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Are Five McLaren Senna GTR LMs Better Than One Original 1995 McLaren F1 GTR?

McLaren Automotive has only been around in the current form for a decade. Still, its legacy as an automobile manufacturer spans a few more years thanks to McLaren Cars – and the iconic McLaren F1. Although intended as the most capable street-legal car of its time, its racing career was a no brainer, obviously. Especially when considering its 1995 participation in the Le Mans race, where it won the day-long event although it was McLaren’s first attempt, and the F1’s GT1 category was at a disadvantage compared to the unlimited prototypes.
McLaren Senna GTR LM 42 photos
Photo: McLaren Automotive
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25 years later, the company has another track-capable monster. A dedicated one, this time around – the “fastest-lapping car McLaren has ever made outside of Formula 1.” No need to play the guessing game, because the answer is plainly obvious, as we are talking about the McLaren Senna GTR.

We are on the verge of hooking up to the TV sets to watch the 2021 edition of the Le Mans, so what better moment for the British sports car maker to unveil McLaren Special Operations’ (MSO) latest creation – a collector’s limited series of just five examples of the McLaren Senna GTR LM.

All of them have a specific target – honor the matching five McLaren F1 GTRs that went down in racing history with their 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 13th finishes at the 1995 Le Mans. Inspired by them and the “world’s toughest endurance race,” all five Senna GTR LM units have their own bespoke hand-painted livery, one that according to the company needed no less than 800 hours to complete.

No one dares imagine the cost of the five Senna GTR LMs, though we can easily foresee we’ll have some pretty crazy quotations when the first owner decides to part ways with its example. For now, the future owners will enjoy not just their new track monster, but also a very special 2021 Le Mans circuit driving experience at the race weekend.

Aside from the tailored livery, each Senna GTR LM also receives a “1 of 1” plaque that has the details of the corresponding 1995 Le Mans F1 GTR unit inscribed for matching eternity onto the carbon fiber sill along with the matching VIN number of the modern car.

The company also reworked the 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine to end up with a 20 PS power increase to a total of 845 ps (833 hp) and 800 Nm (590 lb. ft.) of twist.

If recalibrating the powerplant seems like the right thing to do, we had a few doubts about the interior styling coming out a bit cheesy when hearing the serious black-racing atmosphere was spiced up with gold-colored gear shift paddles and control buttons.

Still, everything turned out fine – except for the odd orange five-spoke OZ Racing wheels combination with the gold-colored brake calipers and suspension wishbones on the “Gulf car” ...
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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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