Had yet another amazing F1 moment last night...

I need to get to sleep and so I can't tell the entire story, but here's a photo for now to kick this off and allow you to form some conclusions. :bigthumb:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/Ron.jpg

OMG! :runaround:

>8^)
ER

Is it the book which Ron sends to the customers of delayed MP4-12Cs? I'm not sure if feel the same excitement having your money on hold and no car delivered in time:))

My guess, an F1 owner delivered the book in person?...(Jay Leno perhaps :smile:)

Thats why you are all:runaround:

If you were so lucky, did you get to drive it? if so :smokin:

That is the ever elusive boxed set of "McLaren: The Cars" and "McLaren: The Wins" which I purchased with my own money recently through Coterie Press. I had to contact the publisher to get it as while there are several retailers who seem to be offering it, none of them have any stock to sell.

Last night I attended the Grand Opening Party for McLaren Beverly Hills and Ron Dennis was in attendance. I was introduced to him by the Marketing Manager for McLaren North America and while there was no chance of having a proper chat given the tremendous number of people there, and the overwhelming noise, we did exchange some nice words and Ron was kind enough to sign the book for me. :cool:

Also had brief but enjoyable conversations with the two other McLaren F1 owners in the room - Tom Price and Jay Leno. All in all it was a spectacular evening - McLaren really know how to throw a party. The place was packed with people and I hope their efforts have translated into longer wait lists with the 12C and more brand awareness for McLaren in North America. :)

Ron did apologize for the cars being late - did not blame their supplier difficulties which he could have rightfully done - but rather took the blame himself. I am not sure if he was not his usual self given the venue but he appeared to be having fun, was passionate when he spoke of the history of the company and even snuck in a couple of jokes. He suggested that the future is bright for McLaren with several new products on the horizon and I am very much looking forward to that. :thumbsup:

I'll expand on some of this later on, but "Wow!" was definitely the word of the day for me yesterday.

>8^)
ER

Any pictures of the event?

I will have some later on. :)

>8^)
ER

We're happy for you here! Truth'd be told. Nobody like it. 800 million pounds already buried in new facilities. Huge current expences. Unfavourable currency rate. Economical and financial recession is still around. The 12C and next hyper car are similar to what's available on the market, and McLaren is not the leader on the market. 12C could happen to be the last McLaren. And, it's a shame, there will never be another F1. And Gordon is not the same and in different place.

We're happy for you here! Truth'd be told. Nobody like it. 800 million pounds already buried in new facilities. Huge current expences. Unfavourable currency rate. Economical and financial recession is still around. The 12C and next hyper car are similar to what's available on the market, and McLaren is not the leader on the market. 12C could happen to be the last McLaren. And, it's a shame, there will never be another F1. And Gordon is not the same and in different place.

You know Mr McAlice, I have been kind to allow your continued participation here given that you are a previously banned user, but if you prove yet again to only be here to spread your negativity that will be short lived.

>8^)
ER

Did he remember me? ;)

Glad you got the chat, albeit not to the length you wanted [something akin to the GM chat of a few years ago?....], and to meet Jay [did HE remember me? ;)] and Tom Price [he probably wouldn't know me.. ;)] must have been awesome

I'm glad [mostly] you and [to a, lesser extent, but still important] our contributions here [and on other forums] seem to be opening some doors for you

I love that Erik ! Speak to Ron Dennis, impressive !

He invited you att he anniversary ? ;)

No - he did not unfortunately. :(

Tom Price mentioned that he wanted to attend with his F1 but he is already committed to the GTO Rally and one other event which are right in the same window of time. I guess if I had really been thinking I could have offered to take his car for him. :grinno:

>8^)
ER


P.S.: Greg - no one seemed to remember you - sorry. :p

P.S.: Greg - no one seemed to remember you - sorry. :p

They are quite old nowadays, perhaps they hadn't taken their meds






:rofl:

Tom Price mentioned that he wanted to attend with his F1 but he is already committed to the GTO Rally and one other event which are right in the same window of time.

