McLaren Cars is an automaker founded in 1990 with the object of producing road cars based on Formula One technology. It works closely with the Team McLaren Formula One constructor and is part of the McLaren Group.
F1
McLaren Cars' first product was the McLaren F1, a sports car and also a supercar priced at £640,000 (approx. US$ 1,150,000). The F1 was a three seat coupe with the driver situated in the middle of the car. The 6.1-litre V12 engine, which produces 627 bhp (461 kW), was designed and built by BMW.
Production of the original F1 began in 1991 and 64 cars were built. The LM model was then introduced in 1993 and 5 cars were built. The GT model had only 3 cars built. The GTR was then introduced in 1992 and 28 cars were built over the next three years.
Production stopped in May 1998 after a total of 100 cars were built.
The F1 holds the record for the fastest production car ever made, with an independently measured top speed of 240.14 mph (386.39 km/h). It has a 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds. However this has been contested by the Koenigsegg CCR.
The only other comparable vehicles are the Ferrari Enzo and the Bugatti EB110, though plans are in the works for a faster Bugatti, the EB 16/4 Veyron, and both Cadillac and Chrysler have produced concept cars which would outpace the F1. In 1995, a McLaren F1 GTR (the racing version of the F1) won the 24 hours of Le Mans race. The F1 GTR also took 3rd, 4th, 5th and 13th places in the race.
SLR
In 1999 McLaren Cars agreed to design and manufacture the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren in conjunction with DaimlerChrysler (who also supply engines to the Team McLaren racing team under the Mercedes-Benz brand).
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