Flemke - Is this your McLaren? (Vol 5)
Discussion
PushedDover said:
Talking of downforce, I assume the beards have this one tracked - 059 up for Auction......
https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mf22/sotheby-s-...
Ooh yes please. Be interested how much that goes for. Such epic carshttps://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mf22/sotheby-s-...
Jules Sunley said:
PushedDover said:
Talking of downforce, I assume the beards have this one tracked - 059 up for Auction......
https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mf22/sotheby-s-...
Ooh yes please. Be interested how much that goes for. Such epic carshttps://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mf22/sotheby-s-...
Caddyshack said:
Jules Sunley said:
PushedDover said:
Talking of downforce, I assume the beards have this one tracked - 059 up for Auction......
https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mf22/sotheby-s-...
Ooh yes please. Be interested how much that goes for. Such epic carshttps://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mf22/sotheby-s-...
epom said:
Caddyshack said:
Jules Sunley said:
PushedDover said:
Talking of downforce, I assume the beards have this one tracked - 059 up for Auction......
https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mf22/sotheby-s-...
Ooh yes please. Be interested how much that goes for. Such epic carshttps://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mf22/sotheby-s-...
PAUL.S. said:
I did not realise the Harrison estate had sold the car, Gordon Murray said in one interview he used to exercise it for them still on occasion.
I know I’m exceptionally late to this but as an ex-Henley resident I have had the pleasure of seeing this one on the road before in town. Not sure who was driving it at the time.
Can still picture it now at the lights but would’ve been a good 10 years ago!
F1natic said:
Hi Flemke and fellow PHers with knowledge of these things, would appreciate some insight into the rear spoiler operation. My understanding is that on the F1 it is deployed during braking over a certain speed. Does it extend fully during every deployment and how quick is it's response? Is it noticeable in its effect. i.e. can you suppress it's function with the manual control setting. It's not something that is ever really discussed but assume it was DC motor driving an actuator?
I have not played around with it much. It can be manually (with a rotary dial on one side of the instrument binnacle) opened halfway or completely (completely being the extent it opens automatically under braking) at any speed. Under braking, it opens automatically at I think 40 mph (I could be wrong about the speed).When you brake at or above threshold speed, it opens in a fraction of a second, I would guess maybe 0.3/0.4 - that sort of thing.
I am not aware that you can suppress its automatic opening from inside the cockpit, but you should be able to do so by removing the fuse.
Thank you. In subsequent research I found an old clip of it in operation https://youtu.be/URIzYquArAE?t=24
robm3 said:
Hello Flemke, blast from the past but I seem to recall you had an NSX Type R, or at least drove one.
I've been offered one that's in storage in Hong Kong but I can't get there any time soon due to travel restrictions.
So... any thoughts or comments on this model?
I still have a Gen 1 Type R and have driven the Gen 2.I've been offered one that's in storage in Hong Kong but I can't get there any time soon due to travel restrictions.
So... any thoughts or comments on this model?
I have not seen the evo article. What I would say is that, first, one has to differentiate between driving on roads (I'll assume British) and on track.
The Type-R cars are track-biased. The 'problem' is that, by modern standards, they don't have that much power. If I were going for a low-ish power track car, I'd rather have something more suited to throwing around, maybe a GT86 or E30. The NSX's chassis is so well balanced that I'm not sure how much one would throw it around. Also the brakes are not up to a Porsche standard - not a problem on the public roads but I fear they would not stand up to a track-day incessant thrashing the way that a Porsche's would.
For the road, I think the set-up is much too stiff. This might work in Japan, but not here.
Of the two, I much prefer the Gen 1. The problem with the Gen 2 is that, in both cars, they shortened the final drive. This is okay in the Gen 1 as it has a 5-speed gearbox. The Gen 2 has a 6-speed, and that final drive means that you're shifting gears all the time. The Gen 2's suspension is stiffer as well - simply too stiff for the UK.
Good things about the Type-R cars are that the (Recaro) carbon/Kevlar seats are fantastic, the steering wheel is very well judged, and of course they're lighter than the standard cars. The 'Senna' titanium gear-knob is a nice idea but it's just too small for a normal hand. The instrument cluster is handsome. The Gen 2 looks great - I'll grant it that.
Driving either one is a special experience, but it's one of those 'lovely for an hour or two, tiring for a day' things.
I don't know what the importation rules are these days, but when I discussed this with Honda UK back in the days when they were thinking about importing the Gen 2 to the UK, they told me that it was massively expensive to get the Gen 2 to conform to VOSA requirements - so much so that, although they had enough indicated buyers to justify in theory doing a British run, the cost of modifying the cars would have been crazy and that was why ultimately they decide against it. There was the one white car that had been their UK prototype, then I think it was run for a year by Steve Sutcliffe, then sold to a private owner. Not sure what has happened to it since then, but when I drove it >10 years ago it was already pretty tired.
If you're looking for a road car, I would recommend the Gen 2 standard car - one of my all-time favourite cars.
