FOUND - McLaren F1 Replica!!!!!

[Mcl@ren]

Patent info for central seat :

found here:

http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...ren+AND+centre)

There is abit more than the quote below. a good read.

United States Patent 5,538,309Murray July 23, 1996
Vehicle body


AbstractA cabin structure for a vehicle has a monocoque construction and includes a support floor having a longitudinal extent and a transverse extent. Roof supports are integrally formed with the support floor and extend upwardly therefrom. Two rear passenger seats supports are supported on the support floor. A driver's seat support is supported on the support floor. The driver's seat support is positioned in the cabin structure centrally of the transverse extent of the support floor, and the driver's seat support is positioned forwardly of the rear passenger seat supports in a direction of the longitudinal extent of the support floor. The two rear passenger seat supports are spaced apart in a direction of the transverse extent of the support floor. The driver's seat support defines a driver seating position and includes two spaced elongate parts extending generally in the direction of the longitudinal extent of the support floor and on each side of the driver seating position.
Inventors: Murray; Gordon (Guildford, GB2) Assignee:McLaren Cars N.V. (Curacao, GB)
Appl. No.: 08/417,273Filed: April 5, 1995
Foreign Application Priority DataApr 09, 1991 [GB]9107435

Current U.S. Class:296/64 ; 296/146.9; 296/203.01; 296/66Current International Class: B60N 2/005 (20060101); B60N 2/01 (20060101)Field of Search: 296/1.1,63,64,146.1,146.9,185,193,197,203 297/232 180/291,298

[carbuilder2002]

And can you see McLaren giving a builder permission to use it? Even if you were to offer a hefty fee per vehicle. You can do a 2 seater but whats the point it would be wrong. OK so he has some body shells, the shell is not the most difficult part, you must remember that McLaren went to a great deal of trouble with the compact packaging of the car. Unless you are using a very short engine (V6) you will need a transverse transaxle. Not cheap or easy to come by. I was looking at Hewland or Xtrac but they were in the £20,000+ price range.

[BMW.WilliamsF1Team]

You can have a drivers seat in the middle. You can't just do the exact way they did in that description. It's not a patent on the position of the seating. It's a patent on the vehicle body stuture. Monocoque, strutural support running through the middle seat section, strutural support running behind the center seat, which is a form that can be used as a pair of seats, etc. Anyone can put the seat and steering column in the middle. That's not what he patented.

[carbuilder2002]

True, but if you are building a McLaren replica it does not leave much room for manovre even if you build a spaceframe the outer sills are so thin you need the structural bolsters down each side of the seat even if they are tubular and boxed in. You would also me mad not to take advantage of being able to put a strengthening structure behind the drivers seat.
I aggree there are other ways to do it but it is making it more difficult and less structurally ridgid. I know I have done a load of FEA analysis on various options and believe me they used the best and lightest method.

[McMonte]

Originally Posted by carbuilder2002

you will need a transverse transaxle. Not cheap or easy to come by. I was looking at Hewland or Xtrac but they were in the £20,000+ price range.

What about G50 ?
They're somewhat cheaper than 20K

[F1 monster]

How about going to Mexico and offering 100k for that drug dealer's F1?

[BMW.WilliamsF1Team]

Originally Posted by F1 monster

How about going to Mexico and offering 100k for that drug dealer's F1?

I don't feel like getting shot today.

[carbuilder2002]

McMonte,
The G50 is quite a long gearbox aft of the axle ctre line and the tail end would impinge on the exhaust outlet position. It would also push the c of g rearward.

[McMonte]

Originally Posted by carbuilder2002

McMonte,
The G50 is quite a long gearbox aft of the axle ctre line and the tail end would impinge on the exhaust outlet position. It would also push the c of g rearward.

Ahh cheers for that! I've only ever seen pics of them.
Must stop thinking about Ultimas...

[carbuilder2002]

Make no mistake the Ultima is a very good car in it's own right. But at the end of the day it's a kit car albeit at the very top end of the market. The pleasure I get is from designing and building a car from scratch, deciding what components I can use or modify to do a certain task. I have done the kit build thing once and ended up selling 75% of the kit and doing the rest to my own design. You could use a G50 but would have to have dummy exhaust outlets and exit the exhaust underneath out of sight with the risk of fumes being sucked back into the car.

[Mcl@ren]

Was reading a bit more about patent laws.

In the UK patents last for 20 yrs. dunno bout the states though.

so if Murray filed the patent in '95, we should be able to start replicas in 2015.

(PS. Patents cannot be renewed either (According to the info i read))

[f1 Sweden]

Originally Posted by Le Man

A friend who is into kit cars, just emailed me these pics. Looks like someone has restarted F1 production.

Hi All Mclaren enthusiasts


Please if any one knows how the builder is and have there contact if let me know. I am serious in building a Mclaren Replica for my self. The chassis is almost completed and I will use a BMW M5 engine... I am now looking for a good body or I will manufactory on my self. But if I can save time it would be grate

Thanks in advance

Best Regards
Björn

[f1 Sweden]

Hi


Just want to show you other Mclaren fans how my chassis are built. It is honeycomb and carbonfiber there will be a sub frames both in the front and in the back in aluminium.

http://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?i...hassifwyk9.png

This is my first carbon chassis the other sport car that I am building are I using aluminium to the chassis and carbonfiber to the body work but this is an own designed car that I have been working on for 6 years now.

I hope to build the Mclaren reproduction faster.

Let me know what you think about the chassis...always fun to talk with maniacs like my self

[f1 Sweden]

Hi


Here is a picture of my other car... this is a project that I have been working on for mor then 6 years now.

[img=http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6610/sensormg8.th.jpg]

This is just the hand made plugg that I did the mould from... it took 4 yras to do int by hand and will friends help. Ulf B is the one helping ut with the design.

Best Regards
Björn

[hurstg01]

linky no worky