This was a very beautiful car... the design, the shape, the colours, the more open cockpit then nowadays... on top of all this it had a manual gearbox and a certain Ayrton Senna making history inside.
Allan McNish, Mark Blundell, and Johnatan Palmer are indeed the three test drivers, Palmer was racing in that years BTCC in a BMW 3 series, Blundell in Group C Sports cars, and I think, Nishy was in F3, but dont quote me on that
That was the very very last version of the 92 car, like theat the side pod, it is smooth, just like the one that showed up at Adelaide, before that that it had an air vent
Some more info on the engine: I think the power values vary as the engine and special '92 high octane fuels were further developed in 1992. V12(RA122E/B) 3493cc Max Power: 775ps/14400rpm Max Torque 54.4kg.m/12000rpm Max Engine power occurence (pressure inside the cylinder & friction) Pe at the time of Max torque Pe at the time of 19.5kg/cm2 Max output 13.8kg/cm2
I believe Williams also stopped working on developing the FW 15C after Prost´s victories in the summer to prepare the passive car for 94 which helped McLaren to recover at the end of the season.
Honda RA122E/B V12 ran at 6-8 bar (87-116 psi) supply pressure with the gas supply (replenishment) cylinder charged, initially, to 150 bar (2175 psi). Honda claimed an overall reduction of valve assembly reciprocating mass of 20% with similar levels of valve train friction (as compared to conventional systems).
Yes, at the time it was lightyears behind the FW14B. It was too heavy because of the V12 engine and too thirsty. The main problem was that Mclaren never got their '92 tech car right like Williams did with the FW14B. The Mclaren kept breaking down.
I believe that the engine performance is quoted less in the years that it was in use (to mislead competition) and quoted truthfully today. Or there was great development during the year. Or the performance varies greatly because of new and better fuels. The values differ by upto 80 hp.
I believe McLaren developed an active suspension for the MP4/7 but never got it working. They tested it but the car was 4 seconds slower than the active one so they dropped it.
It's interesting, I found another site by Honda (allf1) which gives the following values: Type: RA122E Year: 1992 Number of cylinders: 12 Configuration: 60° vee Weight: 150 kg Capacity: 3493 RPM: 15000 Power: 850-880 bhp
That McLaren Marboro is indeed one of the most beaultiful cars ever. But in terms of beauty I have to stick to the Lotus John Player Special that Senna drove.
"Super" fuels were banned b4 the '92 Italian GP. Both Williams suffered because of it. Mansell retired after the hydralic pump screwed up his gearbox. Patrese fell from 1st to finish 6th because the hydralic pump screwed up his active suspension. Willams put it down to the standard fuel causing excessive vibration in the Renault V10 causing both hydralic pumps to fail.
What a beautiful car that MP4/7. I think the most beautiful F1 cars to have ever been made were the MP4/8, the MP4/7 (this one), and the MP4/6 in that order. But there are so few shots of the MP4/7 on the internet. I wonder if anyone knows where to find the shots from this shoot.
Great info Gold, I am in the States and whatching a recent broadcast of F1 I heard Steve Matchet comment on the power gains in that era. He said engine builders would regularly find up to 50 additional horsepower every race (!). I have to wonder if the RA122E didn't eclipse the 900hp mark at some point. I wonder if the Honda boys up'd the power for the home GP at Suzuka as well - a sad race in 92 as Senna would retire early due to engine failure. I cant think of a better sounding engine.
I think that V12 had at best 760-770 bhp. And it was already very high. To my knowledge, the only 2 engine that were up to 800 hp during the 3,5 liter formula (89-94) were Renault V10 and Ferrari V12 during the 94 season.
Yes it was very dissapointing he went out so early. With the issues Mansell had, Senna no doubt would have won that race. A lot of what ifs..., Senna could win Adelaide as well, he was faster than Mansell.
I can't believe what I'm seeing... An informative, knowledgeable group of people making comments on RUclips!!!! Little Bias, mostly fact; what bliss... I wonder how long this will last.
I've read the McLaren MP4/8 of 1993 was a very fine chassis which might even have been better than the Williams FW15C, but sadly it was underpowered by the customer Ford Cosworth V8 which was a step down from what Benetton had in 1993. I believe 1993 was Senna's best season even if he didn't win the title. His win in Donington is legendary. With a better engine the 1993 title would be his.
