{"id":75548,"date":"2024-08-11T14:02:06","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T18:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=75548"},"modified":"2024-08-11T14:02:06","modified_gmt":"2024-08-11T18:02:06","slug":"carrera-gt-test-driver-takes-the-legendary-mclaren-f1-for-a-spin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=75548","title":{"rendered":"Carrera GT Test Driver Takes the Legendary McLaren F1 for a Spin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walter R\u00f6hrl has done a lot. He\u2019s set Pikes Peak records, competed in 24 Hours of Le Mans races, enjoyed WRC victories, and so much more. He also helped test out the Porsche Carrera GT, having taken the car through many laps of the N\u00fcrburgring Nordschleife due to his familiarity with the course. In a new video from Alte Schule, R\u00f6hrl talks a little bit more about benchmarking the legendary P-Car.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there was anything comparable \u2013 the Ferrari F50 was the only car we got back then,\u201d he starts. \u201cWe always had it with us. Of course we also wanted to have other cars, for example the McLaren F1<\/a>, but that never happened.\u201d Apparently, any time Porsche moved to get their mitts on one, it broke or became otherwise unavailable. R\u00f6hrl laments \u2013 now, even 30 years later \u2013 that he simply never had the opportunity to even look at one up-close, let alone drive the car.<\/p>\n

Getting Behind the Wheel of the McLaren F1<\/h3>\n

R\u00f6hrl finally has his wish granted by getting behind the wheel of one very special F1. Specifically, a model on loan from BMW Group Classic that happens to be the \u201cPischetsrieder car\u201d \u2013 famously crashed by German BMW and VW exec of the same name. Anyway, the video recaps the specs of the car \u2013 RWD, 618-or-so horsepower BMW V12, manual-shift, etc \u2013 and R\u00f6hrl straps in.<\/p>\n

As is often the case with particularly aurally-pleasing videos, YouTube captions the roar of the McLaren F1\u2019s V12 as \u201c[music],\u201d which is always entertaining \u2013 and in this case, pretty accurate. R\u00f6hrl reflects on the driving experience and how it compares to the Porsche. The considerably more analog features of the F1 \u2013 i.e., no power steering or assisted brakes, a heavier clutch, vastly different seating position \u2013 come through in his quips, serving as quite the reminder that they don\u2019t make them like they used to.<\/p>\n

R\u00f6hrl also makes history, as he\u2019s quite likely to be the first person in history to draw a parallel between the McLaren F1 and a VW Bus. Don\u2019t worry, he later compares the F50 to the McLaren F1, too. If that doesn\u2019t encourage you to give the video a watch, I\u2019m not sure anything else I write will. Check it out.<\/p>\n