Flemke - Is this your McLaren? (Vol 5)

[AlmostUseful]

flemke said:

Much appreciated, thank you.

No problem. Summit is his company so you’ll get straight through to him.

[SpeckledJim]

AlmostUseful said:

flemke said:

Much appreciated, thank you.

No problem. Summit is his company so you’ll get straight through to him.

I'm dying to know what's in the envelope.

[AlmostUseful]

SpeckledJim said:

I'm dying to know what's in the envelope.

It’s not as exciting as you think, but now those photos of John Prescott with the llama and the whips are safe and will never be seen by the public.

[Police State]

flemke said:

Funny you should mention that. I have offered to design things for them for free, with a guarantee that what I did would be superior to what they were using. The abomination of the "P1" logo would be a case in point - a child could have done better.
Part of the problem is that a car designer, or a person whose job is aesthetic design of some sort - will be loath to admit that he or she cannot properly design a font or a "simple" logo.

Given your background which you have previously mentioned/hinted at, it would be fascinating to see what kind of P1 logo you would come up with. I know you are a busy man, but if you get a spare hour or so, perhaps you would volunteer your 'sketch' up for the gallery to view. I for one, would love to see what you would do. I'll show you mine, if you show me yours...

Edited by Police State on Tuesday 1st May 15:12

[flemke]

Police State said:

flemke said:

Funny you should mention that. I have offered to design things for them for free, with a guarantee that what I did would be superior to what they were using. The abomination of the "P1" logo would be a case in point - a child could have done better.
Part of the problem is that a car designer, or a person whose job is aesthetic design of some sort - will be loath to admit that he or she cannot properly design a font or a "simple" logo.

Given your background which you have previously mentioned/hinted at, it would be fascinating to see what kind of P1 logo you would come up with. I know you are a busy man, but if you get a spare hour or so, perhaps you would volunteer your 'sketch' up for the gallery to view. I for one, would love to see what you would do. I'll show you mine, if you show me yours...

No promises, but I'll think about it.

[hyphen]

Press got to drive a Senna prototype this week around Silverstone.

video reviews appearing online, along with a PH article

Autocar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyrWBmTV7ho
A US review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlTFH01_9cE
Aussie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlJK-K7a_0c

Flemke - do they let future owners drive one too? Would you get to?

Edited by hyphen on Wednesday 2nd May 10:05

[hurstg01]

I'd like to think they would...

"give us many thousands of your currency and in return we'll give you a car that looks like a cartoon and you aren't allowed to drive it 'til you take delivery" doesn't sound like a line from McLaren.....

[jimKRFC]

Good review of the Senna here: https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives...

[flemke]

hyphen said:

Press got to drive a Senna prototype this week around Silverstone.

video reviews appearing online, along with a PH article

Autocar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyrWBmTV7ho
A US review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlTFH01_9cE
Aussie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlJK-K7a_0c

Flemke - do they let future owners drive one too? Would you get to?

hurstg01 said:

I'd like to think they would...

"give us many thousands of your currency and in return we'll give you a car that looks like a cartoon and you aren't allowed to drive it 'til you take delivery" doesn't sound like a line from McLaren.....

Well, actually...

With the P1, it took them a while to fill the order book, and before it was closed they offered test drives around Dunsfold.

With the P15, AFAIK they have not offered any test drives. It's possible that if someone asked really nicely that person would get one, I don't know, or care.

For the BP23, the situation is pretty ridiculous. They have required non-returnable deposits of £500,000 without showing the committed buyers so much as a completed drawing of the car, much less a photo, still less anything in three dimensions such as, say, a real car. The whole thing is being done on faith.

[flemke]

jimKRFC said:

Good review of the Senna here: https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives...

Yes, I agree. To have a highly skilled, and articulate, professional racing drive review a track car is a good idea, and in this case what Hildebrand wrote is quite enlightening.

[hyphen]

flemke said:

For the BP23, the situation is pretty ridiculous. They have required non-returnable deposits of £500,000 without showing the committed buyers so much as a completed drawing of the car, much less a photo, still less anything in three dimensions such as, say, a real car. The whole thing is being done on faith.

"Hello, is that Flemke? This is McLaren, we are building a new car. Want to buy one?"
"Oh, well perhaps, but first you really need to tell me more information before I can possibly commit. I would insist upon seeing a 3d model if not a prototype prior to committing"
"It has a McLaren badge and a 3 seat configuration"
"Where do I send the cheque, and how much"

Edited by hyphen on Sunday 6th May 21:54

[PAUL500]

Flemke, would you be able to get a message to Zac Brown either directly or indirectly regarding some important information I have on a car he owns?

I imagine ringing the switchboard and asking to speak to him may not get me very far! however he does need to know the info.

