McLaren Special
Operations (MSO) is kicking off its new F1 Certified program with the reveal of
a rebuilt F1 GTR Longtail that competed at Le Mans in 1997. F1 Certified is a
service meant to safeguard the originality of the F1 supercar and is open to
all owners of the iconic model.
The F1 GTR Longtail
chassis number 25 is the last F1 GTR to compete in non-historic race series.
The car has undergone a full restoration to “as new” condition and is showcased
at the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance (August 31 – September 2, 2018).
The restoration
took 18 months and was made using only new, old-stock GTR parts McLaren stored
at its factory in containers last opened 20 years ago. That ensures it now has
exactly the same specification and livery it had when it ran its first Le Mans
24-hour race.
The parts include
the “tall” Le Mans gearing and the blue roof identification lights, taken from
an aircraft’s wing. Actually, that’s the only non-McLaren part in the entire
car. The new body panels fitted to the car display the exact livery and number
as in 1997, making 25R what McLaren calls “a true 21-years-old time-warp
machine.”
The car was
subsequently repaired by the factory and sold to a team in Japan where it
carried on racing until 2005. That year, it became the last F1 GTR ever to
compete in a contemporary race series. It was brought back to the UK in 2016
after being on static display for 11 years in a Japanese collection. The
current owner entrusted “25R” to MSO for some much-needed repair work.
McLaren F1 owners
who will restore or repair their car via the F1 Certified program will be given
a unique Certificate of Authenticity to attest the car’s provenance,
originality, service life, road/race history, and condition. Along with the
certificate, owners get a bespoke illustrated book documenting the history of
their car. All 106 McLaren F1s built between 1993 and 1998 for road and track
use are eligible for the program.
