The first factory programme to authenticate the McLaren F1 supercar is now available to owners, with the new service aiming to safeguard the originality of the iconic car for future generations, and the first F1 to be certified is the ex-Le Mans F1 GTR Longtail ’25R’ from 1997.
McLaren Automotive has introduced a new service to authenticate the heritage of iconic McLaren F1 supercars. The launch of the new programme coincides with the unveiling of the first F1 to be approved for certification, the renowned ’25R’ 1997 F1 GTR Longtail, pristine after a full restoration to “as new” condition by McLaren Special Operations.
McLarens’ F1 Certified programme has been developed to guarantee the authenticity of both road and track versions of the Le Mans-winning supercar, offering ultimate peace of mind for current and future owners. A unique Certificate of Authenticity – which McLaren Automotive is the only body in the world able to issue – authenticates a car’s provenance, originality, service life, road/race history and condition. Conformity with the original specification and to any McLaren-sanctioned upgrades is confirmed by reference to the factory archives.
Along with the certificate, owners receive a bespoke illustrated book documenting the history of their car. In total 106 McLaren F1s were built between 1993 and 1998, among them 64 road cars and 28 GTR race cars, and all are eligible for the scheme.
McLaren F1 product presentation in 1992 – foreword by Gordon Murray
A veteran of many endurance events in the period including the Le Mans 24 Hours, over the past 18 months ’25R’ has been restored to “as new” condition by McLaren Special Operations. Using original F1 GTR parts held by the factory, the restoration has returned the car to the same specification and livery it had when it ran at Le Mans in the first year it raced.
The top-level circuit career of F1 GTR ’25R’ spanned eight years and several continents. It was built as one of three Longtail cars for the Gulf-Davidoff team to compete in GT racing in 1997 and driven at Le Mans that year by Ray Bellm, Andrew Gilbert-Scott and Masanori Sekiya. It was forced out two hours from the end of the race when an oil line fractured, causing a fire. Repaired by the factory, ’25R’ was subsequently sold to a team in Japan where it continued racing until 2005. At the Fuji Speedway that year, it became the last F1 GTR ever to compete in a contemporary race series.
After being on static display in a Japanese collection, it was sold to the current owner and brought back to the UK in 2016. The owner’s collection is curated by classic car consultancy Kidston SA, founded by McLaren owner Simon Kidston, also a leading international broker of McLaren F1 cars. Kidston SA entrusted the car to McLaren Special Operations in Woking as, battle-scarred from years of racing, ’25R’ needed extensive remedial work. Refurbishment became a ground-up restoration to “as new” condition using brand-new, old-stock GTR parts stored at the factory in containers last opened 20 years ago.
The new parts used in ’25R’ go further than being specific to the 1997 GTR – they are all pre-June 1997 parts, ensuring the car is exactly as it would have been in the run-up to Le Mans that year. This includes the “tall” Le Mans gearing and the blue roof identification lights – taken from an aircraft’s wing, and the only non-McLaren part in the entire car – with which the car was fitted for Le Mans.
With the new body panels displaying the exact Gulf-Davidoff team livery and bearing the car’s 1997 Le Mans number 39, ’25R’ is a true 21-years-old time-warp machine.
The first factory programme to authenticate the McLaren F1 supercar is now available to owners, with the new service aiming to safeguard the originality of the iconic car for future generations, and the first F1 to be certified is the ex-Le Mans F1 GTR Longtail ’25R’ from 1997.
