These Independent Renderings Make Us Wish McLaren Made An F1 Roadster

independent design firm LMM Design, which specializes in photorealistic renderings of exotic models, envisioned a hypothetical roadster version of the McLaren F1. While McLaren never made an open-top variant of its iconic supercar, the thought of a one-off is intriguing even though it is most likely never going to materialize.

As we can see from the renderings, the McLaren F1S, as they call it, retains most of the design of the original car, including the unconventional three-seater cabin. What has changed, besides the obvious absence of a roof, is the rear deck which has been redesigned.

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The new panel incorporates the central air intake that is necessary for cooling the mid-mounted naturally aspirated V12, plus two buttresses behind the headrests which fade out in the tail. Further back, the engine cover and the active spoiler are carried over from the closed-body version.

LMM states that the hypothetical car could have a soft-top mechanism similar to the rival Ferrari F50, protecting the driver and the two passengers from bad weather conditions. For the exterior, they chose a custom metallic light purple color, combined with aluminum accents and the stock five-spoke wheels.

The McLaren F1, widely considered as one of the best supercars of all time, was produced in 106 examples, 69 of which were street-legal versions, between 1993 and 1998. Today, prices of F1 are skyrocketing so we doubt that any owner would be willing to chop the roof off his precious supercar. Even cars that have been seriously damaged in accidents are being handed over to McLaren Special Operations where they return to pristine condition after hours of meticulous work, as their value is even greater than the huge repair costs.

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Besides cutting up the roof and part of the doors plus designing and manufacturing a new rear deck and engine cover, a roadster conversion of the F1 would require serious modifications to the monocoque chassis, in order to retain its structural rigidity. This is why we believe that any kind of design changes on the beautiful body of the F1 will only exist in the digital world.

We would like to thank LMM Design for sharing their work with us