Love that, what a tough life it must be 'drat i cant take my Mclaren F1 out as it clashes with my GTO rally'. Ahh I feel for him.:naughty::sarcasmsign:

Hmm,

GTO and F1 rallies are not at the same date at all, I don't understand the problem except the lack of time.

Yes - definitely a first world, 1%'er problem. ;)

>8^)
ER

Okay - who is up for another round of "Where's Waldo?" :grinyes:

http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/assets_c/2012/01/McLarenBH_06-thumb-717x478-111854.jpg (http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/assets/McLarenBH_06.jpg )
Click to Enlarge

InsideLine was there too - these pictures will be much better than mine.

LINK: McLaren Beverly Hills Grand Opening (http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2012/01/mclaren-beverly-hills-grand-opening.html)

>8^)
ER

My guest for the evening used his phone to record Ron Dennis' speech to the crowd. For those who could not attend I am pleased to be able to offer a link to view it. Be forewarned that the '90210' crowd did not immediately show him all the respect that he deserved (:mad:) which clearly put him off a bit from the start. :(

About a minute into his planned remarks, he did pause his speech to make an impassioned plea for the crowd to quiet down. I was pretty embarrassed that it happened and figured that "Ron Dennis" not being a well known figure in the US was likely to blame, but was told later on that the same thing had occurred at a similar event in London. I am guessing a lot of people in attendance just did not realize he was hosting the party and paying for all their drinks. :rolleyes:

Enough of my mini-rant, here's the video for you to enjoy. I had hoped to do something similar but was too far away from the stage when the discussions started to secure a good place near the front. As you'll see at the start of the clip, Las was second row behind Jay Leno the entire time. Big thanks to him for sharing this!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151158885805454

I'll filter in a few more details as time allows. For those of you on the edges of your seats, I didn't really learn anything new save for one detail, but still had an obviously wonderful time. :)

>8^)
ER

My guest for the evening used his phone to record Ron Dennis' speech to the crowd. For those who could not attend I am pleased to be able to offer a link to view it. Be forewarned that the '90210' crowd did not immediately show him all the respect that he deserved (:mad:) which clearly put him off a bit from the start. :(

About a minute into his planned remarks, he did pause his speech to make an impassioned plea for the crowd to quiet down. I was pretty embarrassed that it happened and figured that "Ron Dennis" not being a well known figure in the US was likely to blame, but was told later on that the same thing had occurred at a similar event in London. I am guessing a lot of people in attendance just did not realize he was hosting the party and paying for all their drinks. :rolleyes:

Enough of my mini-rant, here's the video for you to enjoy. I had hoped to do something similar but was too far away from the stage when the discussions started to secure a good place near the front. As you'll see at the start of the clip, Las was second row behind Jay Leno the entire time. Big thanks to him for sharing this!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151158885805454

I'll filter in a few more details as time allows. For those of you on the edges of your seats, I didn't really learn anything new save for one detail, but still had an obviously wonderful time. :)

>8^)
ER

Sucks to hear he had to deal with a crowd having a lot of people like that. :( He's done a lot of great things for both F1 and road cars and I wish I was at an event like that...

I am never much a fan of photos of myself but my friend Greg was kind enough to snap this of Ron and I together so I figured I should share. A real honor to get to meet him! :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/IMG_4699.jpg

Before the jokes start - yes, I'm the one who lives in California and does not have a tan. ;)

The rest of Greg's photos from the event can be seen here:

http://www.drivenworld.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17970&posted=1#post17970

Here's a longer video from my friend than the one I shared earlier:

http://vimeo.com/34946947

>8^)
ER

:smokin: Nice! I think that moment was quite special for you, fortunately you had that moment! :smokin: Also nice to know who we have discussion with! :cool:

Very cool to speak with Ron Dennis himself. I only ask an autograph when I saw him on 2009.

Phil

I can't believe the crowd noise during Ron Dennis' speech and the fact he had to tell them to be quiet. Good to see the special guests were real enthusiasts (Leno and Dempsey). In one of the pictures in the links you posted where Jay Leno is outside with an orange MP4-12C, is that his personal one?

