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McLaren F1 Chassis #001 - Magnesium Silver/black - No Plate
McLaren F1 Chassis #001 - Magnesium Silver/black - No Plate
Chassis #001 F1 was the first ever McLaren F1 production car. Being the first, it had some slight differences from all the other F1s. To begin with, look at the bodywork around the door release button. In these images, the recess surrounding the button is a straightforward circular shape. This detail appeared exclusively on the five F1 road car prototypes (chassis XP1 through XP5), as well as the first two production cars, chassis #001 and #002. From chassis #003 onward, the design was revised: the circular recess was replaced with a U-shaped opening that extends toward the door edge, making it easier to slide fingers underneath and lift the door after pressing the button.
The side mirrors visible in these photos are also not the same as those fitted to most F1s. These particular mirrors were originally taken from the Citroën CX and later appeared on a number of high-end and exotic cars, including the Jaguar XJ220, Lotus Esprit, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and DB7. It is generally accepted that chassis #004 marked the first F1 to receive the finalized production mirrors, which were sourced from the Volkswagen Corrado. In addition to a noticeably different housing shape, the door mounting point on these mirrors is distinct from the later design.
The only other silver F1 that shared both of these characteristics was the third prototype, chassis XP3. That said, another early design revision helps differentiate this car from XP3: the vehicle shown here is equipped with the final production front turn signals, a design shared with the Lotus Esprit and Elan. XP3, even today, still retains the prototype-only indicators originally used on the F1 test cars. The contours of the recessed area that houses the indicator lens are entirely different from those on XP3, and this is not a detail that could have been easily altered after the fact.
Given the July 15, 1994 date stamp, these photographs were almost certainly taken very soon after the showroom officially opened
Thats about all the information available about the McLaren F1 Chassis #001.
Appearances Click titles for original posts
Appearances Click titles for original posts
The first evidence of the McLaren F1 #001 was from a few photos date stamped July 15, 1994. In these pictures, we can see #001 with the right side door opened, and is also where we can see the recessed button. Please note that this showroom is now closed, since about March 2004
It would seem the F1 remained in Park Lane unitl its shutdown in 2004, and may have transferred over to the new McLaren UK showroom, although there is no known data to suport that. After Park Lane, the latest spot of chassis #001 I could find was when Reddit user u/Dodge_Viper posted a spot of #001 on August 9th, 2015 in downtown Chicago.
#001 was spotted soon after the Chicago sighting on October 9th, 2015 at Yellowstone National Park during the 2015 McLaren P1/F1 tour. While there is no pictures, this was documented multiple times, so we know it did happen.
Yet again, #001 disappeared for 6 years. According to a deleted Reddit account on this post, it lives in a warehouse in the south loop of Chicago. Unfortunate, but at least we know it is safe. Anywho, Ben Levy spotted #001 around Dec 31, 2021 (the blog's post date). As seen below, there is some really good pictures that Ben took, so enjoy!
This time, there was only about 6 months in between spots, the next one being at Triple F Productions (note: F1 #001 can be seen at 5:08 in video) annual car show at Mercedes Benz of Easton, Comubus, Ohio. Reddit user u/SnooRabbits8735 posted seeing the car at the show. It is worth to note, the rear we can see a dealer plate for Mouse Motors, who deals with many high end cars in Chicago, and was the likely owner of this car then, and maybe even now.
This car was also spotted on the same day by u/Jorbiherrera the link to his post is here, although the picture looks like it was taken in a different location than the original ones, so im not sure?
It was also spotted by u/Hotwheelcollector34 (deleted account), though posted a year later. that post is here
The latest sighting of #001 was when it was showcased at Eyes on Design in 2024. u/Chizz-Dippler posted this car. A plate is shown with the F1's designer's name on it, Gordon Murray.
The #001 will be on showcase at the Canadian International Autoshow in Toronto from Febuary 12-22. I will be going to this show, and will upload some pics once i go. Stay tuned!
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