The 2nd ever Mclaren roadcar was released in 1994 - the brainchild of Gordon Murray. It seats three, one at each side and slightly behind the centre positioned driver. Two must be either brave or crazy, or both, as the Mclaren has been clocked at 231mph at Nardo in Italy, humbling all other slingshot exotics. This is exactly what Murray promised; the ultimate motoring experience, the closest sensation yet to a street legal Grand Prix car. Forget Porsche's 959, Ferrari's F40, Jaguar's XJ220 and even the sublime Bugatti EB110. They're overweight, underpowered pussycats compared (the keyword here) with Mclaren's blockbuster. The F1 not only trounces them emphatically, but also does so with spine-tingling power. This comes in the form of a BMW 60deg quad-cam 6.1-litre V12 which generates 627bhp, which, as you know makes it, and it's heroic passengers, go very fast indeed. 0-60mph in 3.2 sec is only a hint of this car's abilities.
From the beginning, Mclaren designed the F1 to have the highest power to weight ratio of any car available. This was achieved with the use of ultra-light weight composite materials and bespoke components designed to be as light as physically possible. But this is no bare-bones racer either. It has a (specifically-designed) Kenwood CD system, air-conditioning, electric windows and ample luggage space, yet still manages to weigh less than the stripped out Ferrari F40. I guess you could call it a well executed plan; the aim was simply to produce the ultimate drivers car. The headline-grabbing price (�634,500 - yes, six hundred and thirty four thousand pounds) and the 231 mph top speed were almost incidental in technical director Gordon Murray's quest to provide the biggest motoring high. Even since its launch 5 years ago, there's no sign that anyone is even trying to match it (the TVR Speed 12 is a fine attempt but not really of the same calibre). Ignore cars like the Porsche GT1, as fantastic a car as that is, it is just another race-bred monster, tamed for the road in a limited production run. The F1, on the other hand was a road car (not counting the GTR version obviously) - nothing raw about it. The F1 was beyond the reaches of even millionaires. It is true to say that the McLaren F1 is the stuff that dreams are made out of, or should be, in a stable mind
[Car of the Week: McLaren F1] 
