McLaren MP4/3

Last updated

McLaren MP4/3
McLaren MP4-3.jpg
The MP4/3 of Alain Prost
Category Formula One
Constructor McLaren (chassis)
Porsche (engine)
Designer(s) Steve Nichols (Executive Engineer)
Neil Oatley (Chief Designer)
Gordon Kimball (Deputy Chief Designer)
Tim Wright (Senior Engineer)
Bob Bell (Chief Aerodynamicist)
Hans Mezger (Chief Engine Designer (Porsche))
Predecessor MP4/2C
Successor MP4/4
Technical specifications
Chassis Carbon fibre and Aluminium honeycomb monocoque
Suspension (front) Double wishbone, pushrod activated inboard Bilstein spring / damper
Suspension (rear)As front
Axle track Front: 1,841 mm (72.5 in)
Rear: 1,676 mm (66.0 in)
Wheelbase 2,794 mm (110.0 in)
Engine TAG-Porsche TTE PO1, 1,496 cc (91.3 cu in), 90° V6, turbo (4.0 bar limited), mid-engine, longitudinally-mounted
Transmission Getrag 5-speed manual
Power850 hp (633.8 kW) @ 12,000 rpm [1]
Weight540 kg (1,190 lb)
Fuel Shell
Tyres Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants Marlboro McLaren International
Notable drivers1. Flag of France.svg Alain Prost
2. Flag of Sweden.svg Stefan Johansson
Debut 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix
First win1987 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last win 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix
Last event 1987 Australian Grand Prix
RacesWins Poles F/Laps
16302
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

The McLaren MP4/3 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the 1987 Formula One World Championship. The car was designed under the leadership of long-time McLaren engineer Steve Nichols, in collaboration with Neil Oatley, Gordon Kimball, Tim Wright and Bob Bell. It was also the last McLaren car to be powered by the TAG-Porsche turbo engine that had been introduced in 1983. The car was driven by double World Champion Alain Prost, in his fourth season with the team, and Stefan Johansson, who moved from Ferrari.

Contents

Design

The MP4/3's aerodynamics were completely different from the MP4/2, and the car appeared much more low-slung, to take advantage of the maximum fuel capacity limit of 195 litres, rather than the 220 litre limit in effect from 1984 to 1985. With addition of side-ducted radiators, the car's basic exterior shape was all-new and sleeker than its bulbous looking predecessor with the only visual reminder of the car being its nose section, though this too had been re-designed and was in fact lower and approximately 10% smaller. The suspension set up of the new car was virtually identical to the MP4/2C

To many, the MP4/3 seemed to have been designed along the lines of the lowline Brabham BT55 used by the Brabham team in 1986. Brabham's long time designer Gordon Murray had joined McLaren in 1987 as its new Technical Director taking over from Barnard and this led to the popular belief that he had played a major role in the design of the new look McLaren. However, team manager Jo Ramírez downplayed Murray's involvement in the design of the MP4/3, saying that the BT55's design had no bearing on the car and that Murray had primarily been in charge of quality control. However, Murray himself has since said that this car, and its successor the McLaren MP4/4, were designed using his original Brabham BT55 drawings as a base (as they were legally his, Murray had brought the BT55's drawings with him to McLaren). The claim has since been disputed by engineering director Steve Nichols. [2]

Engine

The engine was the same 1.5 litre, Porsche built, TAG funded and badged twin-turbo V6 engine that had so successfully powered the MP4/2, but with slight changes in compression and engine balancing, to cope with not only the new reduced fuel limit, but also with the FIA's mandated pop-off valve which restricted turbo boost to 4.0 bar after turbo charging was unrestricted prior to 1987. [3]

The Porsche built TAG TTE PO1 V6 turbo TAG TTE PO1 engine front-right Porsche Museum.jpg
The Porsche built TAG TTE PO1 V6 turbo

Specifications

Weight: 150 kg
Engine: TAG TTE PO1 T
Engine Configuration: 90° V6 T
Bore: 82 mm (3.23 in)
Stroke: 47.3 mm (1.86 in)
Valves: 4 per cylinder
Displacement: 1.5 L (1,499 cc)
No. of revolutions: Max. 12,300 rpm
Power: 634 kW (862 PS; 850 hp)
Power/liter: 467 hp/L

Success

There were three wins in 1987 with the MP4/3 by Alain Prost at Grand Prix of Brazil, Belgium, and Portugal. Stefan Johansson managed a few podium places, but he would be replaced in 1988 by Ayrton Senna. McLaren still managed to finish 2nd overall, with 76 points, in the Constructor's Championship. The MP4/3 represented the pinnacle of the development of the McLaren TAG-Porsche partnership. The Porsche-TAG engine featured an updated Motronic 1.7 engine management system, and now produced 790 bhp (590 kW) in race trim and up to 850 bhp (630 kW) in qualifying.

Although a number of teams, notably Benetton with their Ford V6 turbo and Arrows with their 4 cyl Megatron turbo (formerly the BMW turbo), encountered problems with the pop-off valve during 1987 when it would often come in lower than the 4.0 bar limit thus giving less horsepower, McLaren got around this by generally setting their TAG's turbo limit at 3.6 bar in 1987. This also allowed McLaren the advantage of better fuel economy.

