Race/Series: Le Mans 24 Hours 1995
Result: Outright Winner, 299 laps
Drivers: Yannick Dalmas (F)/Masanori Sekiya (J)/J.J. Lehto(SF)
The Mclaren F1 road car was designed to be the ultimate road car, and a majority of people would agree that it achieved this. It was the fastest outright production road car ever built for several years, and has only recently been surpassed. However, it was designed as much more than just a speed machine and record breaker, and it is arguably still the ultimate drivers car. One thing it wasn't originally designed for however was racing, but after requests from several customer teams Mclaren decided to develop a race car to fit into the new GT1 category. This category was intended for race cars derived from road cars, though over time changes in the requirements for this class meant that the race cars derived very little from any production road car (as can be seen with the Porsche 911 GT1).
The race version came to be known as the GTR, and was heavily modified to meet the regulations, including smaller air restrictors which brought the power output of the 6.1 litre BMW V12 down to around 600bhp, a little less than the road version, and various aerodynamic changes. Despite the misgivings of Mclaren and Gordon Murray (the designer) about the reliability of the car over 24 hours, and in particular the gearbox, of the seven F1 GTRs entered into the 1995 Le Mans, five finished, in positions 1,3,4,5 and 13. The winning chassis seen here was intended to be a development car only, but Mclaren did not have time to build a new car when the Japanese "UenoClinic" group expressed an interest in sponsoring a car, so the development chassis was used. The front and rear bodywork was not even painted for the race! The F1 is the only car closely based on a roadgoing car to have won Le Mans in many years, and was also the first victory for a Japanese driver. This is perhaps not the most desirable looking Mclaren of the 1995 cars that contributed to the amazingly successful debut, but as the winning car, and the only Mclaren to win outright, it is still undoubtedly a very significant one.
The model is made by UT models in 1:18 scale, although this particular first edition version was sold under the Paul's Model Art name. Though available for budget prices when new, these models (in particular the first editions, which boast a more correct rear wing) now command a premium somewhat above their original prices, and I paid around £45 for this one, which is not in mint condition sadly. Packaging is a window style box.
Exterior
The exterior of this car can best be described as average. This is perhaps a little harsh, but judged by current standards this model does show it's age. Importantly, the overall stance and appearance are good. Some openings are at least partially perforated, and panel gaps are ok. Doors are not a perfect fit but the gaps on this car are disguised by the dark colour of the car. The headlights are one of the more disappointing aspects of the exterior. The outer lenses are a nice fit, but the 'bulbs' behind are simple flat silver discs which are made quite crudely. The small front lights and indicators are also just painted on, as are the side indicators, and as a result they lack depth and realism. Also, the front orange indicators should be on the inside of the clear lights rather than as they are here. The four round rear lights are all separate pieces, but their appearance is spoiled a little by attachment stubs. Exhausts are not at all perforated. The rear wing is nicely made, and on my first edition it is a true replica of the real car, but on the later edition, the incorrect rear wing was fitted.
Score: 6/10
Paint
Paint is reasonably smoothly applied with no obvious flaws. It is not the best paint job by today's standards but it is still difficult to see any real problems. The plastic engine cover is not a perfect match, but once again on a black car this is not too obvious. The biggest fault with the paint is that the lighter parts of the car replicating the unpainted caron fibre of the real car are not quite the right colour. The paint is a little bit too light. Again, this is only really nitpicking when the car is sat on display.
Score: 7/10
Tampo and Decals
As an older model all sponsors and markings are decals, and this is one of the weak points of the model given it's age. They become very fragile and prone to cracking and coming away from the body, as some on my car have done. However, if you are lucky enough to find a 'new' car this may not be a problem for a while at least. On the positive side, all the decals seem to be accurate and correctly positioned, and the alignment on the decals that are split by the door gaps is quite good.
Score: 7/10
Tyres and Wheels
This model has racing slick tyres, which have a very slight moulding line visible along the middle of them. The tyres have a rubber and not at all plastic appearance and the sidewalls are marked with Michelin. The wheels are nicely formed, with no real criticisms, and are also marked with OZ. Wheel nuts are reasonably replicated.
Score: 7/10
Brakes
A weak point of this model as with many UT models. The discs are a grey colour and look like the plastic they are made of. 'Grooves' are not actually cut into the disc, but simply painted on lines. The discs spin with the wheels but there are no calipers at all.
Score: 4/10
Engine
The engine cover is plastic and the hinges are very flimsy, but the cover is still very fiddly to open. There is not that much engine detail to be seen, and so little to comment on. The big air intake/filter dominates the engine bay. Below you can see the main block of the engine with nicely done McLaren and BMW Power logos. Other than that there are a few moulded black components and the exhaust outlets in silver. Perhaps the most obvious piece in the engine bay is the 'metal' brace that is painted in bright yellow. I assume this is supposed to replicate gold, as the F1 was famous for having the engine bay lined in gold, but the yellow paint is not very convincing at all. Overall, not truly awful, but not outstanding either.
Score: 5/10
Interior
Doors swing upwards on neat but fragile looking hinges, and only one of my doors will stay open on its own. The interior is almost all black plastic with detail simply moulded and/or painted in. The hard seat has belts moulded in, although buckles are highlighted in silver. Buttons on the dashboard are painted on to raised pieces of the black plastic, and the digital display is a nicely detailed sticker. Pedals are niecly done, with detailed seperate pedals and silver and yellow parts. Overall though, another sign of the model's age.
Score: 4/10
Overall, this model shows its age, and mine in particular as a second hand buy needs some care taken for moving and photographing. In relation to modern models, this car lacks detail, but despite this these cars demand high prices due to the subject matter and lack of competition - no other racing McLarens are available in this scale. Objectively though, this is not a great model, and a lot more is available for this money nowadays. Nevertheless, this model is not so bad as to be avoided if the subject matter appeals.
Overall Score: 5.7/10