THE F1’S ENGINE PRODUCES ONE OF THE HIGHEST SPECIFIC OUTPUTS FOR A LARGE-CAPCITY NATURALLY-ASPIRATED UNIT IN PRODUCTION SPORTS CAR HISTORY
The BMW Motorsport ‘S70/2’ V12 engine for the McLaren F1 is a unique design, individually hand-assembled and dyno-tested for each owner to produce one of the highest specific outputs for a large capacity naturally-aspirated engine in production sports car history.
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Seeking performance with clean emission, the engine possesses extremely efficient heads, continuous variable inlet valve timing and an emission-control system incorporating secondary air supply and four catalytic converters with ‘Lambda’ exhaust gas analysis control.
This 4-cam, 48-valve, 60-degree V12 engine’s 86mm bore and 87mm stroke displace 6,064cc. Compression ratio is 10.5:1 and with its chain-driven DOHC valvegear and TAG Electronic Systems fuel injection and engine management, power output is over 550bhp (404kW) at 7,500rpm, coupled to a peak torque in excess of 600Nm between 4,000 and 7,000rpm, with no less than 350Nm at only 1,500rpm!
The load-bearing lightweight cylinder block is cast in aluminium-alloy with Nakasil coating. BMW Motorsport’s renowned engine weight- and size-reducing technology has paid handsome packaging dividends. In fact, this 6.1-litre V12 is little larger than current 3.5-litre Formula 1 racing engines.
Lightweight magnesium-alloy castings provide the sump, oil-pump and variable valve-timing housings, cam-carriers and cam-covers. The airbox is made of carbon composite, while the voluminous exhaust catalysor system is cased in super-thin, ultra-high temperature resistant ‘Inconel’ sheet just 0.8mm thick and doubling as the F1’s rear crash structure. Dry-sump lubrication ensures adequate flow under high cornering loads and minimises Centre of Gravity height. Cooling is handled by individual water pumps to each cylinder bank. Everywhere within this tailor-made v12 masterpiece from Munich one can find further evidence of the McLaren F1’s purest design principle – total dedication to excellence.