Even today the MP4/3 is still considered to be one of the most powerful F1 cars ever made, since turbo boost pressure would be further reduced to 2.5 bar in 1988, reducing the power output of the turbo engines to around 650 bhp (480 kW) in a bid to make the naturally aspirated cars more competitive. Turbocharged engines were then banned completely in 1989, so the turbo era in Formula One may remain possibly the high-water mark for horsepower levels in Formula 1.

The MP4/3 was also the car with which Prost won the 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix to become the driver with the most wins in Formula One history beating Jackie Stewart's record of 27 wins which had stood since Stewart retired at the end of 1973.

The MP4/3 was the last McLaren Grand Prix car to use the TAG-Porsche engine. Its successor, the highly successful MP4/4, would be powered by the Honda V6 turbo.

Chassis log history

Five new MP4/3 cars were moulded from carbon fibre with assistance from Hercules Aerospace, as since the creation of the all-new MP4/1 in 1981. The chassis numbers, 1 through 5, were used throughout the year, with three new cars ready for the first race in Brazil. [4]

Two MP4/3s were destroyed during 1987, but three complete MP4/3s still exist: Chassis #4 is on display at the Donington Museum, chassis #5 is still owned by McLaren, and chassis #1, the only one in private hands, belongs to a Porsche collector in the United States and was auctioned on 9 March 2012 at Amelia Island, FL by Gooding & Company.

#1: Used as a spare car for every race except Österreichring. Stefan Johansson raced this chassis only once, at the aborted start (1st) at Österreichring.

#2: Raced by Johansson at Rio, Imola, Spa, Monaco, Detroit, Paul Ricard, Silverstone, Hockenheim, and Hungaroring. The car was written off in practice at Österreichring by Johansson, after a deer struck the car, and crashed.

#3: Raced by Alain Prost at Rio, Imola, Spa, Monaco, Detroit, and Paul Ricard. Car modified for Johansson for race use at Österreichring. It was originally a spare car at Mexico City, but then raced by Johansson, but written off in 1st-lap accident.

#4: New car for Prost to race at Silverstone, Hockenheim, Hungaroring, Österreichring, Monza, Estoril, Jerez, Mexico City, Suzuka, and Adelaide.

#5: New car for Johansson at Monza, Estoril, Jerez, Suzuka, and Adelaide.

The sixth car, known as the MP4/3B, was a test mule for the Honda turbo engine that would power McLaren's hopes for 1988. The MP4/3B never raced, but was tested by Prost, and later his 1988 teammate Ayrton Senna, until the all-new MP4/4 made its track debut at Imola a week before the start of the 1988 season (Prost lapped Imola over 2 seconds faster in the MP4/4 than he had in the MP4/3B. The MP4/4 would go on to be the most dominant single season car in F1 history, winning 15 of 1988's 16 races, as well as claiming pole in 15). After finishing the role, the sixth car went to Argentina and is on display at the Juan Manuel Fangio Museum in Balcarce. [5]

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearTeamEngineTyresDrivers12345678910111213141516PointsWCC
1987 Marlboro McLaren International TAG Porsche TTE PO1
V6 tc
G BRA SMR BEL MON DET FRA GBR GER HUN AUT ITA POR ESP MEX JPN AUS 762nd
Alain Prost 1Ret1933Ret7361512Ret7Ret
Stefan Johansson 342Ret78Ret2Ret7653Ret3Ret

Related Research Articles

Ian Gordon Murray, is a South African-British designer of Formula One racing cars for Brabham and McLaren and the McLaren F1 high-performance road car. Founder and CEO of Gordon Murray Design and Gordon Murray Automotive he has subsequently designed and built a number of sports cars and a variety of other automotive vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Barnard</span> British engineer and car designer (born 1946)

John Edward Barnard, is an English engineer and racing car designer. Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula One: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in 1981 with McLaren, and the semi-automatic gearbox which he introduced with Ferrari in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Australian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1988 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Adelaide Street Circuit on 13 November 1988. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1988 Formula One World Championship, and the last race for which turbocharged engines would be eligible until the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Formula One World Championship</span> 42nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1988 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 42nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1988 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1988 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 3 April and ended on 13 November. The World Championship for Drivers was won by Ayrton Senna, and the World Championship for Constructors by McLaren-Honda. Senna and McLaren teammate Alain Prost won fifteen of the sixteen races between them; the only race neither driver won was the Italian Grand Prix, where Ferrari's Gerhard Berger took an emotional victory four weeks after the death of team founder Enzo Ferrari. McLaren's win tally has only been bettered or equalled in seasons with more than sixteen races; their Constructors' Championship tally of 199 points, more than three times that of any other constructor, was also a record until 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 Formula One World Championship</span> 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 12 April and ended on 15 November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 Formula One World Championship</span> 40th season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1986 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 40th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1986 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1986 Formula One World Championship for Manufacturers, both of which commenced on 23 March and ended on 26 October after sixteen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Alain Prost, Prost was the first driver to win back-to-back Drivers' Championships since Jack Brabham in 1959 and 1960. Together with Prost, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna dominated throughout the season and formed what was dubbed as the "Gang of Four".

