For collectors, enthusiasts, automakers, and engineers alike, the McLaren F1 is the ultimate supercar, and it always will be. It's got the three-seat layout, a super analog driving experience with an incredible V12 and manual transmission, a record-breaking top speed, and it won at Le Mans. Only 106 were made, and they are currently among the most expensive cars in the world, especially from the modern era. More than thirty years on, people cannot stop talking about the F1 or trying to replicate its styling and driving experience, especially in an era of increasingly stringent emissions and crash safety regulations.
Aside from McLaren itself, which has made subesquent hypercars like the P1, W1 and three-seat Speedtail, the only company that has really succeeded in channeling the spirit of the F1 has been Gordon Murray Automotive, founded by its namesake, the guy who designed the McLaren F1. The GMA T.50 is essentially a direct successor to the F1, a three-seat layout, F1-esque styling, a screaming V12 paired with a manual, and a fan system at the rear, something Murray had always wanted to do. There will only be 100 of the T.50 (plus 25 T.50s track versions), but GMA is gonna keep doing limited-run specials based on the car's platform and powertrain.
The first super-exclusive creation from GMA's new Special Vehicles division is the GMSV S1 LM (that stands for "special one"). Only five will be built, all commissioned by one customer with a "passion for Gordon's 1990s designs and his landmark 1995 win at Le Mans." It packs even better performance and track capability than the T.50, but on the outside its design is blatantly a redux of the F1. To me, it's just uninspired and corny, and not even very good looking.
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I like a lot of the retro-styled modern supercars, like the Aston Martin Valour and Lamborghini Countach, and I'm a big fan of a well-done restomod, like what Singer and Eccentrica are doing. I think my issue is that instead of taking the F1's design and evolving it and modernizing it in a meaningful way, the S1 LM just looks like an F1 with different lights and slightly more refined aerodynamics. But it's not actually an F1, it uses the T.50's chassis and powertrain, albeit upgraded. The T.50 already looks like an evolution of the F1, and while I don't like it very much, at least it feels fresh. The S1 LM doesn't.
Every body panel is new and made from carbon fiber, and GMA says the roofline is lowered compared to the T.50. Its front bumper looks like a modern interpretation of the F1 GTR's bumper, with slim LED headlights under what look like covers shaped like the F1's lights. The greenhouse looks the same as the F1's, but with a more interesting roof scoop and rear window setup. The shape of the body and forward-leaned fender vents are the same as the F1, just smoother and with an intake in front of the rear wheels like on the F1 GTR. There are four ugly round taillights behind a grille, similar bumper vents, and a diffuser that does look very cool housing four exhaust tips. The big rear wing is your typical big wing, and the wheels are just like the F1 GTR's wheels. There are some cool surfacing treatments and little design flourishes, but overall it just looks exactly how I would expect a slightly modernized F1 to look.
People who revere the F1 are probably going to love this thing (I'm not an F1 guy, in fact I've always found it to be kinda ugly), but I think the S1 LM is just boring. I get it, real McLaren F1s are so expensive and rare that even Murray himself would surely never do a restomod based on one, but that's also why it's disappointing that this looks so much like an F1. Doing a modern car with more directly retro F1-inspired styling is a fine idea that could have resulted in something cool, but it doesn't feel like Murray tried to iterate on the design at all here. Why just make the F1, but new, if you're not gonna actually make it feel new? And with an estimated eight-figure cost, the guy who is buying all five of these can certainly buy an actual F1 (and I'm sure already has one). If you want an F1, just get an F1!
The Inside Is Cool, At Least
The interior is pretty cool, though, with a fighter jet–inspired design and skeletal architecture. There's way more carbon fiber than on a T.50, with new door panels totally made from the stuff. While the gauge cluster is the same as the T.50's, the dashboard has a unique floating design with pill-shape air vents and an awesome quilted pattern. GMA doesn't give any details about the rad airbag-less steering wheel, which looks like a '90s racing wheel but has integrated controls.
As with the T.50 (and F1), the S1 LM has a three-seat layout with a central driver's seat. That driver gets a racing seat with intense bolsters, lots of mesh cutouts, and padding that looks straight out of a '70s sci-fi movie. Each passenger is in a less-intense but still enveloping seat placed a bit further back. One of the specs that GMA showed off has the driver's seat covered in silver quilted leather, while the other has green, white, and red tartan.
Don't Worry, There's Gold Foil
Powering the GMSV S1 LM is the same Cosworth-designed V12 as the T.50, but bored up to 4.3 liters. It makes more than 690 horsepower, putting it between the roadgoing T.50 and the T.50s track model, and the engine revs to 12,100 rpm. The S1 LM has a bespoke Inconel exhaust wrapped in 18-karat gold-foil heat shielding, like the F1, and the engine has a higher compression ratio and lighter internals. Its manual transmission uses the T.50s casing with T.50 internals, and GMA says it delivers "short rifle-bolt throws." The S1 LM also has a unique, lower suspension setup with new geometry and dampers. I'm sure it will be utterly spectacular to drive.
In the press release Gordon Murray is quoted as saying "I love timeless design. I never want us to join the race to make the most outrageous looking supercar at expense of balance, beauty and proportion. Look at the result, the car is timeless and beautiful." You already don't want to get me started on "timeless" design, but I think herein lies the problem. Murray just did his greatest hit again, chasing that high once more, instead of doing something even a little more interesting like GMA's other models. Of course, the only important opinion here is the one of the guy who commissioned these. What do you think?
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