McLaren F1 XP-5

The McLaren F1 XP-5 is one of the five McLaren F1 prototypes and the one used in McLaren's famous top speed run to 243 mph (391 km/h).

Overview
The McLaren F1 was unveiled at The Sporting Club in Monaco, on May 28, 1992. In all, 106 cars were manufactured, with some variations in the design. Five prototypes were made: XP-1, XP-2, XP-3, XP-4, and XP-5.

The McLaren F1's engine is a BMW M-built 6.1L (6,064 cc) V12 engine named the BMW S70/2. Gordon Murray, a designer of the car, insisted that the engine be naturally aspirated. The S70/2 produces at 7,400 rpm and  at 5,600 rpm and weighs. It also features an aluminum alloy block and heads, with 3.4x3.4 in (86x87 mm) bore/stroke, quad overhead camshafts with variable valve timing, and a chain drive for the camshafts. The engine has its rev limiter set to 7,500 rpm.

The normal McLaren F1 features no wings to produce downforce, although the overall design of the underbody of the McLaren F1, in addition to a rear diffuser, exploits ground effect to improve downforce which is increased through the use of two electric Kevlar fans to further decrease the pressure under the car. At the rear of the car is a small dynamic rear wing, which adjusts dynamically and automatically attempts to balance the car's center of gravity under braking, shifting the center forward with the brakes applied.

The McLaren F1 is a mid-engined car that uses a transverse six-speed manual gearbox with an AP carbon triple-plate clutch contained in aluminum housing. The McLaren F1 has an aluminium flywheel that has only the dimensions and mass absolutely needed to allow the torque from the engine to be transmitted. This is done in order to decrease rotational inertia and increase responsiveness of the system, resulting in faster gear changes and better throttle feedback. This is possible due to the F1 engine lacking secondary vibrational couples and featuring a torsional vibration damper by BMW. The F1 is rear-wheel-drive and contains a unique seating configuration with the driver in the front center and the two passengers on both left and right, slightly behind the driver, thus making the F1 a 3-seater.

The McLaren F1 has a 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) acceleration time of 3.2 seconds, 0-100 mph (0-161 km/h) in 6.3 seconds, 0-200 mph (0-322 km/h) in 28 seconds, and a quarter mile time of 11.045 seconds at 138 mph (222 km/h).

The McLaren F1 remains one of the fastest production cars by top speed ever made. On March 31, 1998, Andy Wallace drove the XP5 prototype at Volkswagen's test track in Ehra-Lessien, setting a then-new production car world record of an independently measured top speed of 240 mph (386 km/h), averaged from a minimum of 237 mph (382 km/h) and a peak speed of 243 mph (391 km/h) measured by McLaren. This was done with the rev limiter raised to 8,300 rpm.

Since then, the McLaren F1 has gone on to become the fastest naturally aspirated car in the world, while there are cars like the Koenigsegg Agera R, Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, Hennessey Venom GT, and even the McLaren P1 that are faster than it but instead use forced-induction.

Summary
References to the McLaren F1 XP-5 were hidden in the game data in the Summer's Over Update. The car was finally made playable in the Santa's Gift Update, as a purchasable vehicle from the get-go.

The McLaren F1 XP-5 was the first Class S car of the update and is a high-end Class S car. It starts with a rank of 1497, maxes out at 1669, and has a MAX+PRO rank of 1776. The car receives a Tuning Kit bonus of 37 rank points. Its main rivals are the Mosler GT3, Weber Faster One, Jaguar XJ220S, and Aston Martin One-77.

Performance
The McLaren F1 XP-5's performance is almost exactly the same as the McLaren 675LT and 9FF GT9 VMAX, but with faster acceleration, slightly better total speed, and better handling, as well as a lower risk of random wrecks. The only real disadvantage of this car is that it has a display speed multiplier of 91.60%; while better than the VMAX's 88.60%, it can still be somewhat misleading.

The McLaren F1 XP-5 has a maximum real total speed of 301.7 mph (485.8 km/h).

Usage
The McLaren F1 XP-5 is not a good choice for use in Time-Limited Events, though, as it gets outclassed by other high end cars like the TRION NEMESIS, W Motors Fenyr Supersport, BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage, Aston Martin Vulcan (and cars with better overall stats than all aforementioned cars as each update passes by). It also doesn't beat the McLaren P1™ GTR and McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 in terms of overall performance, making the F1 XP-5 nothing more than a collector's item, especially given that the 675LT performs almost exactly the same but for a much lower cost. Additionally, just like the 9FF GT9 VMAX, the events with a limited car selection that feature the F1 XP-5 as a possible choice are rare, and even then, the Mosler Super GT, Lamborghini Egoista, and Ferrari Enzo Ferrari are preferred over this car. Furthermore, the F1 XP-5 requires 52 V12 Engine cards, which are best saved for the Vulcan and Lamborghini Aventador SV, which require 32 and 24 V12 Engine cards, respectively. The F1 XP-5 also requires the most Advanced Tech cards for any car, with 44.

In Multiplayer, if tuned correctly, the McLaren F1 XP-5 does have a degree of competitiveness, albeit low. An upgrade configuration of 0502 4052 gives a real total speed of 287 mph (462 km/h) at a rank of S1669, although this comes at a cost of low-to-medium competitiveness; the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage, Aston Martin Vulcan, etc. can pull off a much higher total speed at a similar or lower rank. At MAX+PRO, it is not recommended to use the F1 XP-5, as just like the McLaren 675LT, it suffers from having low competitiveness despite being easy to drive. This is due to the F1 XP-5's MAX+PRO rank being 1776, as well as lackluster acceleration when compared to the MP4-25, Vulcan, or NEMESIS. Because of this, this makes the F1 XP-5 more likely to be matched against the aforementioned cars, along with even the extremely rare Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG Special Edition, although how often the F1 XP-5 finishes first or at least third ultimately falls on its user and whoever is in the lobby.

As of the Porsche Update, the McLaren F1 XP-5 is now even harder to obtain due to the difficulty of obtaining a McLaren F1 XP-5 BP card, let alone 20 of them. Players who bought the car prior to said update need not worry about having to collect McLaren F1 XP-5 BP cards. The only use the F1 XP-5 has is the "McLaren" collection, which can award if fully completed.

Price
The McLaren F1 XP-5 was priced at (same as the Ferrari Enzo Ferrari) for purchase and  for maxing out (same as the Cadillac 16 Concept). From the Multiplayer League Update, the McLaren F1 XP-5 was changed to be priced at either for purchase. As of the Porsche Update, the McLaren F1 XP-5 is obtainable only through 20 Legendary McLaren F1 XP-5 BP cards. The F1 XP-5 requires, 20 of each Class S Parts card, 52 V12 Engines, 24 Mid-Tech cards, and 44 Advanced Tech cards, for its Pro Kits.

Asphalt Nitro
The McLaren F1 XP-5, simply renamed to McLaren F1 for unknown reasons, appears as a Class S car, but with the maximum rank reduced to 1743. It is only accessible via the Luxury Pack, available for US$99.99.

It is unique in that it has a permanent, forced Absolute Armor booster on, even if the player already activated one; subsequently, the F1 cannot be wrecked, although AI-controlled F1s can be knocked down or wrecked.