Legendary Motor Matchup #5
Every Tuesday for 10 weeks, starting March 3, 2020, we will present one head-to-head challenge. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to cast your vote on each matchup. The results will tally on the Top 10 Legendary Motors page every week.
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March 31–April 4
Matchup #5 has been a difficult one as it showcases the legendary McLaren F1 BMW V12.
Sure, we could put it up against others in its era. The likes of the Ferrari F50, Jaguar XJ220, the Mercedes CLK GTR, or even the Bugatti EB 110 with its quad-turbocharged V12. All cutting edge and over the top exotic, but none remembered for having fundamentally shaped the exotic car designation like the F1.
No, for that, we would have to fast forward to 2005, a full seven years after the last F1 was released, when the Volkswagen Group brought their mid-engined sports car to the world stage with the mighty Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4.
Not only in its top speed, but the power output required to reach these speeds needed the design of a monster W16 quad-turbo motor, which in of itself was an experiment in numbers like no other, and the reason why we chose it for this colossal matchup.
Hang on!
McLaren F1
BMW V12 / S70/2
"The McLaren F1 will be remembered as one of the great events in the history of the car, and it may possibly be the fastest production road car the world will ever see."
- British car magazine Autocar, circa 1994
Chief engineer and visionary Gordon Murray set out to create the "greatest road car of all time." For his vision, he insisted that it had to be powered by a naturally aspirated motor producing 100 hp per litre.
At the time, Honda and McLaren Racing were producing the most successful F1 race cars for legendary drivers, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. It was Murray's hope to have Honda engineers design his motor which he wanted in the form of a 4.5 litre V10 or V12.
Surprisingly, he couldn’t convince Honda to build the motor for his new car, so he approached BMW, which did take an interest. They put their M division to the task and together, created the beating heart of what was to become the most celebrated car of the century.
Punched out to 6.1 L, the new V12 motor branded S70B56, pumped out 618 naturally aspirated ponies at a glorious 7,400 rpm redline, while reaching the magic 100hp/L that Murray had asked for.
With this beast of a motor fitted to the first production car with a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis, the 2,500 lb McLaren XP5 F1 prototype made it into the Guinness World Record as the world's fastest production car, reaching a top speed of 386 km/h (it actually hit 391 km/hr on the second run). We encourage our readers to watch this iconic car make history.
To this day, and 28 years since its debut, the BMW V12-powered McLaren F1 remains the fastest documented naturally aspirated production car in the world, making its V12 a solid MOONRCKT contender for the most legendary motor of all time!
Bugatti Veyron
W16
Designed and built by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti, the Veyron, like the F1, upped the top speed ante when it was recognized by Guinness World Records as the fastest street-legal production car in the world. With a top speed of 407 km/h (253 mph), the Veyron trumped the F1’s top speed by a scant 20 km/hr, but taking an astonishing 383 extra ponies to do so.
To achieve such extraordinary speeds, VW engineers bolted two narrow-angle V8 engines together and force-fed it with four turbochargers. Add 10 radiators for good measure to keep it all cool, and this Herculean motor pushes out 1,001 horsepower and 922 lb/ft torque.
At full throttle, it consumes 45,000 L of air per minute or as much as a human breathes in four days as shared by James May from Top Gear, as he reached a top speed of 407.5 km/h.
The Bugatti 16-cylinder piston engine with four banks of four cylinders in a “W” configuration is the only one in production. It continues to be used in the current Bugatti Veyron and new Bugatti Chiron, the first car to breach the 300 mph barrier in having achieved a top speed of 304 mph.
Its unique design, over the top numbers and feats of power output, makes this a MOONRCKT of a motor for the ages.