Hm,the Lotus-Ford 79,which was raced in 1978-79 was a very good looking F1 car too as was the 2000 McLaren MP4/15. Brabham BT55 from 1986 had a clean design. March 881 from 1988.
I agree. Thank you for sharing your technical knowledge and specs with us - I always imagined the V12 made over 750hp and about 15K revs. How much more power was it worth over the V10, and how much more did it weigh?
Could be for a number of reasons wolf, the race before may have been a wet GP, or there was a promotional event in the wet somewhere (you know, when they do demonstration runs through a city centre).
Was the MP4/7 active ride? It certainly was not a match for Williams that year, or even the year before, though Senna still won the Cship in 91. I would imagine that V12 power came in handy for Senna at Monaco in 92 though. Senna and Berger complained of Hondas engines both in 91 and 92...do you think this was to mislead Renault or honestly their impression? What octane could you equate Shell's "High Energy" fuel to now?
Well Mika Hakkinen was the testdriver in 1993 and he had Senna and Andretti in the team. When Andretti left,Hakkinen outqualified Senna in their first race together.
1992 McLaren Honda MP4/7A RA122E 3.5 L V12 764 hp @ 14400 (805 hp @ 14400 on high energy fuel) 297 lb/ft @ 11900 (403 Nms) C. Ratio = 12.9:1 (Road & Track, thanks to Mike Fuller)
maybe or it was the simple fact McLaren was more hungry to prove they can build fast cars, they concentrated very much on TAG electroncis, in fact active suspension in the last couple of races worked very well.
It was not Shell but Elf, RON102. Benzene, Toluene and Xylene, Steam pressure, density, and lead content, were added. I remember guys in Hazmat suits handling the awful smelling fueldrums. Promptly banned that year, all '93 onwards F1 cars use the same fuel as roadcars.
MP 4/8 was not the best chassis, Williams and Benetton had a better aerodynamic. The strenght was the electronic, especially active suspension did work extremly well at the end of the season. Also Patrick Head admitted if they didn't have the huge power advantage...Ford V8 HB5 minus 100hp! HB7 minus 80hp! Look the Kyalami video how Prost gained on the strait line. 1994 active suspensions were banned and McLaren plunged, the reason was not only the Senna factor.
The 91 car wasn't AR. It had rudimentary TC but that was it. 91 was used as a development year for '92. Engine reliability in 91 was enough to win the WC. The '92 car had too many gremlins.
In 1992 with a bit more luck Senna could have won 3 additional races (Canada, Suzuka and Adelaide). Also SPA if the weather went his way. 7 wins, not bad in that car.
Love seeing the simplicity of seeing a McLaren roll out of a trailer :P back then, function and form still outdid image!
Such fantasticly clean lines.
Everything in proportion.
Beautiful.
Senna Is A Legend
It's so cool seeing Gerhard and Ayrton inspecting their new toy! :)
Wow, I had a copy of one of these photos on my bedroom wall since I was about 10. Amazing now to see it in action!
This was a very beautiful car... the design, the shape, the colours, the more open cockpit then nowadays... on top of all this it had a manual gearbox and a certain Ayrton Senna making history inside.
nostalgic..
this cars were the most beautiful cars ever...
today with those weird wings is not like this..
bring 90's back
I miss Ayrton Senna
Allan McNish, Mark Blundell, and Johnatan Palmer are indeed the three test drivers, Palmer was racing in that years BTCC in a BMW 3 series, Blundell in Group C Sports cars, and I think, Nishy was in F3, but dont quote me on that
That was the very very last version of the 92 car, like theat the side pod, it is smooth, just like the one that showed up at Adelaide, before that that it had an air vent
Some more info on the engine: I think the power values vary as the engine and special '92 high octane fuels were further developed in 1992.
