McLaren MP4/3
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mid-engine, longitudinally-mounted | |||||||||
Transmission | Getrag 5-speed manual | ||||||||
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Power | 850 hp (633.8 kW) @ 12,000 rpm[1] | ||||||||
Weight | 540 kg (1,190 lb) | ||||||||
Fuel | Shell | ||||||||
Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||
Notable entrants | Marlboro McLaren International | ||||||||
Notable drivers | 1. Alain Prost 2. Stefan Johansson | ||||||||
Debut | 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
First win | 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
Last win | 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix | ||||||||
Last event | 1987 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
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Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
Drivers' Championships | 0 |
The McLaren MP4/3 was the car with which the
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,
Success
There were three wins in 1987 with the MP4/3 by Alain Prost at Grand Prix of
Although a number of teams, notably
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
Chassis log history
Five new MP4/3 cars were moulded from
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
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | McLaren International
|
G | BRA | SMR | BEL | MON | DET | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | AUT | ITA | POR | ESP | MEX | JPN | AUS | 76 | 2nd | ||
Alain Prost | 1 | Ret | 1 | 9 | 3 | 3 | Ret | 7 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 2 | Ret | 7 | Ret | ||||||
Stefan Johansson | 3 | 4 | 2 | Ret | 7 | 8 | Ret | 2 | Ret | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | Ret | 3 | Ret |
References
- ^ "Engine TAG Porsche • STATS F1".
- ^ Steve Nichols & The McLaren MP4/4 - The Story Gordon Murray Doesn't Want Told. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Autocourse 1987-88, p. 48.
- ^ Autocourse 1987-88, p. 58.
- ^ "Museo Fangio: McLaren Honda MP4/3B" (in Spanish). Museo Fangio. Retrieved 25 February 2009.