Skip advert
Advertisement

Five McLaren Senna GTR LMs in Le Mans liveries revealed

Celebrating 25 years since McLaren’s domination of the 1995 Le Mans 24hr with the F1 GTR

The 1995 Le Mans 24hr concluded with a result now enshrined in motorsport history. The McLaren F1, a road car masterpiece from Formula 1-designer Gordon Murray would don some light racing upgrades to not just win the Le Mans 24h, but dominate it - finishing in four of the top five places. There were in fact five F1 GTRs in that race, the last placing in 13th, each of which have provided inspiration to a set of five matching Senna GTR LMs commissioned by five lucky owners 25 years after that momentous race.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Each of the examples is based on one of those racers and features a bespoke hand-painted livery by McLaren Special Operations that took a staggering 800 man hours to complete. Each of the logos, sponsorship decals and colourations have all been painstakingly recreated on the Senna GTR LM’s complex bodywork, the only piece of vinyl on each of them is a recreated period scrutineering sticker.

Among those liveries is the famous ‘Harrods car’, car number 51 in the race, which was driven by Andy Wallace, Derek Bell and Justin Bell to third place after a transmission issue forced Wallace to nurse the car home in the last two hours of racing. The livery itself featured the name of London’s famous Harrods department store on the yellow and green livery.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Advertisement - Article continues below

The winning ‘Ueno Clinic’ car, driven by Yannick Dalmas, Masanori Sekiya and JJ Lehto was recreated with the car’s specific owner also commissioning a set of bespoke driving lights inspired by those fitted to the F1/01R. 

Each of the units also features the five-spoke LM-style wheel design from OZ Racing and bespoke twin-pipe high-mounted exhaust outlets. The brake calipers and suspension wishbones are anodised in a dusty gold finish inspired by those seen on the original 1995 Le Mans racers. 

The Senna GTR LMs themselves are otherwise as per the rest of the build run, taking the standard Senna GTR’s racing-inspired package and turning the wick up even further by boosting the M840TQ-specification 4-litre twin-turbo V8 to 833bhp. The extra power comes courtesy of new valve spring retainers made from a metal matrix composite that have a 65 percent weight reduction over the standard units, higher-grade valve springs and ported cylinder heads. The alterations also increase the rev limit to nearly 9000rpm, up from the standard Senna’s soft 8250rpm limiter. 

These new powertrain elements are just the tip of a technical iceberg comparable in scale to the Greenland ice shelf, with other numerical highlights being the 1188kg dry weight figure and a 1000kg downforce rating at 155mph, generated without increasing drag by the clever active aero.

Given the nature of these most extreme McLarens, their historical significance and the huge human effort to bring the liveries to life, to discuss something like cost would be missing the point. We can just enjoy the fact that they exist at all, and perhaps consider that a standard Senna GTR will cost over a million pounds before all that bespoke paintwork…

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

McLaren adds ex-Ferrari boss to its team following reshuffle
McLaren Artura Spider
News

McLaren adds ex-Ferrari boss to its team following reshuffle

Former Ferrari Chairman Luca Montezemolo joins McLaren to spearhead growth under new owners
30 Jun 2025
Lamborghini Fenomeno – new hypercar will be revealed at Monterey Car Week
Lamborghini Fenomeno
News

Lamborghini Fenomeno – new hypercar will be revealed at Monterey Car Week

A new limited-run hypercar is on the agenda at Lamborghini and it goes by the name Fenomeno
27 Jun 2025
Corvette ZR1X is more powerful and faster than the Ferrari F80
Corvette ZR1X – front
News

Corvette ZR1X is more powerful and faster than the Ferrari F80

Corvette’s long-awaited halo model has arrived – ‘ZR1X’ might not be as evocative as ‘Zora’ but it’s every bit as powerful as the rumours suggested
18 Jun 2025
The Ferrari 296 Speciale Piloti is an 868bhp supercar you (probably) can’t buy
Ferrari 296 Speciale Piloti
News

The Ferrari 296 Speciale Piloti is an 868bhp supercar you (probably) can’t buy

The 296 has only just been given the hardcore Speciale treatment, but Ferrari’s already devised a new special edition for its very best customers
17 Jun 2025
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Honda Civic Type R for £5k off – save 10 per cent on the ultimate hot hatch
Honda Civic Type R deal
News

Honda Civic Type R for £5k off – save 10 per cent on the ultimate hot hatch

The Civic Type R is not long for this world and there are deals to be had on Honda’s pricey but near-perfect hot hatch
26 Jun 2025
Frontline MGA Factory Edition review – a quaint classic with a modern heart
Frontline MGA Factory Edition
Reviews

Frontline MGA Factory Edition review – a quaint classic with a modern heart

The MGB restomod specialist turns its attention to the B’s pretty predecessor. The result is compelling
26 Jun 2025
Can Lotus survive its latest crisis?
Lotus factory
Opinion

Can Lotus survive its latest crisis?

Lotus’s latest troubles are grabbing headlines, but the writing’s been on the wall for some time.
28 Jun 2025