1994 McLaren F1 from UK and Ireland - Comments

The F1 is a six speed manual, not an automatic! Do you actually own this £650000 car?

F1's can be custom made, maybe he's telling the truth about it being an automatic.

Wonder what kind of auto can take the power n torque of a McLaren's engine?

Sorry but this review is obviously total rubbish. Automatic? First year of reg 1994!!??... What a load of nonsense.

And then you just have to look at the fact that this is an F1 car and this person gets it in auto?? WHY? I don't understand, I thought the point in getting a McLaren F1 was cause of the similarity to a real racing car.

If it IS in fact an auto, that could explain why this guy is complaining about gear-box problems eh? I can't think of a production auto box that can cope with 627bhp straight out of the box...

Obviously this review is completely fake!

And yes, some things are custom made, like the color of the car, seat, driving position, pedals, etc.

Everything BUT the gearbox position.

I must admit I understand how tempting it could be for some people to brag about what they don't have and wish they did have.

True sports cars only come in manuals, so to the one bragging about having an auto Mclaren, STOP, you're making fun of a great manufacturer, wish I had the money to buy that sort weapon. Although it's a pity that Hakkinen stalled on the grid, maybe he had the auto gear box that you speak of.

I miss my F50? and yet he's gettin a 360 Modena? If he can afford to buy a 360 then a McLaren F1, why get rid of the F50? Sorry, but a McLaren F1 is a true car and how can it take away the thrill of driving when it is a racing car?? Sorry but I also agree a auto for a maclaren F1? Sorry but auto's are a lot slower and under the over 600hp they won't survive! What a fake!

Regards the auto question here - I thought it had those paddles on the sides of the wheel to shift gear and no clutch pedal. Some call them semi-automatic gearboxes or automatic clutches. That may answer the problem here. Please correct me if I am wrong.

The 1973 Pontiac Firebird Super Duty 455 had an auto box - did 0-60 5.6secs, high 12s, 0-62 in first gear, the fastest car in the US from 1973 to 1983 pushing out 400+ hp. Don't underestimate the auto box.

According to my F1 brochure (I collect many different ones) ,the F1 is only available in a 6-Speed Manual, but it is true the first year of registration was in 1993, for the 1994 model year.

That guy bought his F1 in 1994 and his previous car was a Ferrari F50. But AFAIK the F50 wasn't sold before 1996. Or am I wrong?

No, you're quite correct. And no the F1 does not have paddle change. The Ferrari F60 was indeed produced only after this persons F1. So one wonders how he did it! And as it costs £330,000 and only 349 were made, we will wonder. Did you know that you have to have owned at least 3 Ferraris before you have the option of an F50?

That's crap, you don't have own at least 3 Ferraris before you have the option of an F50. Money talks!!!

It is not crap. Ferrari will only sell you an F50 if you have purchased more than 3 cars from them. And as only 349 were ever made they can afford to do this. Money may talk, but when a car costs $555,000 you need a huge amount to cover the shout.

Please come on give us all a break. The F1 is the fastest car ever. At least if you're gonna lie, read a little about cars first and by the way, was your F1 two door, four door or a hatchback?? One day your dreams may come true.

I saw a Jeremy Clarkson review on "Hyper-Cars" and he said it was not exciting enough!! He rated the Ferrari F40 as the all time best. The F40 is an amazing car, and in ways is better than the McLaren:

1) Better looking

2) Much rawer and race like driving experience

3) Much better sounding engine

4) A lot cheaper, and that badge of course

5) Last ferrari made before Enzo died, so it has some special sentimental attatchment to it

6) Still amazingly quick and who really does 0-60 on public roads in 3.8 seconds without risking death or jail for a long time?

Of course the McLaren is very very good, but imagine this. You are very rich, but still have spent nearly a million on a car. Think about it, a car that goes from A to B that's it. You have to spend £25000 a year just to service it. Depends how much of a stinge you are. I would not spend that much on a car even if I had £10 million.

I would buy lots of cars and still have spent less than that!!

The fact about having to have owned 3 Ferrari's before being allowed to have an F50 is absolutely true. It was partly to screen out people who were going to buy the car, then sell it on again immediately for a profit.

I too saw the JC review of the McLaren F1 in which he also said that it was the best of them all, no question. It just wasnt his favourite. I mean in 8 years of being around the F1 has yet to be beaten. A 3 seat super nutter car that is more practical than a fiesta, faster than any motorbike (Busa included), an engine note that makes grown men start to dribble and engineering excellence that is unparallelled. There can be only 1, and it is the F1.

I don't mean to have a go at the person who said this, just a point I would like to make in response to:

"6) Still amazingly quick and who really does 0-60 on public roads in 3.8 seconds without risking death or jail for a long time?".

You have acceleration confused with speed here, many people do it. There's no law that I know of against accelerating too fast alone.

Just a point, don't mean to bag anyone.

(Speaking of acceleration, give me an RX-7 and 1/10th the cost of an F1 and I'll go faster :) see http://www.rx7.com/racing/content/times.html)

Cheers to you all, the F1 does rock indeed!

Actually, in my area, you CAN be pulled over for acceleration. The local police seem not to appreciate this behavior, even if you never break the limit. I belive it is caused "reckless driving" or some other such trash.

Cheers

Hi there everyone, just a couple of comments. Firstly the Mclaren F1 has paddles located behind the steering wheel, but they are there to select functions such as the trip computer and the like, not to change gear. Secondly, has anyone thought that the auto F1 owner might be disabled in some way and may require a hand throttle and thus at least a semi-auto. I don't really believe it myself though. I have had the F1 experience as a passenger on a private run, it was at the military proving ground in Cobham, Surrey. Creighton Brown was behind the wheel and took us to 160 MPH (the limit for the circuit). I must admit it was a bit of an anti-climax, maybe three laps isn't enough to make you even realise that you did indeed have the F1 experience.