An insight into my obsession

The_Dark_Side · 7 Jun 2007 at 18:46

firstly i apologise if this is a repost, but if so i haven't seen it posted here before nor did i see this when it was originally transmitted.
please watch these three short vids in order and post your opinions.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

For me, it's as good as it gets. You can keep your CCX's/Veyrons/Zondas all day long if i can have one of these things. The Veyron, for example, is seriously more powerful AND faster but it's more of an obscenely fast GT car than a drivers car.
anyway, most people on here will have read of my borderline fanaticism but there are some details in these vids that most will not be aware of so i'd like to hear your opinions.
thanks for your time.

Sargeantpepper · 7 Jun 2007 at 19:04

I agree with you whole-heartedly. What a machine...would still be a totally praiseworthy supercar if they were making them today.

Much like Concorde!

paradigm · 7 Jun 2007 at 19:05

I agree wholeheartedly, much rather have a McLaren F1 than any of the current crop of >200MPH cars.

355F1512TR · 7 Jun 2007 at 19:13

The Veyron is an imposter to the crown of the McLaren F1. I do remember what Jeremy Clarkson once said after stepping out of the F1 though, about how it just didn't excite him :confused:

I guess he's driven one and I haven't, but still.

Sargeantpepper · 7 Jun 2007 at 19:20

I take anything JC says with a pinch of salt!

I can understand how it could be very clinical though.

It is the ultimate supercar....British Design...German Engine (what an engine!)...and enough seats to take 2 german lass's home from nordschleiffe

Chris1712 · 7 Jun 2007 at 19:25

i thought your obsession was moaning about people creeping over the speedlimit and generally driving cars with enthusiasm?

Lopéz · 7 Jun 2007 at 19:34

Chris1712 said:
i thought your obsession was moaning about people creeping over the speedlimit and generally driving cars with enthusiasm?

I don't think you read his posts very carefully.

Entai · 7 Jun 2007 at 19:45

Uh Oh, what have you done, I feel something coming over me, :eek:

what is it, oh no, fanatical rant starting.

The F1 is, in my humble opinion, the ONLY true supercar that was conceived, and designed by a true car fanatic, to be the best, with no compromise on any level, it was not some "engineering experiment", "to see if we can do it", with some outlandish design specs to meet.

It was conceived, designed and built to be one thing, and one thing only.

THE BEST DRIVERS CAR EVER.

It suceeded, there will never be a car that will be better at what it does, yes some are faster, yes, some have more power, even some are better handling, (although that is a very speculative point), but that does not mean anything.

Really untill you have actually driven one it is very hard to describe what it is about the F1 that is so special, the way you are part of the car, the way every sinew of your body transmits the feeling of what the car is doing at every turn, you can place the car millimeter perfect, you know instictively almost, exactly what the car is doing and exactly what the car is capable of. The only other cars I have ever driven that even get near to that feeling are all purpose built single seat race cars.

The McLaren F1 will never be surpassed, and most likely will never even be equalled, it is one of a kind.

/Rant over now,

Are you all still there

Sorry about but I am very passionate about some things and the F1 is pretty much at the top of the list............................But don't tell the wife.

The_Dark_Side · 7 Jun 2007 at 19:47

Chris1712 said:
i thought your obsession was moaning about people creeping over the speedlimit and generally driving cars with enthusiasm?

that's what happens when you don't read something properly, you end up coming away with the wrong conclusion.

back OT, the Mac was the main yardstick by which the Veyron was judged and in terms of sheer performance it is just SO much quicker than the older car.
but as a complete package you need to think about fewer numbers of F1's, the fact they are completely individual to each buyer, the attention to detail...i'm still amazed even 15 years later.

The_Dark_Side · 7 Jun 2007 at 19:50

Entai said:
Sorry about but I am very passionate about some things and the F1 is pretty much at the top of the list............................But don't tell the wife.

haven't you driven a Veyron?

BTW, i know you dislike the gentlemen in the video below but, i enjoyed watching it and i do love his attitude.

Enzo V Mac

355F1512TR · 7 Jun 2007 at 20:12

That was a surprisingly good article for 5th gear. Can't really argue with the verdict tbh, as much as I'd like to fight the Enzos corner.

