BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97

The BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 is a race car produced by BMW and McLaren. It first appeared in Gran Turismo 4 Prologue (where it was named as BMW McLaren F1 GTR FINA (Long) '97), and is featured in the subsequent mainline games except for Gran Turismo Sport.
It is the #42, driven by J.J. Lehto, Steve Soper, and Nelson Piquet, who participated in the GT1 class of the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, it failed to finish the race.
==In-Game Description==
===Car Index (GT7)===
=== Café Conversations (GT7) ===
==== Jeremy ====
Ah, this is the 'long nose', 'long tail' McLaren F1 GTR, which debuted in 1997. Its engine was built by BMW Motorsport. While the McLaren F1 claimed a victorious finish at the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours... The next year, Porsche's 911 GT1 usurped McLaren's place on the podium. Unwilling to admit defeat, McLaren set to work on this 1997 F1 GTR race car. By its highly aerodynamic design, you can tell it was meant to hit high top-speeds on the straights of Le Mans. While it was not quite able to catch up to Porsche in '97, and ultimately finished in second place... Two years later, BMW settled the score in a way with its own Le Mans victory! But that's a story for another time.
==Acquisition==
==Trivia==
*Despite being based on the F1 supercar produced by McLaren (which was powered by a BMW V12 engine), it has appeared as a BMW in its appearances, even after McLaren's appearance as a manufacturer in GT5.
**As BMW Motorsport was the team that entered this F1 GTR in various real-life competitions, this is most likely the reason it has remained listed as a BMW ever since.
***Presumably due to licensing complications, several other games released around GT4P's release, such as Total Immersion Racing and R: Racing Evolution, were only able to include BMW Motorsport-entered versions of the F1 GTR; these cars would then be listed as a BMW instead of a McLaren. Enthusia Professional Racing was notable as it included the 1996 short-tail F1 GTR instead, but still a BMW Motorsport entry and was also classified as a BMW model.
***It is also worth noting that in 1996, the F1 GTR program was largely taken over by BMW, who also spearheaded the development of the long-tail version.
*An entry for an SOK Mclaren GTR '99 (with internal name gtm9r, where "m" stands for McLaren and "9" stands for the 1999 JGTC season) exists in demo builds of GT2 (specifically, the demo's replay name files), being a variation of the "longtail" F1 GTR that ran in the 1999 JGTC season. However, it was cut prior to release.Proto:Gran Turismo 2/Cars - String-Only Cars on The Cutting Room Floor
**An opponent (driven by Koki Mizuno) in GT7's All Japan GT Car Championship Special Event drives a longtail F1 GTR referencing said car. Additionally, the special event also contains references to the two cut JGTC Lamborghini Diablos and Porsche 911 intended for GT2.
*Despite being raced in the GT1 class in real life, it bears a Gr.2 classification in GT7, due to the extremely vague rules of GT1 that allows it to be quicker than the Gr.3 classification could allow.
*In GT7, it is possible to change the light covers, being the only Gr.2 car to have the ability to do so.
*The engine sound was overhauled in GT7 from its past appearances.
*Its engine displacement in real life is 5995cc, smaller than the short-tail version. However, this is not shown in its in-game appearances.
*At Cr. 20,000,000, it is the most expensive of any grouped race cars in GT7.
==Gallery==
BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car Vehicle Banner.png|The vehicle banner as it appears in GT4.
File:F1 GTR '97 - K. Mizuno (SE).jpg|Mizuno Koki's livery in the All Japan GT Car Championship Special Event, based on the SOK Team Take One F1 GTR
==Notes==
Category:Gr.2
Category:GT4 Prologue Cars
Category:GT4 Cars
Category:GTPSP Cars
Category:GT5 Cars
Category:GT6 Cars
Category:GT7 Cars
Category:Level 23 Cars
Category:BMW Race Cars
Category:1990s race cars
Category:Coupes
Category:Naturally Aspirated Cars
Category:GT4 Prize Cars
Category:FIA GT1 Cars
Category:Legend Cars
Category:Cars with changeable light covers