In 2005, BMW introduced the BMW E60 and E63. Their respective performance versions in the form of the M5 and M6 came with one of the most controversial engines ever installed in an M car – the S85b50. The 5.0-liter V10 is still the only BMW V10 engine on the road. The high-revving engine was based on the 3.0-litre P84/5 Formula 1 engine that powered the BMW Williams FW27 race car during the 2005 F1 season. In the BMW M5 and M6, the engine produced 507 horsepower (378 kilowatts) at 7,750 rpm and 383 lb-ft (520 Nm) at 6,100 rpm. Every avid Formula 1 fan dreams of one day sitting behind the wheel of the Formula 1 single-seater. It`s an exhilarating and crazy experience. These former race winners find themselves in a museum where their fans can at least see them up close. It`s a shame none of these fans get their hands on these legendary tracks – such luck is reserved for a few. And if a driver has the money to buy an F1-type car, what are his options? Below, we take a closer look at road-legal sports cars that are heavily inspired by F1 cars. The term “race car for the road” was abused quite extensively by marketers who wanted to make certain cars more appealing to car enthusiasts.
With that in mind, few scream “race cars for the road” as loud as a Formula 1 engine, and these 10 cars are driven by engines based on or designed for Formula One racing. For on-road applications, the 3.5-liter V-12 has been reduced to 400 horsepower (298 kilowatts) at 10,000 rpm and 210 pound-feet (285 Nm). Because the Yamaha OX99-11 weighed only 2,535 pounds (1,150 kg), it could sprint at 60 mph (97 km/h) at a top speed of 217 mph (350 km/h) in 3.2 seconds. The OX99-11 was unlike any other supercar and had two tandem seats and a soft top. Only three examples were produced. F1 cars don`t have high suspension, which means everyday things on the road like speed bumps are a problem for the car`s suspension. Therefore, engineers first increased the suspension to about two inches, or about 5 cm. This can be raised a few centimeters if necessary. It would be expensive to drive an F1 car on the road. This has already been done. The engineers of the Formula 1 Mastercard Lola team were faced with the challenge of building a road F1 car. With massive changes and a different engine, they were able to do it, and they called their invention the F1R.
In this article, we`ll explore how they did this and look at other examples of F1 cars driving on public roads. So read on to find out what it takes to drive an F1 car on the road. In recent years, there has been a plethora of road-legal cars on our roads, inspired by Formula 1 – the pinnacle of motorsport. www.thedrive.com/vintage/6174/the-worlds-only-street-legal-f1-car-is-for-sale#:~:text=It`s%20the%20result%20of%20a,a%20few%20caveats%2C%20is%20yes.&text=The%20biggest%20issue%2C%20as%20you,adjustable%20up%20to%202.9%20inches. However, these were events planned with a lot of logistical management, which undoubtedly required extensive consultations with local authorities. It was pretty obvious as they were the only cars on the road and were followed by a large film crew. Therefore, it was not technically a realistic scenario on a public road, as there were no pedestrians or traffic present. The answer here is yes, but also no. You can drive relatively easily on normal and well-maintained roads. In fact, some races, such as Monaco and Baku, Azerbaijan, take place on street circuits instead of real circuits like most Grands Prix.
The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is a road version of the Tipo 33 racing prototype. Between 1950 and 1988, Alfa Romeo developed three different V-8 engines for various racing series, including Formula 1. It was the F1 variant that served as the basis for the 33 Stradale`s 2.0-liter V8. The 90-degree unit featured a flat crankshaft and developed 227 horsepower (169 kilowatts) at 8,800 rpm and 152 pound-feet (206 Nm) at 7,000 rpm in road trim. Kicking off our list is the McLaren F1, a supercar with a name derived directly from the Formula 1 franchise. McLaren F1 made its debut in 1992, a period when McLaren dominated Formula 1 – the 80s and early 90s – taking 15 wins in 16 races. They decided it was time to go beyond Formula 1 and build a car that turned out to be one of the best homologated cars for the road. Bonhams claims it is the only road-legal F1 car in the world. It was registered in England and comes with a UK. Plate.
