangement V12 Cylinder Angle 60 degrees Power Output 515 / 700 / 691 kW / PS / bhp @ 8200 rpm Max. Torque 666 / 491 Nm / lb.ft @ 5300 rpm Engine Capacity 6121 / 373.3 cc / in3 Valves/Cylinder 4 Bore 86.4 / 3.40 mm / inches Stroke 87.0 / 3.42 mm / inches Compression Ratio 12.0:1 Ignition system Transistorised system with twelve individual coils Induction system 12 single throttle valves, carbon composite airbox Chain driven double overhead camshaft with continuously variable valve timing on Valvetrain intake and exhaust valves. Engine Block Cast aluminium 60 deg V12 Cylinder heads 4 valves per cylinder cast aluminium alloy Flywheel Aluminium Cam Carriers/Covers Cast magnesium

5. Lubrication System Dry sump magnesium casting with scavenge pumps and one pressure pump Advised Fuel 98 RON unleaded (95 RON possible at reduced output). Oil 5W40/10W60 Cooling System Twin aluminium water radiators and oil/water heat exchanger. Fuel system Flexible safety fuel cell with in-tank high pressure pump 12V system with high capacity battery & 160 amp alternator, Chassis ECU, Engine Electrics ECU, DC/DC converter for heated glass Engine mounting Dynamically through adaptive engine mounts Transmission Transverse unit with high speed bevel gears and spur final drive All synchro constant mesh 6 Speed Limited slip differential Fan assisted air / oil radiator - pumped lubrication system 1st Gear Ratio 3.23/8.7 2nd Gear Ratio 2.19/12.7 3rd Gear Ratio 1.71/16.7 4th Gear Ratio 1.39/20.0 5th Gear Ratio 1.16/24.0 6th Gear Ratio 0.93/30.0 Final Drive Ratio 2.37:1 Clutch Triple plate Carbon/Carbon 200mm (7.87") diameter Remote actuation (hydraulic) Steering Unassisted rack and pinion Two turns lock to lock Chassis Front Suspension Double wishbones, Ground Plane shear Centre sub-frames, light alloy adaptive dampers/ co-axial coil springs, anti-roll bar Rear Suspension Double wishbones, inclined Axis Shear mounting system, light alloy adaptive dampers/ co-axial coil springs, toe-in / toe-out control links Front Tyre 235/40 ZR 18 Front Wheel 9 x 18 inches Rear Tyre 315/40 ZR 18 Rear Wheel 11.5 x 18 inches Front Calliper Type 6 pot monobloc light alloy calliper Rear Calliper Type 4 pot monobloc light alloy calliper Front Brake disc Type Ventilated ceramic composite Rear Brake disc Type Ventilated ceramic composite Front Brake Disc diameter 380 / 14.96 mm / inches Rear Brake Disc diameter 320 / 12.6 mm / inches Front Brake Disc Thickness 32 / 1.26 mm / inches Rear Brake Disc Thickness 32 / 1.26 mm / inches Turns Lock-to-Lock 2 Parking Brake Automatic computerised control system Brake Cooling Automatic computerised control system Turning Circle 12.6 / 41.4 m / ft


Edited by VladD on Tuesday 25th October 08:50