The Iconic 240.1 MPH McLaren F1
This Record-Breaking McLaren F1 Was Truly a Car Before It’s Time
You don’t have to be on MTV to make headlines driving a supercar. Sure, the McLaren P1 might be cleaner than your church shoes, but before people with outlandish hairstyles were singing about cars, McLaren was already in the business of serious speed with their original supercar, the F1.
Rock-star status isn’t something the F1 needed help with. It earned street-cred with a gold-wrapped atmospheric V12, and a design years ahead of its time. No offense to the unquestionably impressive P1, but that car does 217 mph. The F1 topped 240 — in the ’90s.
To Be Young and Stupid
Speaking of rock stars, there have been few racecar drivers to achieve celebrity status. Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Sir Stirling Moss — you’ve heard these names. But what about Andy Wallace? You won’t find him on any Wheaties’ boxes or GoDaddy commercials, but to hear his first-hand account of doing 240 mph in the F1 should earn your respect.
In the video above, Wallace concedes he was “younger and more stupid” when McLaren’s experimental prototype number 5, or XP5, was delivered to a German test track in a container truck bearing the words “World’s Fastest Production Car.” It was an accurate statement too, based on the F1’s 1993 top-speed run of 231 mph.
The F1’s first attempt took place at Nardo, in Italy. That track, however, wasn’t long enough for the car to fully stretch its legs. So for their second attempt, McLaren booked Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test facility, which features a 5.4-mile straight, where those with the conviction can find out just how fast a car will truly go.
Making History
Wheelmen like Wallace make driving at four times the speed limit look easy. In reality, though, the forces that act on a car at these speeds demand surgical precision. At 200-plus mph, a small mistake can send you careening into track barriers, and very possibly to death. Wallace recounts that the car was well-behaved until achieving 230 mph. You can see him nervously tending the wheel in the video.
“291?” asks a journalist citing the car’s speed in kilometers-per-hour.
“No,” exclaims Wallace. “391 — it’s a McLaren.”
Wallace’s maximum speed during the test was actually 242.9 mph, but top speed runs are calculated by averaging two runs in opposite directions to account for wind. So 240.1 mph was the final result.
The Birth of a Legacy
In the two-plus decades since the F1’s reign, a lot has changed. We’ve got far more advanced technology, including wind tunnel tests, better tires, and all-around engineering. The top speed title may have moved on, but the F1’s mystique remains untarnished.
It’s still the fastest production car ever to use a naturally-aspirated engine. And it will long be remembered for its sheer dominance in the era before hybridization and advanced turbocharging. You can remove the limiter on that P1, and it might just do 300 mph. But it will still have to endure life in the shadow of the F1’s greatness.