If I may ask, what sort of money do you reckon it would cost to buy the HK car and then import it? The last I 'knew', there were maybe five or six Gen 1s in the UK and either one or two of the Gen 2s, the original factory white one and then Jenson Button had a blue one as part of his deal with Honda, but I believe that was never able to be registered in the UK, only somewhere in Europe.
Another interesting NSX to seek out would be a gen-1 Type S. It was based on the facelifted 3.2 gen-1, and seems to be a sort of halfway house between standard and Type-R. It has the Recaro and Momo interior, but with plusher leather and Alcantara trim, and some other lightweight bits, and uprated (but not as extreme as Type-R) suspension. They are twice as rare as a Type-R, though, and were Japanese market only.
^ you are referring to the Type S-Zero - only 30ish made, in the years between the first R (92-96) and the facelift R (02-05), so 97-01.
The Type S (I have a late ‘99 model) wasn’t as “track” as the Zero - it was designed as the “Winding Road” model (spirited leisure driving) - about 150 made in different specifications, including ~15 facelifted cars. It has the same carbon/kevlar seats as the R, but a more compliant suspension than either R or S-Zero, but not as “soft” as the “standard” cars….
Head over to NSXCB.CO.UK for all the info on NSX variants.
It is very difficult to price an NSX for sale in Japan - for any NSX, unless you are talking about an early or overly modified car or an automatic, 100,000 GBP will be the starting point once on the road in the UK for a C32B engined example.
The Type S (I have a late ‘99 model) wasn’t as “track” as the Zero - it was designed as the “Winding Road” model (spirited leisure driving) - about 150 made in different specifications, including ~15 facelifted cars. It has the same carbon/kevlar seats as the R, but a more compliant suspension than either R or S-Zero, but not as “soft” as the “standard” cars….
Head over to NSXCB.CO.UK for all the info on NSX variants.
It is very difficult to price an NSX for sale in Japan - for any NSX, unless you are talking about an early or overly modified car or an automatic, 100,000 GBP will be the starting point once on the road in the UK for a C32B engined example.
Edited by dobly on Saturday 13th August 08:57
Edited by dobly on Sunday 14th August 01:18
flemke said:
I still have a Gen 1 Type R and have driven the Gen 2.
I have not seen the evo article. What I would say is that, first, one has to differentiate between driving on roads (I'll assume British) and on track.
The Type-R cars are track-biased. The 'problem' is that, by modern standards, they don't have that much power. If I were going for a low-ish power track car, I'd rather have something more suited to throwing around, maybe a GT86 or E30. The NSX's chassis is so well balanced that I'm not sure how much one would throw it around. Also the brakes are not up to a Porsche standard - not a problem on the public roads but I fear they would not stand up to a track-day incessant thrashing the way that a Porsche's would.
For the road, I think the set-up is much too stiff. This might work in Japan, but not here.
Of the two, I much prefer the Gen 1. The problem with the Gen 2 is that, in both cars, they shortened the final drive. This is okay in the Gen 1 as it has a 5-speed gearbox. The Gen 2 has a 6-speed, and that final drive means that you're shifting gears all the time. The Gen 2's suspension is stiffer as well - simply too stiff for the UK.
Good things about the Type-R cars are that the (Recaro) carbon/Kevlar seats are fantastic, the steering wheel is very well judged, and of course they're lighter than the standard cars. The 'Senna' titanium gear-knob is a nice idea but it's just too small for a normal hand. The instrument cluster is handsome. The Gen 2 looks great - I'll grant it that.
Driving either one is a special experience, but it's one of those 'lovely for an hour or two, tiring for a day' things.
I don't know what the importation rules are these days, but when I discussed this with Honda UK back in the days when they were thinking about importing the Gen 2 to the UK, they told me that it was massively expensive to get the Gen 2 to conform to VOSA requirements - so much so that, although they had enough indicated buyers to justify in theory doing a British run, the cost of modifying the cars would have been crazy and that was why ultimately they decide against it. There was the one white car that had been their UK prototype, then I think it was run for a year by Steve Sutcliffe, then sold to a private owner. Not sure what has happened to it since then, but when I drove it >10 years ago it was already pretty tired.
If you're looking for a road car, I would recommend the Gen 2 standard car - one of my all-time favourite cars.
If I may ask, what sort of money do you reckon it would cost to buy the HK car and then import it? The last I 'knew', there were maybe five or six Gen 1s in the UK and either one or two of the Gen 2s, the original factory white one and then Jenson Button had a blue one as part of his deal with Honda, but I believe that was never able to be registered in the UK, only somewhere in Europe.
Thanks for the info. I have not seen the evo article. What I would say is that, first, one has to differentiate between driving on roads (I'll assume British) and on track.
The Type-R cars are track-biased. The 'problem' is that, by modern standards, they don't have that much power. If I were going for a low-ish power track car, I'd rather have something more suited to throwing around, maybe a GT86 or E30. The NSX's chassis is so well balanced that I'm not sure how much one would throw it around. Also the brakes are not up to a Porsche standard - not a problem on the public roads but I fear they would not stand up to a track-day incessant thrashing the way that a Porsche's would.