The current owner claims that the F1R is “good on the road”, which is probably, but doesn`t make him any less of a hero. Check out the list here. The Lola T97/30 F1 failed to qualify for its first Australian Grand Prix and was an incredible 13 seconds behind. When the team arrived in Brazil for the next race, the cars and equipment were not there. MasterCard had cut connections and Broadley couldn`t afford to ship anything to Interlagos. Lola quickly retired from Formula 1 and ran eight-figure debts, which required an immediate bankruptcy application and takeover to keep the traditional company alive. You may also have seen promotional videos from Red Bull Racing showing some of their old F1 cars around the world and even on public roads. They took a road trip through Max Verstappen`s native Netherlands and a race through Istanbul to promote clothing brand Alpha Tauri. Therefore, current F1 cars do not need to be modified to drive on public roads. However, you cannot legally do this apart from unforeseen events, as they do not meet standard roadworthy specifications. Lola was an F1 team in 1997 that didn`t take off. They were founded by Eric Broadley, who always wanted to own an F1 team, and he managed to get Mastercard on board as title sponsor.
If you wanted to do it legally and use it as an everyday car, it would be expensive to drive an F1 car on the road. You will have to increase the suspension, add everything that normal cars have, such as brake lights, headlights and turn signals. You`ll probably have to change the engine too, so it would be an expensive exercise. The Mercedes-AMG Project ONE comes closest to a road-legal F1 car with unprecedented fuel efficiency. Mercedes simply lifted the powertrain of the W08 F1 car (1.6-liter turbocharged hybrid V6) and plugged it into the AMG Project ONE road project – albeit a few slight upsets. Just like an F1 car, it has an 8-speed paddle shift transmission as well as carbon-ceramic brakes. Have you ever seen Lewis Hamilton cross the track in his mighty Mercedes F1 and thought you wouldn`t mind for your Sunday drive? Well, with some important adjustments, this dream could come true, because it is actually possible to convert an F1 car into a road car. Building the F1R was quite a complicated process, as not only the brake lights and turn signals were added to an already built F1 car. Instead, they started from scratch and used the body and a few other components of the F1 car, then added everything needed to make it legal.
The answer to this question is quite complicated for several reasons. The most obvious is to get legitimate Formula 1 parts. But let`s say you do. You need to modify most of the car to make sure it meets the legal requirements. The Ferrari F50 is known for two things: slower than its predecessor, the F40, and having a Formula 1 engine. It was the Tipo 641 unit that powered the F50, but it was heavily redesigned to improve its handling. The displacement was increased from 3.5 liters in the racing version to 4.7 liters for the Ferrari road. The Porsche Carrera GT, widely regarded as one of the last analog supercars, was powered by a racing engine developed by Porsche for a British F1 racing team called Footwork long before the car was designed. The engine was never used for racing, so the German manufacturer decided to use it for on-road use. The Carrera GT concept featured a 5.5-liter version of the V-10, which was later expanded to 5.7-liter for the production version. It would take a lot of changes to an F1 car to drive it on the road. In fact, it has already been legalized, but there is only one such car in the world.
The main changes that had to be made concerned the height, engine and suspension, as well as some basic additions to make the road homologation. This prototype, called F1R, is probably the best that comes out of this whole ordeal. It`s the result of a bet with Lola`s engineers: could you build a road-legal F1 car? The answer, with some reservations, is yes. But the spare parts for the car were still there, and something had to be done with them. Lola`s engineers have been challenged to build a legal, roadworthy Formula 1 car, and what you`re about to read is the result. They used many old Formula 1 spare parts to create the body of the car and many other parts of the car. But why are Formula 1 cars so unique? Well, their motors are high-voltage machine parts that require special conditions to even start.