Yes - that was Jay's 12C parked out front.

>8^)
ER

Too bad #028 wasn't there. That is my second favorite F1 next to the LM. Shame the white interior is a bit worn out in it though.

too bad #028 wasn't there. That is my second favorite f1 next to the lm. Shame the light cream interior is a bit worn out in it though.

efa

;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/IMG_4699.jpg

>8^)
ER

I can't tell who is more star struck :p

Patrick Dempsey was there ?

Yes

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk159/connectedmediagroup/McLaren/IMG_4664.jpg

>8^)
ER

Thanks, amazing :)

Some guy named Jay Leno called me this morning... :)

>8^)
ER

Did you tell him that Greg says hi? He'll know who you mean








;)

OK, so what did he say?

Did you tell him that Greg says hi? He'll know who you mean

;)

You know, it totally slipped my mind. Next time, next time... ;)

Mike - I missed his call this morning so I don't have too much detail yet, but he did leave his number and I returned the call, getting his voicemail this time.

After meeting him and finally being able to chat a bit at the McLaren Beverly Hills Grand Opening party I was also fortunate to run into him just a couple of weeks ago when he was out with his Carrera GT on some of the local canyon roads (the same place he stopped in the F1 on New Year's Day).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/th_Leno1.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/Leno1.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/th_Leno2.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/Leno2.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/th_Leno3.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/Leno3.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/th_Leno4.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/Leno4.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/th_Leno5.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/Leno5.jpg)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/th_Leno6.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/Leno6.jpg)

We talked again that day and at the end of that conversation he promised to take me for a ride in his Light Car Company Rocket, so I have to assume he's calling to make plans to set that up. :sunglasse

>8^)
ER

I know this would seem as if you were pushing it, but it would be great if he let you drive his F1 just a short distance. If anything maybe you could get into is massive warehouse where he keeps the F1.

While I would of course LOVE to drive an F1 I would never, ever ask anyone for the privilege. I also doubt there's an enormous chance of anyone ever extending the offer so I'll just have to buy one I guess. :D

To truly appreciate the driving experience and get a real feel for it you'd need to do more than just a lap of a parking lot (I think) and given the car's value it is quite a lot of risk to just toss the keys to anyone. I'd trust myself to drive one on a closed course but out on public roads with a car like that other drivers can do strange and silly things in an effort to get closer and I'd hate to be behind the wheel when something unexpected occurs. :shakehead

>8^)
ER

I would never ask either, having never driven one I'd be afraid of grinding the gears.

Some guy named Jay Leno called me this morning... :)

>8^)
ER

:runaround::runaround::runaround::runaround::runar ound::runaround::runaround::runaround:

WOW, that is amazing! He would probably be THE one famous collector that I would love to talk to, he just comes across as such an awesome guy all around, and such a car nut too.

Definitely a class act el-primo car enthusiast extraordinaire and I've had this high opinion of him long before we ever had a chance to speak. Chatting with him on those two occasions just reinforced my beliefs on all of that and indeed he comes across as a very nice person too.

He arrived at the overlook on Mulholland with one of the mechanics who is often seen in the videos on his website. One of the kids that was hanging around up there was talking to both of them about pursuing a career working on sports cars and they both gave him their attention and were encouraging him to pursue his passion and not let a couple of closed doors ruin the dream. :)

Also, just the knowledge Jay is able to maintain in his brain about so many of the cars and bikes in his collection or the ones he grew up dreaming about is amazing. Let's not forget he has a day job too that has nothing to do with cars and demands a ton of his time and attention.

I would never ask either, having never driven one I'd be afraid of grinding the gears.

Be more worried about ruining the carbon clutch - that's not a hard thing to do in a short period of time if you don't know what you are doing and a replacement is rather costly.

>8^)
ER

When you get to drive his car and when you destroy the clutch you can replace it for free, just take it from your collection and bring it with you. I'm assuming you are only a few parts away from being able to build your own F1.

