Hey, what are you thoughts on the McLaren F1's seating layout with the driver in the middle?

oooh..... tough one.
on the one hand it fulfils a driver orientated brief.
on the other hand it also smells like a gimmick.
then again, doing it allowed two passenger seats instead of just one.
but it makes getting in for the driver an excercise by itself.

the designer in me says that it was a successful soultion to the design brief.

It gives the driver a better view of the road, and a better feeling of where the car is IMO. I also think its unique.

yea, my opinion is that its good for visibility and all but it may be a workout geting into and out of the car.

Really I think it is ideal for the type of car the McLaren is trying to be. I'm suprised we havn't seen more like it.

yea tru, I think the reason maybe the layout's practacality issues.

Great driver visibility + Equal weight distribution = Happy track car! :wink:

I agree, I think it reiterates the company's dedication to the long forgotten driver.

the only thing wrong with this is you have to scootch over another seat just to get to the middle and that alone is simple. Otherwise best driving set-up idea ever, its a better view +one passanger, but then again i would never let anyone get within 56 miles of my mclaren.

When Discovery did the 10 best cars ever made, they said the McLaren seat was in the middle was for sight purposes, but also for practicality purposes

I am assuming weight distribution also played a factor

actually... it was probably more to do with something gordon murray had designed previously... ok.. it was for a similar brief but well....

the layout is good for the above reasons, but damn those seats look like poop.

The back seats are practical and the driver's seat is race ready. No co-driver for you.

The driver sits ahead of the fuel tank. The passengers sit on opposite sides of the fuel tank in much the same way as the two passengers of the MR2 do. A straight bench (like the Toyota Alessandro Volta) would have ruined all of that. The center driver makes the car ideal for export with no modification necessary, but given its price of 500+ pounds, I doubt they cared about that. The extra room to either side must be nice (ahead of the passengers) for little odds and ends of storage. I think it's genius.