Entai · 7 Jun 2007 at 20:21

The_Dark_Side said:
haven't you driven a Veyron?

BTW, i know you dislike the gentlemen in the video below but, i enjoyed watching it and i do love his attitude.

Enzo V Mac

Yes, I have driven a Veyron.

I am at work at the moment and we have had access denied to Youtube here, for a few months now.

I am guessing from your comment it's a clip of "Tiffany Dell" driving the F1, bit too much of a showman for me, and he has far to many hissy fits behind the scenes, but credit where it is due, he does have pretty good car control.

wolseley · 7 Jun 2007 at 20:43

The F1 is an awesome car. Personally though, I prefer the XJ220.

Entai · 7 Jun 2007 at 20:53

wolseley said:
The F1 is an awesome car. Personally though, I prefer the XJ220.

Maybe the Jaguar would have been a nice car if it had actually recieved the engine it was supposed to have had, instead of what amounts to a Metro engine, but as it is, I'm sorry but no contest in my mind.

JRS · 7 Jun 2007 at 21:09

Entai said:
Maybe the Jaguar would have been a nice car if it had actually recieved the engine it was supposed to have had, instead of what amounts to a Metro engine, but as it is, I'm sorry but no contest in my mind.

I was told (unsure of if it was actually true or not) by a Jaguar engineer that the reason they went to the V6 was because they couldn't get the V12 through the emissions tests and still get a large enough power output to shoot for a massive top speed. I had to resist the urge to ask "was it worth it?" given that about a year after the XJ220 started production the McLaren F1 hit the road and blew the XJ220's top speed completely out of the water....

To my mind, they should have stuck with the V12 and aimed only for 200mph. Getting hung up on building the fastest car in the world ruined it.

Entai · 7 Jun 2007 at 21:24

JRS said:
I was told (unsure of if it was actually true or not) by a Jaguar engineer that the reason they went to the V6 was because they couldn't get the V12 through the emissions tests and still get a large enough power output to shoot for a massive top speed. I had to resist the urge to ask "was it worth it?" given that about a year after the XJ220 started production the McLaren F1 hit the road and blew the XJ220's top speed completely out of the water....

To my mind, they should have stuck with the V12 and aimed only for 200mph. Getting hung up on building the fastest car in the world ruined it.

The original engine was going to be prepared by Tom Walkinshaw Racing and would have been a 6.2L version of Jag's famous V12. It was going to have 4 valves per cylinder and quad camshafts.
Exactly as you say they had huge troubles getting the engine to meet ever stricter emmissions, and also there was a couple of fundamental design flaws that were almost impossible to get over without vast expenditure, with little gain.
So they replaced it with a modified version of the engine from the Metro 6R4, TWR had vast knowledge of that engine and it was very easy and cheap to modify to get over the initial target output of 500bhp, in the end IIRC they got around 550bhp.

JRS · 7 Jun 2007 at 21:31

Entai said:
Exactly as you say they had huge troubles getting the engine to meet ever stricter emmissions, and also there was a couple of fundamental design flaws that were almost impossible to get over without vast expenditure, with little gain.

Given the fiasco that it actually ended up as, in hindsight I expect they'd have spent the money

355F1512TR · 7 Jun 2007 at 21:31

great demonstration of the XJ220's turbo-lag here.

No doubt the usual JC exaduration, but amusing none the less. Also, sombody please tell me what the music at the start of this video is, I've been wondering for approximatly 10 years, or whenever I first saw that video!

Draeger · 7 Jun 2007 at 21:33

Has anyone ever seen an F1 on the road?. :eek:

I spotted one in my home town a few months after they were on sale. I was at work, sat in the back of a fire engine on a nightshift coming back to the station from a fire.

It was coming the opposite way as we passed our local Police headquarters.

I nearly fell off my seat, and had to do about three double takes to confirm it was actually an F1.

Not seen another one on the roads around here since.

marl · 7 Jun 2007 at 21:33

Fantastic car, when i win the lottery, or pools, or numbers come up on the premium bond i'll get one. It'd be something even to get a sail in one.