These 13 McLaren F1s were the star cars of Uncovered at Thirty

It’s not every day you see a McLaren F1, let alone a baker’s dozen of them in one room. This is your guide to the 13 McLaren F1s that we were delighted to gather for an unforgettable evening at Kiklo Spaces.

The Road Cars

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This wonderful Dark Silver road car was commissioned by the president of the importer for TAG Heuer in Japan, who used it as a promotional tool. You’ll notice the fantastic TAG Heuer graphics applied to the nose, flanks, rear spoiler, and tail fascia. Interestingly, the purchaser did not have a driving license!

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This beautiful road car is one of only three painted Grand Prix Red. It was famously owned by Michael Andretti, who was given the car as part of a compensation package after McLaren terminated Andretti’s contract to drive for them in Formula 1.

043

One of the most original F1 road cars in existence, chassis 043 was painted in a unique two-tone colour scheme to match the livery of chassis 01R, the overall winner of the 24hrs of Le Mans in 1995.

046

This Genesis Blue road car was delivered new to F1 GTR racing driver Ray Bellm on his 46th birthday. This car wears the delightful registration number of F1 JOY.

064

Ordered in Magnesium Silver, the launch colour for the F1, chassis 064 was built in 1997 and first delivered to Sweden. Today it remains in stunning highly original condition.

The GTRs

02R

Chassis 02R was the first customer F1 race car, delivered to Ray Bellm in 1995. It is the most prolific winner of all F1 race cars, with 6 wins in total, including the first race ever contested by a F1, as well as a 4th place finish at the 24hrs of Le Mans in 1995. Today it wears the same black and grey Ueno Clinic livery that it won the 1995 Suzuka 1000kms with.

05R

Chassis 05R was sold to French industrialist, Jean-Luc Maury-Laribiere, the boss of tile and brick manufacturer, Tuileries and Briqueteries Francaises (TBF). Ahead of the 24hrs of Le Mans in 1995, Maury-Laribiere approached César Baldaccini to come up with a livery that mimicked the sculptures Hervé Poulain had created from his crushed racing trophies. As you may know, Hervé Poulain is the founder of Artcurial and commissioned the very first BMW art cars. César’s design was hand painted onto the car by the artist, Filip Godet.

06R

One of the most famous F1 GTR race cars, 06R wears the same Harrods livery that it did when it almost won the 24hrs of Le Mans outright in 1995. It was famously driven by the father son duo of Derek and Justin Bell and owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed. Later in its life it was bought by the commercial director at McLaren, David Clark.

14R

Owned by one of the greatest aerodynamicists in Formula 1 history, Adrian Newey, 14R is a 1996 GTR race car converted for road use, wearing the F1 LM specification Papaya paint scheme. Mr. Newey drove 14R to the event himself!

16R

This visually excellent FINA-liveried 1996 version of the F1 GTR was campaigned by BMW Motorsport on a semi-works basis. It was driven by the Anglo-French grouping of Steve Soper, Jacques Laffite and Marc Duez to an 11th overall finish in the 24 hours of Le Mans.

The GTR Longtails

19R

Chassis 19R is highly significant as the very first of the F1 GTR Longtail race cars from 1997. This menacing all-black race car is famous for its endearing nickname, “Swiggles”, which is a nod to its unique livery.

22R

The long-tailed sister car to chassis 15R (both owned by Roald Goethe), this fabulous F1 race car wears a vibrant Gulf Oil livery, which upon closer inspection, possesses a marvellous metallic fleck.

25R

Also wearing a Gulf Oil livery, chassis 25R recently enjoyed a complete restoration by McLaren themselves. This immaculate racer is exactly what a brand new long tail F1 GTR would look like today.