Motori Moderni was a Formula One engine manufacturer from 1985 through 1987. It was established in Novara by Italian engine designer Carlo Chiti.

Toleman Motorsport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and participated in 70 Grands Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren MP4/4</span> Racing automobile

The McLaren MP4/4, also known as the McLaren-Honda MP4/4, is one of the most successful Formula One car designs of all time. Powered by Honda's RA168E 1.5-litre V6-turbo engine and driven by teammates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the car competed during the 1988 Formula One season. The design of the car was led by American engineer Steve Nichols, the full responsibility for the design of the chassis having been conferred on him by Ron Dennis. Gordon Murray, as Technical Director, had the role of liaising between the drawing office and production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW M12</span> 4-cylinder turbocharged Formula One engine, based on the standard BMW M10

The BMW M12/13 turbo was a 1,499.8 cc four-cylinder turbocharged Formula One engine, based on the standard BMW M10 engine introduced in 1961, and powered the F1 cars of Brabham, Arrows and Benetton. Nelson Piquet won the FIA Formula One Drivers' Championship in 1983 driving a Brabham powered by the BMW M12/13 turbo. It was the first Drivers' Championship to be won using a turbocharged engine. The engine also powered the BMW GTP and in the 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated form, the successful March Engineering Formula Two cars. BMW engineers estimated the engine produced around 1,400 hp at maximum boost, however the BMW engine dynamometer could not go beyond 1,280 bhp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren MP4/2</span> Formula One racing car

The McLaren MP4/2 was a Formula One car produced by McLaren for the 1984 season. An iteration of it, the MP4/2B, was used in the 1985 season, and a slightly updated version, the MP4/2C, raced in the 1986 season for McLaren. It was closely based on the MP4/1E model that was used as a test car, used in the final races of 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren MP4/1</span> McLaren teams Formula One racing car

The McLaren MP4/1 was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons. It was the second Formula One car to use a monocoque chassis wholly manufactured from carbon fibre composite, after the Lotus 88, a concept which is now ubiquitous. The MP4/1 was first entered in a Formula One race at the third grand prix of the season in Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrari 126C</span> 1981-1984 Formula One racing car by Ferrari

The Ferrari 126C is the car with which Ferrari raced from the 1981 through the 1984 Formula One season. The team's first attempt at a turbocharged Formula 1 car, it was designed by Mauro Forghieri and Harvey Postlethwaite. The engine chief engineer was Nicola Materazzi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabham BT55</span> Formula One racing car

The Brabham BT55 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray and David North for the Brabham team owned by Bernie Ecclestone. It used a BMW four-cylinder turbocharged engine tilted over on its side to allow a clear supply of air to the rear wing. The car competed during the 1986 Formula One season. It was not successful and its introduction coincided with the end of Brabham's time as a competitive team.

The Zakspeed 861 was a Formula One car designed by Paul Brown for the Zakspeed team and was used in both the 1986 and 1987 seasons. In 1986 its drivers were Jonathan Palmer and Huub Rothengatter. The team did not employ a test driver as they could not afford one, despite sponsorship from German tobacco brand West. The lack of money also meant that the car's engine, Zakspeed's own 4 cylinder 1500/4 turbocharged power unit, which was rated at about 850 bhp for the season, was also short on power and development compared to those at the front of the grid. The team used Goodyear tyres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabham BT53</span> Formula One race car

The Brabham BT53 was a Formula One car designed by Gordon Murray for the Brabham team for the 1984 Formula One season and was a development of the BT52 which had carried the team's lead driver Nelson Piquet to the 1983 championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benetton B186</span> Formula One racing car by Benetton

The Benetton B186 is a Formula One racing car, built and raced by the Benetton team for the 1986 Formula One World Championship. It was the first car to be constructed and raced by Benetton, which had bought the Toleman team at the end of 1985 after several years of sponsoring it and other teams, including Alfa Romeo and Tyrrell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams FW09</span> Formula One racing car

The Williams FW09 was a Formula One car designed by Frank Dernie and Neil Oatley. It was the first Williams chassis to be powered by a turbocharged Honda V6 engine, for which Frank Williams negotiated a deal towards the end of 1982 and the beginning of 1983.

Stephen Anderson Nichols is an American engineer who is best known as a car designer for many Formula One teams from the mid-1980s until 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrari turbocharged V6 F1 engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

Ferrari made a series of turbocharged, 1.5-litre, V6 racing engines designed for Formula One; between 1981 and 1988. The engine was first used in the Ferrari 126C, in 1981.

References

  1. "Engine TAG Porsche • STATS F1".
  2. Steve Nichols & The McLaren MP4/4 - The Story Gordon Murray Doesn't Want Told . Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  3. Autocourse 1987-88, p. 48.
  4. Autocourse 1987-88, p. 58.
  5. "Museo Fangio: McLaren Honda MP4/3B" (in Spanish). Museo Fangio. Retrieved 25 February 2009.