1995 Le Mans 24 Hours Archives

McLaren celebrates 1995 victory at Le Mans with 5 exclusive Senna F1 GTRs

In the 1995 Le Mans 24-Hour race, two McLaren F1 GTRs finished 1^st and 2^nd, with three others finishing 4^th, 5^th and 13^th. 25 years later, the company celebrates that victorious occasion with 5 customer-commissioned examples of the Senna GTR model.

Each car is finished in a unique hand-painted livery completed in more than 800 hours of painstaking craftsmanship. Every painted detail on the 5 cars was finished by hand at McLaren Special Operations (MSO). Special permissions were granted by brand owners such as Gulf and Harrods and by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (the Le Mans organiser) to recreate logos and trademarks.

The roof of each car even features an authentically recreated scrutineering sticker, which is the only piece of vinyl in the livery. Each car also comes with a ‘1 of 1’ dedication plaque featuring the VIN number of the car, with provenance details of its 1995 Le Mans F1 GTR ‘twin’ etched on the carbonfibre sill.

There’s also a more powerful engine which develops 845 ps/800 Nm, an increase of 20 ps over the 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine in the regular Senna GTR. Revised torque curve characteristics deliver more torque at lower revs and enable a redline set closer to 9,000 rpm than the ‘soft limit’ of 8,250 rpm.

OZ Racing, which supplied the wheels for the McLaren F1 GTR, created a bespoke, 5-spoke GTR LM wheel design. The brake calipers finished in satin gold are another nod to the F1 and the suspension wishbones are in an anodised version of the same colour.

In the cabin, the exclusive features include a racing steering wheel with anodised gold gearshift paddles and control buttons (in tribute to the McLaren F1’s gold-coloured gear linkage), and titanium nitride pedals with LM logos. The leather door-pull straps and lightweight carbonfibre racing seats are complemented by bespoke headrest embroidery and an MSO 6-point racing harness coloured black with body-colour pads.

“The incredible cars of the McLaren Senna GTR LM collection are an exceptionally fitting way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Le Mans victory in 1995,” said Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren Automotive. “That achievement is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest endurance racing performances of all time, but for McLaren its importance was even greater because it demonstrated an immediate and undeniable connection between the racing DNA of our brand and the start of our road car journey.”

All five owners will have the opportunity in 2021 to participate in an unprecedented Le Mans circuit driving experience on the morning before the race starts, accompanied by the original F1 GTRs that competed in 1995.

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McLaren celebrates 1995 Le Mans victory with special edition of 720S

In 1995, McLaren made its 24 Hours of Le Mans debut with seven McLaren F1 GTR cars entered in the endurance classic. It was the first time the McLaren F1 GTR had competed in a race of greater than 4 hours’ duration and the first time the production-based machine had competed against sports-prototype cars.

Leading from the second hour of a race held in treacherously-wet conditions, the McLarens dominated from then on with the Ueno Clinic-sponsored car driven by JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya emerging victorious. The trio completed 298 laps – one more than its closest rival. The win headlined a McLaren 1-3-4-5 finish and Sekiya became the first Japanese driver to win Le Mans.

This month, the company is celebrating that impressive achievement – victory on its first attempt in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – with a special edition 720S coupe. The 720S Le Mans takes the 720S supercar to a new level of exclusivity.

Each of the Le Mans edition cars carries a dedication plate featuring a ‘McLaren 25 Anniversary Le Mans’ logo. The VIN of each car will begin with 298, in recognition of the number of laps completed by the race-winning F1 GTR.

Powering the 720S Le Mans is the mid-mounted, 720 ps M840T 4.0-litre McLaren engine. The twin-turbocharged V8 propels the car from 0-100 km/h in a claimed 2.9 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 7.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 341 km/h.

A carbonfibre Monocage II central structure and Proactive Chassis Control II suspension system help to ensure that the 720S is the lightest car in its class, with an unparalleled breadth of dynamic ability.

The fully-functional roof scoop channels air to provide additional cooling for the powertrain and helps to drive heat evacuation – ideal for the additional demands of circuit driving. The carbonfibre louvred front fenders reduce aerodynamic lift generated by the rotation of the front wheels, as well as reducing vehicle weight.

Customers have a choice of exterior and interior colour combinations, with all cars featuring a portfolio of unique features as standard. Unique 5-spoke LM wheels echo the design of the #59 F1 GTR wheels and also feature ‘Le Mans’ etching with gold-coloured brake calipers behind them.

The interior has a choice of two bespoke black Alcantara themes with accents in McLaren Orange or Dove Grey. The carbonfibre racing seats have embroidered headrests with ‘McLaren 25 anniversary Le Mans’ logo.

To further enhance the motorsport connection and for track use, a titanium harness bar and 6-point harnesses from the MSO Defined range can be added. Satin finish visual carbonfibre air vents, extended shift paddles and extended sill trim with McLaren branding from the same range are also available, and two option packs of satin finish visual carbonfibre interior components can be specified.

Just 50 units of this Le Mans edition will be available for sale worldwide with a base price starting at £254,500 (about RM1.341 million).

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