Which McLaren chassis is this?

[Formula None]

It's not an F1 car that for sure. Look at the roll hoop.

Also, look at the F1 car in the background - rear wing is pre-2009 spec.

Agreed.

Definitely not an F1 car. It has no wheels and the ride height is just too high. Judging by the cup dispensers at the front and the queue next to the gentleman in the center, this is some kind of semiautomatic coffee machine. The table at the rear is too high though, terrible ergonomics.

[N12ck]

mp4-4 i have a model where u can take off the nose cone and it looks identical

[richard_leeds]

I can't figure out why it isn't painted. Did they use separate body panels?

[Blackout]

Yes
Naked MP4-4



MP4-5

[Tim.Wright]

Its a picture from last year. I believe its lewis getting a seat fitting before Goodwood. So if anyone know what he drove there, then you have your car!

[N12ck]

the mp4-4

[richard_leeds]

Yes
Naked MP4-4

Thanks Blackout. It looks so irrational nowadays to see a monocoque chassis with aero body panels bolted on.

However, I guess it the arrangement is a natural evolution from a tubular chassis with bolted panels. Also this CF was new technology, so they went for simple structural panels first, then made them curved later on as the technology evolved?

[andrew]

I can't figure out why it isn't painted. Did they use separate body panels?

Pretty much. More information here: http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/matchett_a_look_back_at_mclarens_1988_mp4-4/P1

It's not an F1 car that for sure. Look at the roll hoop.

Also, look at the F1 car in the background - rear wing is pre-2009 spec.

Yes it is an MP4/4. Hamilton drove it and the MP4-23 at the 2010 Goodwood festival of Speed (and on Top Gear).

[Raptor22]

Its Senna's MP4/4. Its the car he drove in Suzuka to win the 1988 World Championship. The car was being prepared for Lewis to drive on an episode of Topgear in July of 2010. It was their tribute to Senna Special. you can find the clip on YouTube under "TopGear Senna tribute"

[Raptor22]

I can't figure out why it isn't painted. Did they use separate body panels?

Yes Richard. In the 80's the carbon tub was made up of flat carbon fibre aluminium honeycomb panels joined with prepreg carbon tape. The car then carried carbon/glass reinforced epoxy body panels over that for aerodynamics.
Moulded chassis without body work first appeared on the Benetton B191 designed by John Barnard. In 1988, carbon fibre chassis were only 5 years old with John Barnands McLaren Mp4/2 being the first carbob fibre monocoque.
Mp4/5 used a modifed MP4/4 chassis as did MP4/5b. Only MP4/6 was a total departure.

I recall Lewis mentioning that the MP4/4 had only about 1/10th of the downforce that his MP4/25 has this year. Suddenly we can see where the problem with overtaking lies

Even engine covers that shield the entire engine are fairly recent developments. There were plenty cars in the 1990's that ran with only part engine covers

[scarbs]

Sorry to be pedantic...
But the McLaren chassis built by Herculese in America were fully laid up mouldings, they weren't fabricated, like the lotus chassis from panels.

Also,
the first bodyworkless monocoque was the ATS D3 designed by Gustav Brunner in 1983, closely followed by Harvey Postlethwaites Ferrari 126c3 which appeared mid 1983.

[marcush.]

the big difference was Brunner and Postlethwaite worked with female moldings ,whereas Barnard /Hercules produced the tub over a male plug (core) which was extracted somehow and restricted the possible outer shapes considerable plus featured a not pleasant looking outer surface.
Brunner closed his tub by bonding a floor section to the tub as far as I know (not like it is done todays with the splitline somewhere half way up the monocoque.
Did Postlethwaite do it in the tungue and groove technique?
As a further sideline: who did invent the cut and fold technology for aluminium honeycomb in monocoque building ...was this Postlethwaite or Head?

[scarbs]

At the risk of us going OT...
I'm not sure who introduced the first Cut&Folded aluminium tub. If was either of those two, it would have certainly been Postlethwaite.

Correction: Postlethwaites Wolf WR7 from 1979.

Then several of his Fittipaldi designs used it. He used it again with the left\right split of the Ferrari 126C2 tub in 1982. Head only used a fully fabricated structure for the FW07 all the way upto the FW08 in 1982 (which went cut&fold).

[richard_leeds]

scarbs - that is very much on topic, it's great to understand the path to the current methods that we now take for granted.

[dave34m]

Its a picture from last year. I believe its lewis getting a seat fitting before Goodwood. So if anyone know what he drove there, then you have your car!

I think both he and JB drove the MP4-2c at goodwood last year

Edit

Hamilton and team mate Jenson Button will get to drive another championship-winning turbo-powered McLaren – the MP4-2C which took Alain Prost to his second title in 1986.

From http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/07/02/c ... -of-speed/