No automatic gearboxes or turbochargers in sight.
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Forget about Cars & Coffee, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, or any auto show for that matter – this is where it’s at. To celebrate the McLaren F1’s 30th anniversary, owners of what is to this day the fastest naturally aspirated car ever made gathered to embark on a tour. In what must be Gordon Murray’s favorite video on YouTube, many pristine example were filmed on a ferry crossing the shores of Lake Garda in Italy.
A spectacular festival of naturally aspirated V12s, the group included quite a few road cars as well as the F1 GTR and even the elusive F1 GTR Longtail. McLaren made only 106 cars in total, so seeing so many of them next to each other is a rare sight. That must’ve been by far the most precious cargo carried by ferry that day as values of these BMW-powered supercars have skyrocketed in recent years.
Attached below, a separate video shows more than 10 F1s in the wonderful scenery provided by northern Italy. Interestingly, a development prototype of the Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) T.50 was also on location, complete with its massive rear fan. It’s going to be just as rare as its source of inspiration since only 100 units will ever be made, at about $3 million a pop.
The McLaren F1 was obviously the big star of the event, joined by a P1 serving as a support vehicle. XP4, one of the experimental prototypes, shows up on camera to illustrate the early days of the three-seat machine with its centrally mounted steering wheel. We would much rather have one of the road cars without the added aero tweaks. The design has aged like a fine wine and that engine noise is only going to get rarer what with forced induction and EVs being forced upon us.
It’s worth mentioning the F1 GTR with a big “LARK” white decal and a #60 made the headlines earlier this year for a hilarious reason. In case you don’t remember, the owner accidentally put diesel inside his precious mid-engined machine. He owned up to his mistake on social media where he talked about the rather embarrassing faux pas.