McLaren has become the latest team to produce a series of images showing how future Formula One cars might look.
The McLaren MP4-X, revealed on its website today, is described by McLaren as “a vision of the future of the racing car”.
The design features enclosed wheels and cockpit, adaptive aerodynamic surfaces and ground effects to create more downforce, and crash structures designed to recover their shape and withstand multiple impacts”. McLaren say the car would be powered by a ‘zero emission’ engine with additional energy provided by solar cells on its surface.
In February Ferrari produced its own Ferrari F1 concept.
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Lauri (@f1lauri)
3rd December 2015, 8:41
Extremely obstructed view from cockpit? No room for helmet? No chance of riding a curb?
JackL
3rd December 2015, 15:40
Why did they have to use the Marussia colors instead of a nice orange?
Apex Assassin
3rd December 2015, 16:39
That NOT a F1 car.
It’s also 5 years to late – see RBR X2010.
Also should McDennis focus on 2016 and not dreaming of a future they might not see if they don’t start making profits?
RaceProUK (@)
3rd December 2015, 17:47
I see no reason they can’t commission an artist for a few grand* to create a render, which is pretty much what they did.
*Or however much commissioning an artist costs.
@HoHum (@hohum)
3rd December 2015, 23:08
@raceprouk, They probably organized a competition amongst design students hoping for a career with McL, SF etc.
RaceProUK (@)
3rd December 2015, 23:24
Doesn’t appear to be; looks like a marketing exercise:
Paul Trautman
3rd December 2015, 20:22
Hideous.
Looks like something Hollywood would excrete.
Iosif (@afonic)
3rd December 2015, 8:42
I have seen the various concepts, they are stunning, but they look like a future LMP1 car and not a future Formula 1 car.
Thomas Westergaard (@t-wester)
3rd December 2015, 8:48
Creative interpretation of open wheel racing
Apex Assassin
3rd December 2015, 16:39
Love the sarcasm! :D
ACx
3rd December 2015, 16:17
Exactly what I though. Awesome looking LMP1 concept, where’s the F1 car?
matt90
3rd December 2015, 19:07
Except that long-standing fundamental rules of Protypes (by which I include many sports car prototype categories prior to LMP) make this just as unlikely an LMP as an F1 car. It seems more in the spirit of Can-Am.
DaveD (@daved)
3rd December 2015, 18:19
I don’t see why Formula E doesn’t do something more like this. They need the extra aero to increase their range and they have no need of the “stick up their butt” disease that makes Formula 1 so maniacally focused on open wheel/open cockpit.
But I agree with @aficion, looks more like a potential for a future LMP1 car.
Javi
3rd December 2015, 9:15
Pit stops hard to manage. So little space to grab the wheel.
barkun (@barkun)
3rd December 2015, 9:43
I was thinking exactly the same thing @Javi
F1Junky
3rd December 2015, 12:15
It won’t even get out of the garage. From the pics it seems there is little room for the front tire to turn. And when you consider that the wheel arches’ are attached to the wing and not the suspension, every kerb they hit will be a tire shredder.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
3rd December 2015, 10:07
It’s just a Red Bull X2010 but less realistic.
I always wonder why they do these weird grooves on slick tyres. It doesn’t make any sense to have all this grip and grooves. Plus they don’t seem ot be that efficient in terms of displacing water if they are like that.
The funny thing is that with all the technology and all, they are still missing a main sponsor.
Todfod (@todfod)
3rd December 2015, 10:29
Just keeping things realistic in the Mclaren design dept ;)
regs (@regs)
3rd December 2015, 10:42
One word – ugly…
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
3rd December 2015, 10:48
They should probably concentrate on building a good car next year rather than waste time on concepts.
Toby. (@toby)
3rd December 2015, 11:04
I’m sure this “project” hasn’t in any way hindered their preparation for 2016.
