The McLaren F1 GTR is the racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It was powered by the naturally aspirated BMW S70/2 V12 engine.

Group GT1, also known simply as GT1, was a set of regulations maintained formerly by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), for Grand Tourer racing. The category was first created in 1993, as the top class of the BPR Global GT Series, and was included in …

Mar 8, 2023 · McLaren had won Le Mans at its first attempt; the F1 GTR had won the event in its first year of production, and not even Ferrari had managed that; it was also the first Le Mans win for a Finnish driver, and for a Japanese one, as well as being a first for BMW power.

Mar 23, 2020 · On May 24, 1996, Gordon Murray made a sketch of a red car labeled “McLaren F1 Evolution”. It had a long tail and a longer nose to produce more downforce, an upgrade triggered by Porsche’s acceptance into the BPR Global GT Series with its purpose-built 911 GT1.

Nov 24, 2024 · McLaren has made three GTRs in its existence—F1, P1, and Senna. Each is extraordinary, and journalist Henry Catchpole had the extraordinary fortune to bring together all three for a video.

To homologate the ‘97 F1 GTRs considerably longer and wider downforce-inducing bodywork, McLaren created a type approved road-going version to satisfy the rulemakers: the F1 GT.

The new 'F1 GTR' was built to the international 'GT1' regulations, which meant it would also be eligible for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To balance out the performance of the many different types of cars, these regulations included a mandatory engine intake restrictor.

1997 McLaren F1 GT specs, performance data, top speed, engine specifications, pictures.

The BPR Global GT Series, which ran from 1994 to 1996, marked the beginning of the GT1 class. This era saw the rise of iconic cars like the McLaren F1 GTR, Porsche 911 GT1, and Ferrari F40 GTE.

The F1 GTRs, as the “short tail” motorsport version of the F1 was called, performed admirably and won a few races in doing so. With so much of the engineering in the road car proving to be helpful in the tests of long-term bouts of racing, the question of Le Mans was starting to enter the answering phase.