If you haven’t noticed from all the stories, I’m a bit obsessed with the McLaren F1. To me, it’s still the defining supercar, and certainly the one that was top of mind for the entirety of my childhood. Once Road & Track tested it, the F1 remained at the top of the results in most categories until the Bugatti Veyron got put through its paces. It spent eight years as the superlative supercar, much of it thanks to that BMW engine. It was also a successful race car, winning Le Mans in 1995 on its first try, even though it was never intended to be a race car. BMW of North America owns chassis 17R, which finished eighth at Le Mans in 1996.
BMW displays the car at events and occasionally exercises it on track, an amazing thing to witness. While those occasions are fairly rare considering the expense of transporting, maintaining, and insuring a $20 million car, it’s a treat whenever it’s out there. Now, though, the F1 GTR is on display at the BMW Zentrum in Greer, South Carolina until the end of May.
The Zentrum is BMW’s museum in the U.S., and is attached to the South Carolina plant that builds the X cars and where the Z3 originated. It’s well worth a visit, especially now that there’s a real, rare piece of motorsport history in its walls. If you get a chance, check it out, and send me some photos.
