McLaren F1 Owners Get a Spare V12 During Rebuilds

From Road & Track

The McLaren F1 isn't meant to be a garage queen or museum piece - it was built to be driven. Even as the legendary supercar celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, McLaren's service department encourages owners to keep their F1s well exercised. Even while their engines are being rebuilt.

This nifty tidbit was brought to our attention by Jonathan Gitlin of Ars Technica.

Indeed, as McLaren's website explains, "MSO still has original spare engines, one of which is used as a loan motor, which means a customer in need of an engine rebuild can continue to drive their car." Once the engine maintenance is complete, owners get their refreshed 6.1-litre S70/2 BMW V12 installed, and the loaner engine goes back to the factory to await another installation.

While many supercar makers are happy to cater to collector customers, McLaren has always favored those who prefer to drive their cars. In fact, MSO will happily reconstruct even the most badly crashed or damaged F1 - the car's construction, and the skill of the MSO team, mean it's nearly impossible to total one of these supercars. As British actor Rowan Atkinson found out after wrecking his maroon F1 twice - then selling it at auction for $12.2 million with more than 41,000 miles on the clock.

So if you've been putting off your F1's engine rebuild, take note: You won't have to go a day without your British supercar, even while the engine is getting the full factory refresh.

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