Great Erik !

P25
You are my hero!:rofl:

Thanks Jose. :)

Really though I've just been extremely fortunate to have my passion for cars, and particularly the F1, recognized by some really wonderful people recently who do indeed care. It has been a wonderful time so far and I am eager for it to continue. :bigthumb:

The only shame is not being able to bring everyone else along - but I'll do my best to share the experiences whenever I can. :)

>8^)
ER

... I'd trust myself to drive one on a closed course but out on public roads with a car like that other drivers can do strange and silly things in an effort to get closer and I'd hate to be behind the wheel when something unexpected occurs. :shakehead

>8^)
ER

This is quite true. Many years ago, a good friend of mine saw a gray F1 driving through the Tyson's Corner area of Virginia and said many other drivers knew what it was. He wanted to get a little closer, but the other drivers nearby were weaving in and out of traffic and swerving like drunks, some coming very close to hitting the car. Realizing he was underinsured (I'm sure he was fine for sideswiping normal cars, not THIS one), he let off the gas and backed away slowly.

That must have been very unnerving for the driver of the F1 to see all this action.

The fun begins... :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01808.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01808.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01810.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01810.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01815.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01815.jpg)

Resisted the temptation to touch anything this time but thankfully I have been invited back soon for a more fulfilling experience. :)

>8^)
ER

The fun begins... :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01808.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01808.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01810.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01810.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01815.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01815.jpg)

Resisted the temptation to touch anything this time but thankfully I have been invited back soon for a more fulfilling experience. :)

>8^)
ER

That must have been an amazing experience to see his garage. :smile:

Fantastic! Sure you had a great time :)

The fun begins... :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01808.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01808.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01810.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01810.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01815.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01815.jpg)

Resisted the temptation to touch anything this time but thankfully I have been invited back soon for a more fulfilling experience. :)

>8^)
ER

The word of the day is definitely "Wow!" :grinyes:

Here's a couple more of the Rocket for now. What a special car! :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/LCC_Rocket/DSC01801.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/LCC_Rocket/DSC01802.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/LCC_Rocket/DSC01803.jpg

They would be better shots, but most of the lights were off in the display section of the Garage. Suffice to say the whole place just exudes a massive passion for the automobile and is filled with very special cars and bikes wall to wall.

>8^)
ER

One more moderately decent shot of #015. :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/th_DSC01811.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20L/DSC01811.jpg)

Please note the brake dust. :cool:

Not a Garage Queen, but rather the King of the Garage! :bigthumb:

>8^)
ER

Thanks for the terrific pictures Erik!! Did Jay tell you anything interesting that we may not already know? Did you get to sit in the F1 or get a ride in it or anything else?

We only talked briefly about the F1 - our conversation centered mostly on the Rocket and then a scavenger hunt began for a set of unobtainable spark plugs that had been misplaced for one of the cars in the Garage. The place is just wall-to-wall stuff so I had to laugh when his shop manager, Bernard, said "Well they must be around here somewhere..." :lol:

When I arrived Jay was sitting in a Cunningham built sometime around the 1920s with the engine idling, just getting ready to back it out of the workshop. He said "Hey, hop in Erik" and we took it up and down the street so he could check out how it was running after they had done some work on it in the shop. It looked almost exactly the one in this photo and is the oldest car I've ever had a ride in:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/th_Cunningham-II1.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/General%20Web%20Photos/Cunningham-II1.jpg) <-- Click

It had an odd shift pattern like this:

1 4
|-|
2 3

...which Jay said was done so that with three people on the bench seat on a long drive the shifter wouldn't be in someone's lap the whole time while in high gear. I asked him how he remembers all the little nuances about these various cars as some of the controls are clearly complicated. He said that with the Stanley Steamers some of them have the same switch in the same place on the dashboard and yet it does an entirely different thing from one car to the next. Sometimes you just don't remember.

