Limited edition McLaren Senna GTR LM evokes the spirit of Le Mans ’95

As tribute to the five McLaren F1 GTR that finished first, third, fourth, fifth and 13th at Le Mans in 1995, Woking’s finest has developed five Senna GTR LMs in period-inspired liveries, echoing the designs of those that raced when Jacques Chirac was France’s new president.

Special permission was granted to use the logos of the likes of Gulf, Elf, Harrods, Tokyo Ueno Clinic (a Japanese cosmetic surgery practice) and Le Mans race organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. Not only do the cars look incredible, they are works of art, with around 800 hours of hand-painting carried out on each by McLaren’s bespoke Special Operations wing. In fact, the ‘César car’ – the dark one at the back on the main image – needed additional airbrushing and its overall scheme, based on the original design by the late French artist César Baldaccini, was said to have taken thousands of hours. There is also a vinyl scrutineering sticker affixed to the roof of the quintet to add that important touch of historical accuracy.

The 4-litre V8 LMs, which are road-legal versions of the track-only Senna GTR, have been given an additional boost of 20bhp to 833bhp and a higher rev limit to 9000rpm. Inside, there is a racing steering wheel with gold shift paddles, leather straps to close the doors and a build plate containing the chassis number of their F1 GTR relation along with the names of the three drivers from 1995. The winners that rain- soaked year were JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya in the Ueno colours.

All of the cars have already been sold to customers in the UK, mainland Europe and the US. The price tag has not been divulged but is thought to be in excess of the standard GTR’s £1.1m cost. The five lucky owners will also be given a special Le Mans experience, with each permitted to drive their limited-edition Sennas around the circuit prior to the actual 2021 race, accompanied by the five original F1 GTRs.