V12(RA122E/B)
3493cc
Max Power: 775ps/14400rpm
Max Torque 54.4kg.m/12000rpm
Max Engine power occurence (pressure inside the cylinder & friction)
Pe at the time of Max torque Pe at the time of 19.5kg/cm2 Max output 13.8kg/cm2
muito lindo formula 1 senna gerhard amigos brasil
I believe Williams also stopped working on developing the FW 15C after Prost´s victories in the summer to prepare the passive car for 94 which helped McLaren to recover at the end of the season.
The good old days.....
Yes, to my information the active suspension on the MP4/7 was only used during a Grand Prix weekend once which was at a practise at Monza.
this looks like it was filmed today
Honda RA122E/B V12 ran at 6-8 bar (87-116 psi) supply pressure with the gas supply (replenishment) cylinder charged, initially, to 150 bar (2175 psi). Honda claimed an overall reduction of valve assembly reciprocating mass of 20% with similar levels of valve train friction (as compared to conventional systems).
Yes, at the time it was lightyears behind the FW14B. It was too heavy because of the V12 engine and too thirsty. The main problem was that Mclaren never got their '92 tech car right like Williams did with the FW14B. The Mclaren kept breaking down.
Senna, the best pilot ever!
I believe that the engine performance is quoted less in the years that it was in use (to mislead competition) and quoted truthfully today. Or there was great development during the year. Or the performance varies greatly because of new and better fuels. The values differ by upto 80 hp.
Ayrton Senna do Brasil.
O maior piloto da história do automobilismo mundial.
I believe McLaren developed an active suspension for the MP4/7 but never got it working. They tested it but the car was 4 seconds slower than the active one so they dropped it.
It's interesting, I found another site by Honda (allf1) which gives the following values:
Type: RA122E
Year: 1992
Number of cylinders: 12
Configuration: 60° vee
Weight: 150 kg
Capacity: 3493
RPM: 15000
Power: 850-880 bhp
The FW14-B Was very reliable for the time. Out of 32 starts (16 race's for each driver)only 5 retirements due to mechanical problems
Yes, at Estoril in the first race. It was a good effort by Mika. But he never outqualified Ayrton after that.
That McLaren Marboro is indeed one of the most beaultiful cars ever. But in terms of beauty I have to stick to the Lotus John Player Special that Senna drove.
In that case I like the Camel Lotus more. But nothing can be more perfect than Marlboro McLaren with Senna driving it.
"Super" fuels were banned b4 the '92 Italian GP. Both Williams suffered because of it. Mansell retired after the hydralic pump screwed up his gearbox. Patrese fell from 1st to finish 6th because the hydralic pump screwed up his active suspension. Willams put it down to the standard fuel causing excessive vibration in the Renault V10 causing both hydralic pumps to fail.
What a beautiful car that MP4/7.
I think the most beautiful F1 cars to have ever been made were the MP4/8, the MP4/7 (this one), and the MP4/6 in that order. But there are so few shots of the MP4/7 on the internet. I wonder if anyone knows where to find the shots from this shoot.
Great info Gold, I am in the States and whatching a recent broadcast of F1 I heard Steve Matchet comment on the power gains in that era. He said engine builders would regularly find up to 50 additional horsepower every race (!). I have to wonder if the RA122E didn't eclipse the 900hp mark at some point. I wonder if the Honda boys up'd the power for the home GP at Suzuka as well - a sad race in 92 as Senna would retire early due to engine failure. I cant think of a better sounding engine.
I think that V12 had at best 760-770 bhp. And it was already very high. To my knowledge, the only 2 engine that were up to 800 hp during the 3,5 liter formula (89-94) were Renault V10 and Ferrari V12 during the 94 season.
Yes it was very dissapointing he went out so early. With the issues Mansell had, Senna no doubt would have won that race. A lot of what ifs..., Senna could win Adelaide as well, he was faster than Mansell.
Best looking McLaren ever! The last V12 aswell.
I can't believe what I'm seeing... An informative, knowledgeable group of people making comments on RUclips!!!! Little Bias, mostly fact; what bliss... I wonder how long this will last.
I've read the McLaren MP4/8 of 1993 was a very fine chassis which might even have been better than the Williams FW15C, but sadly it was underpowered by the customer Ford Cosworth V8 which was a step down from what Benetton had in 1993. I believe 1993 was Senna's best season even if he didn't win the title. His win in Donington is legendary. With a better engine the 1993 title would be his.
