After years of dark or “predator grey” cars, as Ron Dennis liked to call them, McLaren have gone back to their orange livery in part. It reminds me of Manor Racing’s paint scheme last year. McLaren’s Zak Brown says that after years of being Darth Vader, it is time to be Luke Skywalker. Truly, Orange is the new Black.
CHASSIS
| Monocoque | Carbon-fibre composite, incorporating driver controls and fuel cell |
| Safety structures | Cockpit survival cell incorporating impact resistant construction and anti-penetration panels, front impact structure, prescribed side impact structures, integrated rear impact structure, front and rear roll structures |
| Bodywork | Carbon-fibre composite, including engine cover, sidepods, floor, nose, front wing and rear wing with driver-operated drag reduction system |
| Front suspension | Carbon-fibre wishbone and pushrod suspension elements operating inboard torsion bar and damper system |
| Rear suspension | Carbon-fibre wishbone and pullrod suspension elements operating inboard torsion bar and damper system |
| Weight | Overall vehicle weight 728kg (including driver, excluding fuel) |
| | Weight distribution between 45.3% and 46.3% |
| Electronics | McLaren Applied Technologies. Including chassis control, power unit control, data acquisition, sensors, data analysis and telemetry |
| Instruments | McLaren Applied Technologies dashboard |
| Greases & Fluids | Castrol grease and hydraulic oil |
| Brake system | Akebono brake calipers and master cylinders |
| | Akebono ‘brake by wire’ rear brake control system |
| | Carbon discs and pads |
| Steering | Power-assisted rack and pinion |
| Tyres | Pirelli P Zero |
| Race wheels | Enkei |
| Garage Radio | Kenwood |
| Paint | AkzoNobel Car Refinishes system using Sikkens products |
| Cooling Systems | Calsonic Kansei water and oil cooling |
POWER UNIT
| Type | HONDA RA617H |
| Minimum weight | 145 kg |
| Primary PU components | Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) |
| | Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K) |
| | Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H) |
| | Energy Store (ES) |
| | Turbocharger |
| | Control Electronics |
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
| Capacity | 1.6 litres |
| Cylinders | Six |
| Bank angle | 90 degree vee angle |
| No of valves | 24 |
| Max speed | 15,000 rpm |
| Max fuel flow rate | 100 kg/hour (above 10,500 rpm) |
| Fuel consumption | 105 kg ‘lights to flag’ regulated fuel capacity limit |
| Fuel injection | Direct injection, single injector per cylinder, 500 bar max |
| Pressure charging | Single-stage compressor and exhaust turbine, common shaft |
| Fuel & Lubricant | BP Castrol |
ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEM
| Architecture | Integrated Hybrid energy recovery via Motor Generator Units |
| | Crankshaft coupled electrical MGU-K |
| | Turbocharger coupled electrical MGU-H |
| Energy Store | Lithium-Ion battery, between 20 and 25 kg |
| | Maximum energy storage, 4 MJ per lap |
| MGU-K | Maximum speed, 50,000 rpm |
| | Maximum power, 120 kW |
| | Maximum energy recovery, 2 MJ per lap |
| | Maximum energy deployment, 4 MJ per lap |
| MGU-H | Maximum speed 125,000 rpm |
| | Maximum power, unlimited |
| | Maximum energy recovery, unlimited |
| | Maximum energy deployment, unlimited |
TRANSMISSION
| Gearbox | Carbon-fibre composite main case, longitudinally mounted |
| Gear ratios | Eight forward and one reverse |
| Gear selection | Electro-hydraulically operated seamless shift |
| Differential | Epicyclic differential withmulti-platelimited slipclutch |
| Clutch | Electro-hydraulically operated, carbon multi-plate |
| Lubricant | Castrol |
All I can think is it’s a not very good version of the Arrows livery with less sponsors.. but as everyone else points out, the colour scheme is also very reminiscent of Spyker. Lets hope Mclaren is stronger on track than both of them.
I always think of the USF&G livery when I think of Arrows. I completely forgot about the orange livery…
But to your point, maybe it’s Mclaren’s attempt to subliminaly set low expectations…
Lord, that’s ugly.
Probably has the potential to be most improved if Honda has done their job well.
Hey! Spyker is back! Cool!
Fans are like… We want orange.
Gets orange.
Fans are like… We hate orange.
Looks strikingly similar to the Arrows A21. Which was piloted by Big Daddy Verstappen. Hmmm…could this be a ploy to attract the Plucky Teen Verstappen to McLaren??? I mean, to be the first father/son combo to pilot ugly orange mediocre cars??? How historic would that be?!?
I’m speechless…and not the good kind, like you want
A good first step orange wise…