The ultimate book, in a limited-edition of 1000 copies, of the Mclaren F1 GTR. Those who are already convinced can order directly.

Not convinced yet? Is almost impossible but then just read on.

The Mclaren F1 has long been our favorite supercar. The design of top designer Gordon Murray coupled with the BMW V12 of Paul Rosche is still a masterpiece. Despite its age of 28 years, the F1 is still highly regarded by many car enthusiasts.

A racing version of this first Mclaren was also developed: the F1 GTR. Again, a collaboration between the duo Murray and Rosche. And it was an instant success, winning the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours with a debutant GT car that was derived from a street car. They also win the BPR GT Championship in 1995 and 1996. The Mclaren F1 GTR humiliated the competition, especially Ferrari and Porsche.

The work is in two parts. Part 1 discusses the development and construction of the GTR. On top of that all the races that have ever been participated in, both in Europe and in Japan. The reports are complete with all the necessary details. There is also attention for the man without whom none of this would have taken place: Bruce Mclaren. The founder, team owner and designer of the very first Mclaren racing cars. Without him, this F1 GTR would never have seen the light of day.

In part two, all 28 built cars are discussed in detail. Who drove it? Where and when? What is their track record?  What happened to them afterwards and where are they now? Many questions, but they all get a perfect answer. And there are some surprises. It turns out that there are two identical copies of the Bigazzi F1 GTR of BMW France and UK. One original and of course one replica. We also find out that Adrian Newey owns one of the two Japanese Lark racing cars. Newey has had the race car converted into a full street version of the F1 GTR LM.

There are also interviews with the main drivers, especially Ray Bellm and Thomas Bscher, without whom there would have been no GTR. They were able to convince Ron Dennis to develop the racing car. Dennis refused at first and both men then wanted to have street cars converted themselves.  Dennis did not want this and finally gave the green light. In retrospect, the right decision. The racing program turned out to be more lucrative than the street cars. On top of that, a victory in the 24 hours of Le Mans and all that publicity for the Mclaren brand as a car manufacturer. Dennis could use this because in Formula 1, the brand was in a lesser period. Honda had already left for a while and after the issue with the Peugeot engine they had just switched to Mercedes, but this project was still in its early start. Those successes would follow later.

Author Mark Cole conducted one year of research for the book and conducted more than one hundred interviews with almost all those involved in the project.  This is certainly not Mark’s first publication. He has previously produced works on the Ford GT, Ferrari GTO and various Group C Porsches, among others. He himself thinks that this book is the highlight of his long career as a journalist and press officer. We can only agree.  Amongst other things, Mark was press officer at Rothmans Porsche and Nissan in the Group C era. Afterwards, as a Eurosport commentator, he experienced all races of the F1 GTR in the commentary booth. Each book is numbered and signed by the author.

The foreword is provided by, how could it be otherwise, Gordon Murray.

The two books in papaya orange (almost obligatory color) are packed in a grey slipcase. They are written in English and contain 648 pages with 775 photographs. The book was published by Porter Press, which has once again delivered a gem. It is not cheap, but for the enthusiast it is worth the money.  All info via www.porterpress.co.uk

Those who are still not completely satisfied can also opt for the very exclusive Collector’s Edition from the Porter series. Here, the books have a high-quality grey leather cover. The slipcase is in orange and has the same quality leather cover. Both books also feature an identical metal McLaren emblem as on the real F1 GTR and signed by Gordon Murray and originators Ray Bellm and Thomas Bscher. The number of this edition is limited to 50 pieces and is therefore a super exclusive book of a super exclusive car. This Collector’s Edition is not yet available but can already be reserved.

The high standards set by Porter Press were already evident in the previous works in their “Ultimate Series” series. This book about the F1 GTR is no exception and raises the bar even higher. Not only is it beautiful on the outside, but also on the inside it is of very high quality. This is not only true for the printing but also for the content. It is the perfect book about one particular type of car and is certainly the best that has appeared in this category in 2020.

Convinced now? We hope so!

Article: Joris de Cock
Images: Porter Press