For the road, I think the set-up is much too stiff. This might work in Japan, but not here.
Of the two, I much prefer the Gen 1. The problem with the Gen 2 is that, in both cars, they shortened the final drive. This is okay in the Gen 1 as it has a 5-speed gearbox. The Gen 2 has a 6-speed, and that final drive means that you're shifting gears all the time. The Gen 2's suspension is stiffer as well - simply too stiff for the UK.
Good things about the Type-R cars are that the (Recaro) carbon/Kevlar seats are fantastic, the steering wheel is very well judged, and of course they're lighter than the standard cars. The 'Senna' titanium gear-knob is a nice idea but it's just too small for a normal hand. The instrument cluster is handsome. The Gen 2 looks great - I'll grant it that.
Driving either one is a special experience, but it's one of those 'lovely for an hour or two, tiring for a day' things.
I don't know what the importation rules are these days, but when I discussed this with Honda UK back in the days when they were thinking about importing the Gen 2 to the UK, they told me that it was massively expensive to get the Gen 2 to conform to VOSA requirements - so much so that, although they had enough indicated buyers to justify in theory doing a British run, the cost of modifying the cars would have been crazy and that was why ultimately they decide against it. There was the one white car that had been their UK prototype, then I think it was run for a year by Steve Sutcliffe, then sold to a private owner. Not sure what has happened to it since then, but when I drove it >10 years ago it was already pretty tired.
If you're looking for a road car, I would recommend the Gen 2 standard car - one of my all-time favourite cars.
If I may ask, what sort of money do you reckon it would cost to buy the HK car and then import it? The last I 'knew', there were maybe five or six Gen 1s in the UK and either one or two of the Gen 2s, the original factory white one and then Jenson Button had a blue one as part of his deal with Honda, but I believe that was never able to be registered in the UK, only somewhere in Europe.
It's a Gen 1.
I haven't got the price as yet sorry, but a pretty serious collector by all accounts has it and I'm only being offered the opportunity as a favour (long story, very Chinese in origin).
I'm based in Australia so car would be shipped there. From conversations with various independent importers it does seem it can be registered and used here with minimal fuss.
I think I'm going to pass on it though, I've never been a huge fan of the model and we have a large number of various NSX types available locally. Plus your thoughts were the final nail in the coffin for this particular project.
As a side comment, the particular storage building where the Honda is also houses a Ferrari 250 GTO that NEVER sees the light of day.
flemke said:
...The Gen 2's suspension is stiffer as well - simply too stiff for the UK....Driving either one is a special experience, but it's one of those 'lovely for an hour or two, tiring for a day' things.
Really interesting to compare the thoughts of a long-term owner vs. Evo.Evo were head over heels for the Type-R on the road but I think your comment "lovely for an hour or two" is the key. It's hard work sometimes reading reviews and trying to read between the lines to see the reality.
3/106 completed (I know I'll never get to 106 even if I see all remaining cars due to the write offs)
I don't know why a simple yellow and blue livery works so well but I've always loved the Parabolica car.
[url]
Rather enjoying making it a habit of seeing them. Had plenty of time to soak in all the details this time, what a captivating thing a McLaren F1 is, could've stayed there staring at it all day even amongst the amazing company at Hampton Court. Now if I could hear one that'd be the icing on the cake but I don't wanna get ahead of myself.
Hope you're keeping well Flemke!
I don't know why a simple yellow and blue livery works so well but I've always loved the Parabolica car.
[url]Rather enjoying making it a habit of seeing them. Had plenty of time to soak in all the details this time, what a captivating thing a McLaren F1 is, could've stayed there staring at it all day even amongst the amazing company at Hampton Court. Now if I could hear one that'd be the icing on the cake but I don't wanna get ahead of myself.
Hope you're keeping well Flemke!
F1GTRUeno said:
3/106 completed (I know I'll never get to 106 even if I see all remaining cars due to the write offs)
I don't know why a simple yellow and blue livery works so well but I've always loved the Parabolica car.
[url]
Rather enjoying making it a habit of seeing them. Had plenty of time to soak in all the details this time, what a captivating thing a McLaren F1 is, could've stayed there staring at it all day even amongst the amazing company at Hampton Court. Now if I could hear one that'd be the icing on the cake but I don't wanna get ahead of myself.
Hope you're keeping well Flemke!
You would have liked Goodwood FOS this year then, it was 5 or 6 of them thereI don't know why a simple yellow and blue livery works so well but I've always loved the Parabolica car.
[url]Rather enjoying making it a habit of seeing them. Had plenty of time to soak in all the details this time, what a captivating thing a McLaren F1 is, could've stayed there staring at it all day even amongst the amazing company at Hampton Court. Now if I could hear one that'd be the icing on the cake but I don't wanna get ahead of myself.
Hope you're keeping well Flemke!
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