RaceProUK (@)
3rd December 2015, 12:52
I seriously doubt commissioning an external artist is going to impact the development of the car.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
3rd December 2015, 14:38
Don’t be a tron @come-on-kubica
Kriz (@krizz)
3rd December 2015, 10:56
I really do believe that these radical racecar designs should be given a chance in Formula 1. Far less restrictions on design regulations, and more liberal thinking about what’s possible. Let’s make it a more open formula and promote/reward green thinking/recycle-ideas for the sake of our planet. Let’s reintroduce the customer car option, so that smaller teams may still be able to join the sport. Let those who object form collaborations with other teams, gather more money/sponsors or leave the sport. This is what Formula 1 should be in my opinion.
Dream on Mclaren (and Red Bull and Ferrari), dream on!
@HoHum (@hohum)
3rd December 2015, 23:14
In other words, bring back Formula Libre, and then ditch Bernie and CVC. I’m in.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
3rd December 2015, 11:04
It also has a “fully adaptive digital marketing surface”, which is presumably so McLaren can remove sponsors mid-race as they lose them to other teams…
barkun (@barkun)
3rd December 2015, 11:22
not that there are many left @keithcollantine
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
3rd December 2015, 11:23
…unfortunately, it apparently doesn’t work with Belgian or Danish brands.
Lauri (@f1lauri)
3rd December 2015, 21:40
COTD? Sure this must be! :)
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
3rd December 2015, 11:25
Call me juvenile, but this has just become my new desktop wallpaper…
Djangles LeVaughn (@royal-spark)
3rd December 2015, 11:32
How long before someone puts this into Assetto Corsa?
sm
3rd December 2015, 21:26
+1
The Ferrari concept is already in assetto corsa and it’s amazing
RogerA
3rd December 2015, 12:22
So there concept is to turn F1 into an LMP category?
JimG (@jimg)
3rd December 2015, 12:23
Call me picky, but it annoys me when someone suggests adding solar panels to a vehicle to capture “additional energy”. There just isn’t that much solar power available: according to the Wikipedia page (I know) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy, “Most people around the world live in areas with insolation levels of 150 to 300 watt per square meter”. Bearing in mind that photovoltaics are something like 20% efficient and assuming (wild guess!) that 10 square metres of bodywork are exposed at any given moment, that’s a maximum gain of 300 * 10 * 0.2 = 600W. At roughly 750W to 1hp, that’s around 0.8hp!
I know McLaren are pretty desperate at the moment, but they really should know better!
RaceProUK (@)
3rd December 2015, 12:54
There are materials being researched that bump that figure to 46%, and it’s only going to go up.
Until it hits a point where it’s impossible to improve of course.
De
3rd December 2015, 13:02
It’s not much, but it can probably power all the on board electronics, so an alternator would be unnecessary.
JimG (@jimg)
3rd December 2015, 13:34
@raceprouk: so it could go up to 4hp. Or maybe Bernie could sell a race somewhere in the Sahara and get it all the way up to 8hp ;-)
@de: Except that when the sun goes in you need a backup, either an alternator or a battery.
Don’t get me wrong, solar energy has its place. But that place is not on racing cars.
RaceProUK (@)
3rd December 2015, 13:36
It does, insofar as if it can generate enough juice, it could power the electronics, meaning no alternator, which reduces the load on the engine, so you get a little more power to the wheels and/or slightly better fuel economy. It may not be much, but in a world where teams spend $100,000 to gain 0.01s a lap, it’s worth exploring.
Bomarcuda (@bomarcuda)
3rd December 2015, 14:19
+1
@HoHum (@hohum)
3rd December 2015, 23:28
@jimg, “World solar challenge” 3000+km @ average 90+kmh. Ref.Wiki or your fav search engine.
JIckx
3rd December 2015, 14:26
Fully agree here. McLaren can say whatever they want for a concept car, you say solar panels are between 20% and 46% efficient.. I’m sure McLaren has 100% in mind and maybe even more !!
If I were to build a F1 concept car, I’ll let it run on garbage and, to end all discussions about degrading tyres, it will fly… because where I go … I don’t need roads !!