[bobo79]

Flemke, do you regret selling your P1? I suspect it may be remembered as one of the more interesting cars McLaren produced if only because it was released more or less simultaneously alongside two obvious rivals. Aesthetically (though somewhat flawed) it also looks better than any McLaren since.

Or were the dynamics too numb for you to really bond with it?

[flemke]

PAUL500 said:

Flemke, would you be able to get a message to Zac Brown either directly or indirectly regarding some important information I have on a car he owns?

I imagine ringing the switchboard and asking to speak to him may not get me very far! however he does need to know the info.

As it happens, although I do not know him, yes, I could get a message to him.
On the other hand, I am not sure how you would get the message to me.

[flemke]

hyphen said:

flemke said:

For the BP23, the situation is pretty ridiculous. They have required non-returnable deposits of £500,000 without showing the committed buyers so much as a completed drawing of the car, much less a photo, still less anything in three dimensions such as, say, a real car. The whole thing is being done on faith.

"Hello, is that Flemke? This is McLaren, we are building a new car. Want to buy one?"
"Oh, well perhaps, but first you really need to tell me more information before I can possibly commit. I would insist upon seeing a 3d model if not a prototype prior to committing"
"It has a McLaren badge and a 3 seat configuration"
"Where do I send the cheque, and how much"

Sounds idiotic, and fortunately not what I did.

[flemke]

bobo79 said:

Flemke, do you regret selling your P1? I suspect it may be remembered as one of the more interesting cars McLaren produced if only because it was released more or less simultaneously alongside two obvious rivals. Aesthetically (though somewhat flawed) it also looks better than any McLaren since.

Or were the dynamics too numb for you to really bond with it?

No regrets. I agree that it looks better than any McLaren since, but I do not like hybrids, I do not like to lug around the extra 200kg or have to worry about its losing a charge and needing a complete battery replacement. Although the turbo-lag was reduced, there was definitely still some turbo-lag.
The car is too wide, and feels wide. I couldn't stand the stupid whooshes from the turbo system that get piped into the cockpit. As only the second modern McLaren, the company still had a lot to learn about how to design road cars, especially regarding the driver interface, and that shortcoming shows. Also, I value steering returnability, and the P1 didn't have enough of it.
Saying all that, the main reason that I sold it was that I did not want to be associated with it after the company had so badly (in my opinion) broken its commitments about the car.

[PAUL500]

flemke said:

PAUL500 said:

Flemke, would you be able to get a message to Zac Brown either directly or indirectly regarding some important information I have on a car he owns?

I imagine ringing the switchboard and asking to speak to him may not get me very far! however he does need to know the info.

As it happens, although I do not know him, yes, I could get a message to him.
On the other hand, I am not sure how you would get the message to me.

I could PM you? or you could PM me and I can let you know my email address. I don't want to go into any detail in public or even pass the info to anyone but him, but could tell you the gist of it privately by email, if he wants to know more he could then contact me direct by email. Its purely important info from one enthusiast of the marque to another on that particular car.

It has nothing to do with Mclaren or any of their products/history.

Edited by PAUL500 on Monday 7th May 09:48

[thegreenhell]

flemke said:

jimKRFC said:

Good review of the Senna here: https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives...

Yes, I agree. To have a highly skilled, and articulate, professional racing drive review a track car is a good idea, and in this case what Hildebrand wrote is quite enlightening.

Agreed, that is a superb insight into the driving dynamics. So much better than the usual "Wow, it's so fast, I can't describe how fast it is" puff that most reviews present.

[SpeckledJim]

PAUL500 said:

flemke said:

PAUL500 said:

Flemke, would you be able to get a message to Zac Brown either directly or indirectly regarding some important information I have on a car he owns?

I imagine ringing the switchboard and asking to speak to him may not get me very far! however he does need to know the info.

As it happens, although I do not know him, yes, I could get a message to him.
On the other hand, I am not sure how you would get the message to me.

I could PM you? or you could PM me and I can let you know my email address. I don't want to go into any detail in public or even pass the info to anyone but him, but could tell you the gist of it privately by email, if he wants to know more he could then contact me direct by email. Its purely important info from one enthusiast of the marque to another on that particular car.

It has nothing to do with Mclaren or any of their products/history.

Edited by PAUL500 on Monday 7th May 09:48

Just email the non-sensitive bit to someone who works for him, and ask them to pass it to his PA?

[flemke]

PAUL500 said:

I could PM you? or you could PM me and I can let you know my email address. I don't want to go into any detail in public or even pass the info to anyone but him, but could tell you the gist of it privately by email, if he wants to know more he could then contact me direct by email. Its purely important info from one enthusiast of the marque to another on that particular car.

It has nothing to do with Mclaren or any of their products/history.

I have just sent you Pistonheads PM which I hope you receive. It has the user name of another member; PM him and he will forward to me and I can then get it to ZB.