Thursday 19th January 2012

Chris Harris video: shotgun in a McLaren F1

Harris isn't driving this time but as passenger rides go the McLaren F1's a killer

---

The list of attributes that make the McLaren F1 one of, perhaps the most famous sports car of the modern era probably contains references to every single area of vehicle design. Each of us has our favourite anecdote about its genesis: the crazy lightweight Kenwood disc changer, the gold-plated engine bay, the forged pedals - the unimaginable levels of OCD brilliance that forced Mr.Murray's team to make a one-off.

But the one fact that I still find fascinating about the F1 is the relationship between the road car and the race car which won Le Mans in 1995. This was a car that had to be detuned to meet the regulations, leaving it with just 600bhp to the street car's 627bhp. Otherwise, the two are pretty similar, to the point that it is perfectly possible to road register a well-known race car - one that scored a victory for Ralf Schumacher in the Japanese GT championship at Fuji - and potter about in it.

There is something intoxicating about a fully liveried, 600bhp endurance racer mixing it with the traffic. I could watch it for hours. Not sure I could sit in it for that long, but the noise, and the smells and the sense that in the mid-90s McLaren took the supercar handbook and simply threw it in the bin make the F1 the ultimate passenger experience.

Now of course you don't need me to explain anything more about this car: PH is the single best resource for the F1, thanks to Mr. Flemke and his mission to make his personal F1 the very best driving machine on the planet. So watch this, then visit that thread.

Above all, listen to the noise.

 

 

 

[Dagnut]

what a machine slightly disappointing you couldn't drive it...Sutcliff got a go in nick masons GTR..video on autocar channel

Edited by Dagnut on Wednesday 18th January 20:56

[Dagnut]

NinjaPower said:

Yes but those people are usually stupid enough to have the camera in a position where the speedo is in view, for example on the tank of a bike.

I did not see a speedo shot in this video or any mention of the speed limit being broken whatsoever.

You can't prove he was speeding just because it sounded a bit loud...

spot on what can they prove from that footage?

[Dagnut]

Max_Torque said:

A bit dissapointing really, with a car like that, with massively tall gearing and the limits of the public road, just when you think it's gonna get up and go, you have to brake. Lets see a proper feature at a closed facility where the car can actually get up on the plane so to speak........

Wouldn't a GTR have shorter gearing, with a longer 6th for le mans?

[Dagnut]

GroundEffect said:

Generally with race cars that have fairly peaky power delivery they lengthen first gear and then have the other 5 closer together. I'm sure Andy can confirm/deny my bullst.

either I'm pretty sure the are shorter than the road car..which was my point..I know nick Masons is geared for 200mph...I was just guesstimating that , as this car was the Le Mans winner, it would have a long 6th for the Mulsanne straight.

[Dagnut]

How many top gear "films" how see with them speeding..the Film with clarkson racing the sun in the XJ for example? How much cases have been brought against them?
Stop bleating like a bunch of old nanny goats

[Dagnut]

you're probably safer doing 100mph in an F1 then you are doing 60 in 15 year old mondeo...
with a good driver at the wheels I bet you could pull it up in the same distance and with more control..yes reaction times are cut but the amount of st box cars on the road with crap tyres and worn pads with dopey old tarts at the wheel..this guy knows what he's doing.

[Dagnut]

hairykrishna said:

He's still doing 40 odd meters per second at 100mph. Doesn't matter if his brakes and tyres are made of unobtanium, if someone pulled out of one of those blind side exits he would have hit them.

how do you know how fast he was going?

[Dagnut]

Oh so now it's 140mph? No here knows what speed he was doing.

[Dagnut]

StottyZr said:

This started the entire 140 thing...

Either way at no point in that video can anyone definitively say what speed he was doing...a lot of people getting there knickers in a twist over nothing...no one said a word about his EVO video with francois Delecour hooning around in a gt3rs..load of nonsense about nothing

Edited by Dagnut on Thursday 19th January 16:16

[Dagnut]

g4ry13 said:

In a car capable of doing 200+mph and 0-60 in a little over 3 secs, I think it's safe to say that the driver didn't exceed 50mph as he kept his foot buried on the accelerator going through the gears.

He was doing at least 100mph or very close to it and i'll bet damn good money on it, will you?

Yeah I bet a virtual million quid

[Dagnut]

g4ry13 said:

Seriously, we can escrow.

Or are you just trying to be controversial to something so obvious?

Oh sorry I'm being controversial am I?
You have no idea how the video was edited together..no idea how the car is geared ...no idea what speed he is doing..no idea of the limits on the road..and no idea who I am to be betting money with me across a forum..catch your self on will you.

[Dagnut]

g4ry13 said:

Do you? Flemke came in here and has driven the car himself so i'm taking that into account. I don't care who you are to bet with you, so long as the money's escrowed the bet's on as far as i'm concerned.

And how are you going to prove it? I have no idea what speed he is travelling my point is either do you...an I wasn't claiming to be anything by that statement, I was merely stating you can't be certain on any of the variables I mentioned...I'm not going to bet with you as I haven't a clue...I never claimed he wasn't travelling fast I said no one can be certain except the driver and Chris Harris.. unlikely either one will confirm.

[Dagnut]

Soovy said:

Flemke does, because (a) he's driven the Lark car and (b) he owns another F1.

And he knows the gearing and revs. And he said about 90mph. Which is too fast.

It's still guess work.

[Dagnut]

g4ry13 said:

So you're not going to take me up on it then....

In your opinion, is the car being driven in a safe manner? The fact no-one was killed/injured is irrelevant to whether the car was being driven safely.

I don't know..I can't tell from a video angle like that..

as for the bet how are you going prove it? you can't it would be a waste of time

...and to add to that...with all this nonsense it's probably likely someone will report this video...do you think they would get a prosecution with this video...you wanna a bet on that????

Edited by Dagnut on Thursday 19th January 16:48

Edited by Dagnut on Thursday 19th January 16:51

[Dagnut]

g4ry13 said:

I can see this isn't going to go anywhere, fortunately others have their sensible head on. Perhaps we should forward the video to the local traffic dept and have a wager on it?

What do you think about carrying passengers with no seat belt on. Then posting a message at the end reading "drive safe"? What sort of message is this?

I'm not looking for messages in a youtube video...you do what you like...we have a difference of opinion is all, you claimed I was just being controversial for the sake of it, I wasn't I honestly don't think it's that bad.

[Dagnut]

10 Pence Short said:

The question must be asked- do the Management of Haymarket know how this site is being run and do they condone the editorial standards being displayed at present?

The video was produced by the youtube channel Drive.