I’ll admit right up front that I do not have a ton of experience with McLaren road cars, as I have only driven one. More on that later. I am, however, very familiar with the McLaren Formula 1 team, as my all-time favorite driver, Ayrton Senna, won his 3 World Championships with them.

Most people don’t realize the significance of McLaren’s Formula 1 history, and what it has to do with their road cars. Ferrari is the car company that it is today largely because of their involvement and success in Formula 1 racing. It is their dedication to winning in the sport that makes their road cars what they are today. The only other company that has a similar history, albeit not quite as successful, is McLaren. I would dare refer to McLaren as the Ferrari of the United Kingdom, although I am sure McLaren would take great offense to that. Having extensive experience with Ferraris, I have come to the conclusion that it is their experience in Formula 1 that they are able to translate to their road cars that give them their unique feel, a feel that I have not experienced in any other brand of car. You can feel it even in their older cars.

One major difference in their Formula 1 ventures is that Ferrari designs and builds their entire car, whereas Mclaren employs the use of other manufacturers’ engines. Right now, they are making a go with Honda, whom have returned to the sport after many years away from it. Honda and McLaren had a very successful partnership back in the late ’80s/early ’90s, as this is the engine that propelled Senna to all 3 of his World Championships. They certainly have their work cut out for them now though, as any time away from the sport makes it very difficult to catch up.

McLaren’s first significant road car was the F1. Introduced in 1992, and designed by the legendary Formula 1 designer, Gordon Murray, it was powered by a BMW V-12 that produced in excess of 600bhp. The performance numbers that the F1 generated were astonishing. So much faster than anything the world has ever seen on the street before it. The F1 was produced in very limited numbers, yet they had a lot of trouble finding homes for them. Even though that was the case, current values for F1s have absolutely skyrocketed. I know that they were originally offered for south of the million dollar mark, but are now commanding in excess of $10 million! Not a bad investment for a car.

Gordon Murray really stressed the details. Every single component of the car was uniquely designed for its mission. One very cool feature of the F1 is the central driver’s seat. I would absolutely love to experience driving one. The one statistic that really blew me away for the day was the 6.3-seconds to 100mph. This was far faster than anything I had ever read about. Sadly, I have never even seen one in person.

Fast forward to current day. McLaren now has a lineup of cars, all mid-engined, that are fighting for the top exotic car spots right alongside Ferrari. Their lack of regular road car production experience has them lagging behind, in my opinion, but they are still ahead of everyone else, and yes, that includes Lamborghini.

I had a Ferrari customer who bought a pre-owned MP4-12C, which was a model that was launched in 2012. Unlike the Ferraris of that day, McLaren decided to go the turbo route, whereas Ferrari stuck to natural induction. This was one of the biggest differences between the two manufacturers’ philosophies. Personally, I like normally-aspirated motors over forced induction, as i feel that forced induction is sort of like cheating. Sadly, current and future regulations are pushing Ferraris to utilize turbos, which started with their California T model. That was a sad day for me to hear that this was the route that Ferrari was now taking.

One cool thing about having been in the Ferrari sales world is that so many customers really valued my opinion on their other brands of cars. This one customer with the MP4-12C was itching to get me in it, so he came by the dealership one day so that I could drive it. What I found is that it is a tad more extreme than Ferrari’s mid-engine V8 of the day, the 458, in every way. Getting in and out was a little tighter. The steering was heavier, as was pulling the paddle shifters. The brake pedal required more effort as well. For me, the car’s character was perhaps midway between the 458 and the 458 Speciale. It had its own unique feeling, and was fun to drive, but I certainly would not want to drive it for much more than a half hour, let alone take it on a weekend road trip – something I would not hesitate doing in the 458.

Values on used MP4-12Cs and models that came after it have not been very impressive, Great for the person looking to buy one used!

They have since introduced a successor to the very legendary F1, called the P1. As you would expect, the performance was elevated to modern time supercar levels. It’s a cool car as well, but for me, it lacks a lot of the desirability that the F1 still possesses. I think a major part of why that is so for me is Gordon Murray. The F1 was his pet project, and he instilled every ounce of what he could from Formula 1 into it. The P1 obviously is still a McLaren, but it doesn’t have a name like Gordon Murray’s attached to it. I would still love to drive a P1 though!

I remember getting very excited when I heard Chevy announce the introduction of the 4th generation Corvette. It was so different looking, and held a lot of promise, particularly in the handling department.

I started college in 1985. In one of my classes, I believe it was an art class, I met a fellow student, Nick. Nick had an ’84 ‘Vette, and was willing to give me a ride home one day, as we lived in a similar area. I was so excited to finally get to experience a new ‘Vette, and Nick definitely showed me what it can do in a safe fashion.

 

Years passed by, and Chevrolet introduced the ZR-1. I was blown away with the aggressive additions to the body. The rear end had been widened, and gave it a pretty intimidating stance. I still love the way that car looks today. I never did get to drive any 4th generation, only had ridden in Nick’s.

Once I started working at the Ferrari dealership, the owner also owned a Chevy franchise. We were now into the 5th generation, and Chevy had introduced the Z-06, which was only available as a notch-back design. I wasn’t crazy about them limiting it to that body-style, but was certainly impressed with the 405bhp that it had. I took one home overnight, and walked away quite impressed with it. Although 405bhp doesn’t sound like a whole lot of power nowadays, it still moved the car with authority.