Those memories !!!
Hm,the Lotus-Ford 79,which was raced in 1978-79 was a very good looking F1 car too as was the 2000 McLaren MP4/15. Brabham BT55 from 1986 had a clean design. March 881 from 1988.
1:17, back then, the steering wheel is just a steering wheel. The good old days.
I agree. Thank you for sharing your technical knowledge and specs with us - I always imagined the V12 made over 750hp and about 15K revs. How much more power was it worth over the V10, and how much more did it weigh?
That’s crazy wow it feels like it was recorded yesterday
Could be for a number of reasons wolf, the race before may have been a wet GP, or there was a promotional event in the wet somewhere (you know, when they do demonstration runs through a city centre).
Was the MP4/7 active ride? It certainly was not a match for Williams that year, or even the year before, though Senna still won the Cship in 91. I would imagine that V12 power came in handy for Senna at Monaco in 92 though. Senna and Berger complained of Hondas engines both in 91 and 92...do you think this was to mislead Renault or honestly their impression? What octane could you equate Shell's "High Energy" fuel to now?
Well Mika Hakkinen was the testdriver in 1993 and he had Senna and Andretti in the team. When Andretti left,Hakkinen outqualified Senna in their first race together.
1992 McLaren Honda MP4/7A RA122E 3.5 L V12
764 hp @ 14400 (805 hp @ 14400 on high energy fuel)
297 lb/ft @ 11900 (403 Nms)
C. Ratio = 12.9:1
(Road & Track, thanks to Mike Fuller)
Now thats what an F1 should look like Low and wide.
The McLarens retired seventeen times out of thirty two races from 92 to 93 due to reliability issues.
maybe or it was the simple fact McLaren was more hungry to prove they can build fast cars, they concentrated very much on TAG electroncis, in fact active suspension in the last couple of races worked very well.
It was not Shell but Elf, RON102. Benzene, Toluene and Xylene, Steam pressure, density, and lead content, were added. I remember guys in Hazmat suits handling the awful smelling fueldrums. Promptly banned that year, all '93 onwards F1 cars use the same fuel as roadcars.
*not only Shell, but Elf, Agip, and also BP were in the Fuel wars, experimenting with upto 300 chemical fuel compounds per year until end '92.
Nope, the McLarens retired SEVENTEEN times from 92 to 93 due to reliability issues.
MP 4/8 was not the best chassis, Williams and Benetton had a better aerodynamic. The strenght was the electronic, especially active suspension did work extremly well at the end of the season. Also Patrick Head admitted if they didn't have the huge power advantage...Ford V8 HB5 minus 100hp! HB7 minus 80hp! Look the Kyalami video how Prost gained on the strait line.
1994 active suspensions were banned and McLaren plunged, the reason was not only the Senna factor.
Was the rest of the car reliable though? I remember many electrical and activeride problems on mp4/8.
the same as the FW14-B, 5 mechnical retirements out of 32 starts
The 91 car wasn't AR. It had rudimentary TC but that was it. 91 was used as a development year for '92. Engine reliability in 91 was enough to win the WC. The '92 car had too many gremlins.
Fav cars ? Mine's Senna's Lotus JPS Lotus 98T
Anyone know at what races the car ran with the sidepods covered like this?
What am I thinking, the MP4/7 WAS active ride, but was the 91 car? srry for confusion.
Reliability question was about the mp4/8.
Does any1 knows the song?
This music tho
1992
In 1992 with a bit more luck Senna could have won 3 additional races (Canada, Suzuka and Adelaide). Also SPA if the weather went his way. 7 wins, not bad in that car.
Film!
Carro bonito, mas pouco competitivo!!!
Até as Benettons tinham motores melhores.
I never knew that they got pockets in that driving overall.
Im afraid im a bit of a geek when it comes to F1! lol
As fine as the MP4/7 was it still wasn't a match for Williams FW14B of 1992.
But the mp4/7 had won only 5 races :(
by the genius of Senna why the Williams were from another planet.
The MP4/7 was a failure.
Kacak Segak Bijak Dan Galak
What a dumb soundtrack. Feels like it wants to put us in a state of "excitement", for nothing.