This BMW V12-Powered McLaren F1 GTR Has A Cool History

BMW placed on an enormous present this yr on the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. It’s the place we first noticed the M2 CS and the M8-based Speedtop. Nonetheless, a automobile doesn’t essentially have to hold the long-lasting roundel to pique our curiosity. Take, for instance, this McLaren F1 GTR, an endurance racer fitted with a mighty naturally aspirated V12 engine. The automobile in query is chassis #11R, initially owned by Fabian Giroix Racing.

It’s believed to have an fascinating backstory, not simply due to its BMW coronary heart. Legend has it that Mercedes-AMG purchased (leased?) the automobile from its second proprietor, French racing workforce Larbre Compétition. It used it as a take a look at mule for what shortly thereafter turned the legendary CLK GTR. The endurance racer wore the livery of Swiss luxurious watch producer Franck Muller. Earlier than altering arms, it had been pushed by Fabien Giroix, Jean-Denis Délétraz, and Didier Cottaz within the FIA GT.

BMW’s S60 powerhouse was faraway from the engine bay to make room for AMG’s personal M120 engine. Moreover, the unique bodywork was stripped off and changed with a discreet, long-tailed shell, permitting Mercedes to check the automobile’s aerodynamic qualities with out revealing its new id. It was later secretly examined on the Jarama monitor in Spain, the place it was fast from the beginning, even setting lap information. Nonetheless, cooling points hindered efficiency. In the end, testing got here to a halt after Bernd Schneider crashed it right into a tire wall.

Regardless of the setback, Mercedes-AMG managed to prepared the automobile for racing in just some months. Stories point out that it was developed in simply 128 days. Whereas it by no means gained Le Mans, the CLK GTR was a dominant drive within the late Nineties, securing 17 wins, two groups’ titles, and two drivers’ championships throughout 22 races over two seasons.

Since then, chassis #11R has been restored by McLaren at residence in Woking, the place it obtained the signature Papaya livery and a highway automobile conversion. It’s a particularly uncommon automobile, contemplating solely 28 F1 GTRs have been ever constructed. Of these, solely 18 have been quick tails like this one. It modified arms a number of occasions throughout its tumultuous life, with Classic Driver reporting the present proprietor paid €30 million.