McLaren Senna GTR LM: Five tribute cars celebrate historic Le Mans victory in 1995
McLaren had a special run at the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours race. In what is considered by many as a magnanimous feat, five McLaren F1 GTRs finished 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 13th at the world's toughest endurance race. Celebrating 25 years of this historic feat are five customer-commissioned examples of the McLaren Senna GTR, each lovingly referred to as the McLaren Senna GTR LM.
"The incredible cars of the McLaren Senna GTR LM collection are an exceptionally fitting way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Le Mans victory in 1995," said Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren Automotive. "That achievement is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest endurance racing performances of all time, but for McLaren, its importance was even greater because it demonstrated an immediate and undeniable connection between the racing DNA of our brand and the start of our road car journey."
Each of the five Senna GTR LMs is wearing bespoke, hand-painted liveries that pay tribute to the design of each car that crossed the finish line in Le Mans. And since each vehicle is hand-painted to perfection, it took McLaren 800 hours to complete the paint job for every car. Apparently, this includes a recreation of the Le Mans 'scrutineering' sticker on the roof, which McLaren said is the only piece of vinyl among the plethora of painted branding, logos, and trademarks on the bodywork.
McLaren Senna GTR LM 825/1
This version pays homage to car #59, the overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995. The McLaren F1/01R came in 1st place and was driven by two-time Le Mans winner Yannick Dalmas, Formula One driver JJ Lehto, and Japanese driver Masanori Sekiya.
Popularly called 'The Ueno Clinic car,' it has charcoal gray Ueno Clinic livery and a bespoke Ueno Gray paint job. Every last detail was faithfully reproduced including the matching grey OZ Racing wheels and unique headlights.
McLaren Senna GTR LM 825/6
The 'Harrods car' refers to car #51, a McLaren F1/06R driven by Andy Wallace, Derek Bell, and Justin Bell. It took 3rd place at Le Mans, but it could have captured 2nd place if not for a transmission glitch that occurred two hours from the checkered flag.
This particular McLaren Senna GTR LM has a Solar Yellow paint job, Heritage Green racing stripes, and Harrods branding – the first time that the Harrods logo is seen on a McLaren in the past 25 years.
McLaren Senna GTR LM 825/2
Paying homage to McLaren F1/02R or 'The Gulf car' driven by Mark Blundell, Ray Belim, and Maurizio Sandro Sala, it took fourth place at Le Mans and is festooned in glorious Gulf racing livery. It comes in Gulf 95 Blue paint along with Gulf 95 Orange pinstriping.
Completing the winning look are vivid orange OZ Racing wheels, a Gulf Oil logo on the hood and doors, and a signature of Ayrton Senna on the rear quarter panel.
McLaren Senna GTR LM 825/7
This particular model is a nod to the McLaren F1/07R or 'The Jacadi car' driven by French drivers Fabien Giroix and Olivier Grouillard along with Swiss driver Jean-Denis Deletraz. It took fifth place at the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours race and is finished in Polaris Blue Metallic paint with royal blue livery.
French oil company Elf was the proud sponsor of this car and was the only one of the five cars to proudly wear the French Tricolour flag.
McLaren Senna GTR LM 825/5
Last but not least is 'The Cesar car.' It pays homage to the McLaren F1/05R that came in 13th place at Le Mans. It featured an all-French driver lineup composed of Jean-Luc Maury-Laribiere, Marc Sourd, and Herve Poulin.
According to McLaren, this version took the longest to paint. The original livery was created by renowned artist Cesar Baldacini and was inspired by Poulin's collection of racing trophies.
All five McLaren Senna GTR LM models are spoken for and are scheduled for delivery to its lucky owners in Europe, the UK, and the United States. Each version has 20 more horsepower than a regular Senna GTR (for a total output of 833 horsepower), unique Inconel twin-exit exhausts, an LM specific steering wheel with anodized gold paddle shifters, and unique interior embroidery.