Further along in my Ferrari career, the 5th generation was introduced. By now, I had many great relationships with many of my Ferrari customers. One of them bought a 5th generation ZR1, with something like over 600bhp on tap. At this point, I was very used to driving Ferraris, and was no longer impressed easily. I have to tell you, this ZR1 was STUPID FAST! It was the kind of acceleration that one very rarely feels. You are scared the whole time you are dipping into it, but enjoying every second of it. It is a car that demands tremendous respect, as anything with this kind of power can get out of hand, and quickly. The Ferrari that compared most closely to it in power at the time was the 599. The difference between the two in how they feel is that Ferrari has a way of instilling confidence into a driver, allowing you to drive it harder and faster than you would in a non-Ferrari. The Corvette felt secure, for sure, but not at Ferrari’s level. That is part of what you pay for when you buy a Ferrari.

I have yet to drive the latest 7th generation ‘Vette, and would certainly welcome the opportunity, especially the Z-06 variant.

As far as Chevy has come with the Corvette, my favorite still remains a 2nd generation, preferably a ’65 – ’67 (they introduced disc brakes all around for the 1965 model year, which I would want). I would probably lean towards a coupe, and I love how sidepipes look on one, so would want those. Definitely would want the 427 cubic inch motor, or the 396 cubic inch that was available in a ’65. I would want air conditioning, and perhaps even an automatic transmission (might be an age thing!) If I ever had the means to start my own collection, this would be on the wishlist!

In high school, I had a good buddy by the name of Jim. Jim had an older brother, by 1 year, who was a Corvette aficionado. He was on the hunt, nation-wide, for his perfect Corvette. What was his perfect Corvette? It was a 1980, with the Gymkhana suspension, and a manual transmission. The only way to get a manual on a 1980 was to have the less powerful L-48 motor in it, which was rated at about 190bhp, if memory serves me correctly. Jim’s brother made mention of a particular Corvette roaming around town – a 1980, low mileage, black on blue L-82. We’ll get back to this later.

One late fall/early winter evening, I am sitting at home not doing anything in particular. The year was around 1987. The doorbell rings at my parent’s house, and it is my buddy Jim. He tells me that he has his brother’s newly arrived Corvette that he had finally located on the other side of the country. It was beautiful! It was red on red, and in exceptional condition. I wasn’t overly familiar with the 1980 model year, but I can say that I fell in love with it. My passion  up to that point had always been the 2nd generation of Corvettes, 1963 – 1967. Anyways, with much excitement, we hop in the car to go for a drive around our quiet little town. I remember there being a light film of snow that was covering the roads.

We are coming around an almost 90 degree, lazy right hander, and the back end starts to do its impression of a pendulum. I turn to Jim to tell him to stop messing around when I realize that he has lost control of the car. There was a parked car on the other side of the street that we were headed straight for. We plowed into it, head-on. The ‘Vette hit it so hard that after impact, momentum swung the ‘Vette completely around the hit car only to end up on the lawn. Luckily, I walked away without a scratch, and Jim had hit his head against the steering wheel, and had a small scratch, but otherwise was okay, at least for now. I say at least for now, because now he had to tell his brother what had just happened with his cherished Corvette. Let’s just say that holes were punched in an unlucky wall, much expletives, and so on and so forth. I don’t think his brother ever forgave him for that, sadly.

Not long after that, I am scanning the classifieds. I come across a for-sale ad for a 1980 Corvette, black with a blue interior, with the ever-so-rare L-82 motor. This was it! It was the car that Jim’s brother had been talking about. I went to look at it, and fell in love. I had to find a way to own it. I put my beloved 1980 Z-28 up for sale. It sold fairly quickly, and for pretty much what I had paid for it 3 years earlier. I still did not have enough to buy the Corvette. Thankfully, my parents were always there to help my sister and I, and extended a “loan” to me. I put quotes around the word “loan” because it was one of those loans a parent extends to their children with not a whole lot of emphasis to pay it back.

I was on cloud 9 when I took possession of it! I kept the car for about 10 years before I needed to sell it to start exploring responsible adult-hood, meaning moving to a new city to find a real job. That car, as well, sold for nearly what I paid for it. Living in a climate that had real winters, I always stored my sports cars in my parents’ garage during the winter. The nice thing about that is the mileage usually stays low, and when springtime approached, you got all excited again almost as if you just got a new car.

The L-82 from 1980 produced 230bhp. I removed the catalytic converter to get a better sound out of it, but the car remained bone stock aside from that. That was good power for the day. I thoroughly enjoyed that car, and had a couple of white-knuckle moments in it.

Over the course of the decade of Corvette ownership that I enjoyed, another buddy of mine decided to look for more of a classic ‘Vette. He ended up finding what I suppose would be considered a ’63. I say that, because it was more of a “Frankenstein” car, where the engine was not original, nor were the seats. The look was a real head turner, as my buddy had it painted in Ferrari’s most well known hue of Rosso Corsa (red). It was an exciting car to be seen in, but holy crap, was terrible to drive. Ever drive a car with 4-wheel drum brakes? Plan your stops to be about 3 times the length of what you would normally expect. Emergency braking? Just cross your fingers and hold on for dear life (luckily, I never had to do that in his car). I remember the clutch pedal being fairly high off of the floor, where your foot actually had to leave the floor to depress it. That doesn’t sound like much, but I remember how tired my left leg would get in any kind of stop-and-go traffic. It was an incredibly cool car, but a really unusual choice for basically a high schooler to choose. It was very much a car to enjoy being seen in rather than drive.

I was fortunate that I had such wonderful parents who were willing to help facilitate my sports car “disease” Having a relatively recent model-year Corvette at the age of 21 was not the norm, at least not in my neighborhood..Those early years in my career of auto enthusiasm spawned some memories I will cherish forever.

I sometimes wonder what had become of my 1981 Z-28 and the ’80 Corvette. I wonder if they are both not only still in 1 piece, but if they have been maintained the same way that I kept them. Perhaps my path will cross one of them again one day.