Gordon Murray’s New Cars Are So F1 It Hurts

There are tributes. There are homages. And then there’s Gordon Murray, who appears to have looked at the McLaren F1 and said, “Yes, I’ll have another go at that, thank you very much.” This weekend, he wheeled out not one but two new cars that, if we’re being brutally honest, look suspiciously like photocopies of a certain 1990s legend. With carbon fibre. And roof snorkels.

Let’s start with the S1 LM. It is, in no uncertain terms, a road-legal love letter to the McLaren F1 GTR. From the central driving position and gold-lined engine bay, to the roof-mounted intake and split rear wing, the S1 LM isn’t just inspired by the F1 - it’s practically identity theft with better brakes.

It’s based on the GMA T.50, but with the volume turned up and the subtlety thrown out the window. It has all-new carbon panels, a wider track, a lower ride height and a rear wing that looks like it was stolen from a DTM car and sharpened for slicing melons. The wheels are forged magnesium. The exhaust is Inconel. And yes, the heat shielding really is 18-carat gold. Because obviously.

Power comes from a 4.0-litre Cosworth-developed V12, screaming its way to 12,100 rpm. It produces 699 bhp, which is only slightly less than the amount of praise Murray is hoping to receive for reinventing his own masterpiece. The gearbox is a six-speed manual, because paddle shifts are for cowards. The total weight? Just over 1,000 kg. Which, to be fair, is properly impressive. That’s less than a Fiesta. And the S1 LM has seats made from carbon fibre, not fabric from a skip.

Only five are being made. All are already spoken for. Which means you won’t be getting one, even if you sold your house, your kidneys and your mate’s kidneys.

Then there’s the Le Mans GTR. Think of it as the S1 LM’s even more track-obsessed twin, with a longer tail, more aero and a full-width wing big enough to host a barbecue on. Gordon says it’s inspired by his own racing history, with nods to things like the Porsche 917 and Alfa’s Tipo 33. It looks sensational. It also looks like something you’d draw as a ten-year-old. And I mean that as a compliment.

Underneath, it’s built around a new carbon monocoque. The engine’s a slightly softer version of the LM’s V12, but it still makes 641 bhp and weighs roughly the same as a folding chair. It features something called passive boundary layer control -which sounds like a dull aerodynamics lecture but is actually just clever airflow voodoo to keep the thing glued to the road.

There will be 24 examples. One for each hour of Le Mans. Nice idea. Slightly ruined by the fact that it costs more than your house and probably has a waiting list longer than the queue for a free Rolex.

So what do we make of it all? Well, on the one hand, both cars are engineering art. The attention to detail is insane. The weight saving is obsessive. And the engine - sweet mercy - is a reminder that combustion is not dead, just very, very expensive.

On the other hand, it’s all a bit… familiar. The S1 LM is so similar to the McLaren F1 GTR that if it were a person, it would be arrested for fraud. Yes, Gordon Murray was chief designer of the original. But still. It’s like building your old house again, moving in, and pretending you’ve just discovered architecture.

Either way, nobody else is doing stuff like this. While the rest of the world is frantically stuffing SUVs with lithium-ion cells and touchscreens, Gordon Murray is off in a shed somewhere designing longtail V12 manuals with roof scoops and fan-assisted downforce.

And thank goodness for that.

Because even if these cars are just very expensive déjà vu, they’re also proof that proper car people still exist. People who think driving should be loud, analogue and occasionally terrifying. People who still believe that perfection weighs under a tonne and revs to the moon.

Written by: Paul Pearce