He makes it easy to forget that he's "Jay Leno" the celebrity and it becomes just a couple of guys rolling down the road talking about cars. :)

I'll bend his ear some more when I go back and try to let him get a few words in too. ;)

Any questions (within reason...) that someone might want to know? Throw them out now and I will try to remember to ask.

>8^)
ER

One question that I would love to hear the answer to, though it is a bit difficult to state concisely: What would he feel McLaren would have to do to the successor of the F1 to recapture the essence of the F1 in a modern take? For example, are the doors, or the 3 seats, or the manual transmission, or the lightness etc crucial to capturing the same sense of awe that owners have for the car.

I know that the MP4-12C is a nice car, but the impression I get is that it isn't 'special' like a 458 Italia, let alone the F1. So what is the magic that they have left out? As an owner of both the F1 and the MP4-12C he would be the guy to ask!

I'm sure you could word it better than me though...

Okay - I was hoping for more pointed questions (:p) but I will try to work that in. ;)

For instance, last night one of the things I asked him was why he doesn't have a Tucker Torpedo in his collection as given its status in the collector car market it would just make sense. It's rare, unique in many ways, considered ahead of its time by some, and fairly beautiful (in my opinion at least). Plus it fits his philosophy of one of those 'one man's idea' kind of cars so you would think it would fit right in. His answer was fairly candid but I'd rather not misquote/paraphrase him in print on that, so suffice to say it just isn't for him.

>8^)
ER

I finally got it: What makes the F1 so special?

:)

This one is kinda personal so if you don't ask i completely understand. But i would like to know if things like replacing the clutch have skyrocketd in price as much as the value of the car has. And is there any alterations that Mclaren has offered as improvments since new, i.e. improved clutch throwout bearing. Or did they finish design and not really look back at the basic parts?

Also (not mclaren specific), and maybe one of you might know this, how would somthing like a factory recall work on a car with such low production numbers, are there even enough cars to justify a factory recall?

Despite spending about 5 hours at Jay's Garage this morning he was seriously busy and the only time we really got to sit down and talk, we couldn't really talk due to all the noise. :yikes: :grinyes:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/425616_10150640439868566_541513565_9234145_2917345 44_n.jpg

The Rocket is just fantastic - I aspire to own one someday. I have really never been more wowed by anything with four wheels ever*. I'll be writing something up later on for a feature on a friend's website and have what will hopefully be a decent video to share along with it of my ride. :cool:

Thanks Jay!!! :cool:

>8^)
ER


* besides the F1, of course

Erik:

Can you tell more about that Rocket?
What car that is, what engine/gearbox and so on?
Must be super rare. I have never seen like that....:uhoh:

And if you got a ride with Rocket, when we see images/video of F1 ride...:naughty:

Well done Erik, really cool to read about your time spent with Jay and with a fantastic trip out in another Gordon Murray creation. How long before Jay takes you out in his F1? or are you holding out on us all :cwm27:

To me Jay seems like a real cool guy, who not only gets pleasure out of owniing/driving his collection, but also sharing with those who take a very close interest as well, top man :smokin:.

Looking forward to reading your full Rocket adventure, on your friends website :cool:

Erik:

Can you tell more about that Rocket?
What car that is, what engine/gearbox and so on?
Must be super rare. I have never seen like that....:uhoh:

It's my understanding they built a total of 50 of them - so yes, super rare. I'll tell more about it in the article I am working on which of course I will link here.

Here's a couple of screenshots from the two cameras we stuck to the car. Video has a lot of wind noise as they aren't set up for audio capture at higher speeds, but will hopefully still be cool to watch.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/398695_2677760186310_1325420538_2042029_474716092_ n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/409404_2677762306363_1325420538_2042030_341132021_ n.jpg

As for the F1 - perhaps that day will come too, but right now nothing is planned and I don't know how soon I will get back over there but I was invited to return. :cool:

>8^)
ER

Amazing Erik ! I belive to remember the rocket was "cheap" at one point and today, they rise !

Great read and great pictures Erik!

Cant wait to see what else pops up in this thread!