McLaren X-1

Information

McLaren X-1 by MSO

In the early days of McLaren Automotive, a VIP customer, who owns a McLaren F1, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, and a 12C, reached out to McLaren Executive Chairman, Ron Dennis. He reached out asking for a bespoke McLaren with all the performance of the 12C but with his personality. He also wanted the car to be timeless and elegant. The client met with MSO Programme Director Paul MacKenzie and Dezign Director Frank Stephenson to start the design process. They all sat down for a 3-hour meeting where they took pages of notes and compiled hundreds of photos from areas like automotive, fashion, film, and architecture. They presented all these photos to the customers, and then it was cut down into what they call a 'mood book'. The book contained cars from all over the world, too: an Airstream trailer, a Jaeger LeCoultre art deco clock, an eggplant, a grand piano, and a black and white photo of Audrey Hepburn. With the book completed, the customer wanted a design competition from external designers with some of whom didn’t have any automotive experience. The winner ended up being Hong Yeo, and the design was completed with the help of Frank Stephenson. Yeo said that the hardest part of the design was that the client wanted a timeless look, which typically applies to front-engined cars, so the proportions are critical to the design of the car.

From the design, they created a 30% model and a full-sized model. Even though they wanted to use computer modeling, the customer insisted on seeing a 'real' version. It was said by the people working on the project that the buyer knew what he wanted but only gave the details of the metal brightwork that goes from the nose, over the back and hips, to the rear. The styling took 18 months to get signed off, but it got the timeless look they were looking for.

The whole car is made of advanced materials, and everything on the car is bespoke. The wheels and lights are all bespoke, meaning they were tested and homologated before the design was signed off. The X-1 was created to be used on the road and travel at supercar speeds, all while being road legal. This and the fact that it has to seat 2 full-grown adults comfortably is the reason why it took 2 and a half years of development. It did 625 miles of testing with parts of it at the Idiada circuit in Spain, while being driven by Chief McLaren Test Driver, Chris Goodwin.

All of the body panels are made of carbon fiber, and the only paint is a rich piano black, which is hard to work with because there is no color tint ot metalic in the paint. Both sides of the car have visual carbon fiber with the piano black paint as specified by the client. Bespoke head and tail lights were only a small part of all of the one-off parts. The bright work, along with the McLaren logo, was specially milled from one block of aluminium and coated with a nickel finish. The wheels, which are specially made for the X-1, are diamond turned and also finished with a tinted lacquer to complement the nickel-plated brightwork. The over-the-shoulder rails, base of the windshield, back of the glass house, the 'eyebrows' over the headlights, and the rear wing airbrake are all milled from solid aluminum with nickel plating to match the rest of the car. One of the most distinguishing features is the covered rear wheels, which came from the client's desire to have a timeless look. The wheels are accessed through an opening carbon fiber panel with what Frank Stephenson calls 'the most gorgeous hinges you’ve ever seen'. The attention to detail is some of the most astonishing that can be found in any car. From the carbon fiber license plate illuminators to the carbon fiber finishes lining the engine bay, and the aluminum cap of the header tank. Even the doors were especially made, with them keeping the McLaren door style, but changing the style. The only thing that's been kept externally is the rear windshield that was kept over from the 12C.

The dimensions of the X-1 are bigger, 109 mm longer and 188 mm wider than the 12C it was based on. The roof was redesigned to match the body style but stayed the same height as the 12C at 1199 mm. The Kerb weight is pretty similar to the 12C and is around 1400 kgs (3086 lbs), so even though it is longer, it is not heavier, due to the lightweight materials used, which are integral to the McLaren engineering philosophy. The exterior has a massive overhaul, but the interior stayed relatively the same. The interior customization includes bespoke Harissa Red McLaren Nappa leather used for the seats, roof, and doors, with special Andesite tufted carpets. The switchgear is nickel-coated aluminum to match the exterior, and the interior also has carbon trim with titanium woven in, which is said to cause a 3D effect.

All of these changes and bespoke features caused the need for the car to be homologated to be used on the road. All of the engineering ensured the car was safe and usable, and was all done without changing anything mechanical. It shares the same twin-turbo 625PS engine, allowing the X-1 to have amazing acceleration and top speed. The X-1 was a true test of the resources of MSO and allowed the customer to make a true one off for the customer, Once the X-1 was shown to the public at The Quail during Monterey Car Week it was taken back to the McLaren headquarters in Woking England to be taken apart, and rebuilt before being sent to the owners collection.