Gordon Murray confirms McLaren F1 successor
Man behind template for first hypercar vents frustration McLaren F1 has never been bettered, says he's working on a true replacementGordon Murray has announced he is working on a true successor to the original McLaren F1 that will be powered by a V12 engine, have a manual gearbox and be once again based on a lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque.
Confirming work had begun on a McLaren F1 v.20 to
, Murray said the motivation behind creating a hypercar sequel came from the frustration that none of the established players had attempted a follow-up to the seminal F1."I truly believe nobody's done another McLaren F1 since the F1," Murray told the US mag, adding: "And that's because it was such a single-person focused design, lightweight, [focused] on driver feedback and feel, the V12 sound, the feedback in the steering and the attention to the detail of the engineering.
"It's not a criticism that nobody's done that, but if you're making 700 LaFerraris, you can't do that. You have to use production bits. So, I thought it was about time somebody did another McLaren F1."
According to the former Formula 1 design, the window to produce a successor worthy of the McLaren F1 lineage might be closing due to tightening emission standards.
The details of the car Murray and his IGM car brand are mouth-watering.
The second-generation hypercar will once again use a naturally aspirated V12 that will be combined with a traditional manual gearbox, although it's not known where Murray plans to source is powertrain from.
Instead of the novel iStream hybrid chassis that's been developed for smaller lightweight chassis Murray is developing concurrently, the hypercar project will be based around a carbon-fibre monocoque that could once again see the F1's delta-formation three-seat layout.
"The only place to drive a supercar really is in the middle, Murray said. "Particularly on a narrow, windy road. You can place the car so accurately."
Perhaps more impressive is Murray says his new hypercar will be around 100kg lighter than the original F1, despite stricter crash regs.
"Nowadays, when somebody announces a new supercar and it's 3300 pounds (1500kg), they get applauded, which I find unbelievable," Murray said. "This car is under 2200 pounds (1000kg)."
Set to go on sale in 2020, a ultra-limited run of car is expected with a price tag likely to be around $2 million.
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