Gordon Murray Recycles an Old Recipe and Insults McLaren
This page is translated from the original post "Gordon Murray recycle une vieille recette et insulte McLaren" in French.
- 17/08/2025 11:27
The famous English engineer, who founded his own car brand in 2019, is reinventing the legendary McLaren F1… without ever mentioning it.
The subject is certainly lucrative, but in the long run, isn’t it grotesque for an artist to endlessly replay the same piece? Worse still: modernizing it with new gimmicks, is that not insulting the past?
This is the feeling that overwhelms us when we discover the modern reinterpretation of the legendary McLaren F1. The term used nowadays for this work of updating a past glory is called Restomod. And as fantastic as it may be, this new Gordon Murray S1 LM presented at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is not exempt from this pitfall.
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An egocentric work?
At Pebble Beach, Gordon Murray presented two Special Vehicles: the S1 LM (shown here) and the Le Mans GTR, a more original creation in absolute terms (although less aesthetic). Because that is the whole problem with Gordon Murray: in 1992, he created one of the most iconic cars in history, the F1. A car with pure design, a central driving position, and a naturally aspirated 6.1-liter V12 (by BMW) with over 620 horsepower. This McLaren revolutionized the world of registered supercars.
The nostalgia of Gordon Murray is understandable and touching, but would Leonardo Da Vinci have endlessly painted the Mona Lisa, according to the times, with new hair or clothing codes? No. The most shocking thing in this whole story is the press release issued by the English manufacturer.
No mention of McLaren is made. Instead, we are told that the S1 LM is a “road tribute to Murray’s historic victory at Le Mans in 1995.” Further, it reads that “the GMSV S1 LM is the very first order executed by Gordon Murray Special Vehicles. The first vehicle from the brand, ‘S1’ stands for Special One, born from a customer’s passion for Gordon’s 1990s designs and his historic victory at Le Mans in 1995.” McLaren will appreciate this historical revisionism.
A 100% new creation
Fans of McLaren F1 can rest assured: no original chassis has been mistreated to create this S1 LM. It is indeed a complete reinvention, like a clean-up of a draft if we read between the lines of Gordon Murray’s arguments.
With a lowered roof, 100% carbon body, double rear wing, and modernized look. In the rear compartment, Murray specifies that removing the fan and oil cooling system frees up space for an exclusive 4.3-liter V12 engine with 700 horsepower capable of revving up to 12,100 rpm. The exhaust is made of Inconel (a super-alloy made of nickel and chrome) and protected by thermal shielding of 18-carat gold.
The transmission remains manual, while the suspension adopts a new geometry and reduced ground clearance. No additional technical data has been communicated, starting with the weight that has always built the legend of the McLaren F1.
Only 5 units of this Gordon Murray S1 LM will be produced and homologated for road use in 2026… and sold at a secret price. It’s a pity, we would have appreciated knowing the value of this counterfeit work.
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