TribalTalker (@tribaltalker)
4th December 2015, 14:41
@jimg – as you say, the “solar panel” idea is worth about 1HP, here on Earth… Ron’s master plan is to be racing on Mercury where the solar radiation is available at a much more useful level. When these experts get together to tweak the rules of F1, they have to think out of the box. Right out of their collective boxes. Take that, pesky Earth-bound Formula E!
Excuse me :D (@square-route)
3rd December 2015, 13:48
and then add a GP2 engine to it.
#just_mclaren_things
Todfod (@todfod)
3rd December 2015, 16:03
@square-route
+1
ROFL
FlyingLobster27
3rd December 2015, 14:13
“Powered by a zero-emissions engine” – so what are those two spouts either side of the engine cover at the back, portholes? An odd place for rear-view cameras?
Actually, I found no mention of ‘zero emissions’ on the McLaren webpage, rather a ‘rethink of the ICE’… which means rigorously nothing.
Of course it’s not functional or factual, but as a concept, I like the look of it. At least I do in this livery, and not with whatever “personalised ads” they might have in store for me. Nice nose.
RaceProUK (@)
3rd December 2015, 17:49
Cooling outlets?
Sumedh
3rd December 2015, 14:38
I liked Ferrari’s concept more than this
Cesar Silva Gomes
3rd December 2015, 14:59
One question though, how does the driver get in?
Philip (@philipgb)
3rd December 2015, 15:01
One thing is for sure that McLaren would recover more energy than any other team from solar power given the lack of sponsorship logos blocking the light.
Todfod (@todfod)
3rd December 2015, 16:04
And the colour black does absorb more heat :)
Todfod (@todfod)
3rd December 2015, 16:07
I could see the Mclaren concept formula 1 car getting lapped by Red Bull’s and Ferrari’s concept cars
f1azzer (@)
3rd December 2015, 17:44
I drive an 06 Ford Focus C-Max Ghia at the moment, I think I might trade it in for this little toy……
Jules Winfield (@jules-winfield)
3rd December 2015, 18:08
Hmm, I really like that. It’s futuristic, but it also has some elements in common with modern F1 cars that let you trace the lineage (e.g. the front wing). It also fixes some long-standing safety issues like exposed tyres and exposed drivers without looking too awful. Of all the concepts I’ve seen so far (Ferrari and Red Bull), I think this is the best.
Illusive (@illusive)
3rd December 2015, 18:31
Very big for an F1 car, lot of chance of contact during overtaking on corners.
CharlieL
3rd December 2015, 18:52
How wonderful. In the midst of a performance crisis, isn’t it great that they still have the time and resources to do this…
RaceProUK (@)
3rd December 2015, 19:17
A few thousand pounds and a couple of one-on-one meetings with an artist isn’t exactly a big effort on the part of McLaren. Besides, this’ll be from the marketing department.
CharlieL
3rd December 2015, 22:47
Fair Point.
Quant
3rd December 2015, 20:11
The most realistic bit was at 40 seconds, where the car appears to break down.
Gridlock (@gridlock)
3rd December 2015, 20:49
Dear Bernie,
GIVE US BACK LOW REAR WINGS!
Regards,
Everyone.
just.daz (@nemo87)
3rd December 2015, 21:18
I like it but it’s not F1
Much prefer the Williams render someone did a few months back :)
RaceProUK (@)
3rd December 2015, 23:28
If in 1965 you showed the Mercedes W06 to the makers of the Brabham BT11, they’d probably say the same thing :)
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
4th December 2015, 1:35
This is fantastic!
MarkM
4th December 2015, 14:40
will their driver be batman?
RaceProUK (@)
4th December 2015, 17:49
Only if their other driver is Robin :)
James Beumee
4th December 2015, 17:55
… Still a GP2 engine :/
JMDan (@danmar)
5th December 2015, 6:41
LOL!
JMDan (@danmar)
5th December 2015, 6:39
Looks like they bought the design from Bruce Wayne.
ram
5th December 2015, 18:33
Its the future. Current cars look fragile and old fashioned by comparison.