McLaren Automotive, the British manufacturer of luxury, high-performance sportscars and supercars, have today introduced a new service to authenticate the heritage of iconic McLaren F1 supercars. Excellent news.
The first F1 to be approved for certification, is the renowned ‘25R’ 1997 F1 GTR Longtail. Which, after a full restoration to ‘as new’ condition by McLaren Special Operations, looks absolutely superb and was the last F1 GTR to compete. It’s also going to be one of the stars of the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance (31 August – 2 September 2018).
“Even among F1 GTRs, this car, designated ‘25R’, is unique – and now it is as near to being new as we can make it,” commented Ansar Ali, Managing Director, McLaren Special Operations (MSO) to MotorMartin. “The car is the exemplar of everything that the new certification programme stands for and we are proud to have ‘25R’ as the very first McLaren F1 Certified car.”
McLaren have explained to MotorMartin that their F1 Certified programme has been developed to guarantee the authenticity of both road and track versions of the Le Mans-winning supercar, which, they say, offers ultimate peace of mind for current and future owners with a unique Certificate of Authenticity – which McLaren Automotive is the only body in the world able to issue – to authenticate 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.
“McLaren cherishes its rich heritage of iconic and world-beating cars such as the F1,” said McLaren Automotive Chief Executive Officer Mike Flewitt. “’25R’ presented us with a unique opportunity to demonstrate this by restoring it to precisely how it was when it raced at Le Mans in 1997, thus ensuring its future. Maintaining the integrity of these historically significant cars is paramount and F1 Certified will play a big role in allowing us to do that for the peace of mind of owners today as well as preserving a wonderful heritage for future generations of car lovers.”
Now MotorMartin just needs a McLaren to authenticate.
Where will you go?