According to the description of the lot, this car is the result of a bet with race engineers Lola who were commissioned to build a Formula 1 car that could be legally used on British roads. In addition, Formula 1 often hosts street events around the world in cities that do not host F1 races to promote the brand. The way it is done is that one or two streets in a city will be closed for a few hours, and some F1 drivers will go up and down and therefore donuts in front of the crowd. This prototype, called F1R, is probably the best that comes out of this whole ordeal. It`s the result of a bet with Lola`s engineers: could you build a road-legal F1 car? The answer, with some reservations, is yes. You need to be on rain tyres to have road approval in any country with a minimum tread depth law (1.6mm in the UK). Your other problem would be that the clutch is not designed for the number of stops and starts in normal road traffic. You may also have seen promotional videos from Red Bull Racing showing some of their old F1 cars around the world and even on public roads. They took a road trip through Max Verstappen`s native Netherlands and a race through Istanbul to promote clothing brand Alpha Tauri. We recently addressed the phenomenon of F1-derived powertrains in previous road cars, a rare combination that requires not only a lot of engineering and development, but also the R&D budget. The BMW M5 E60 and Porsche Carrera GT were fortunate to acquire engines with roots in Formula 1, but as with any motorsport-derived engine, many modifications had to be made to make the engines roadworthy.
Therefore, current F1 cars do not need to be modified to drive on public roads. However, you cannot legally do this apart from unforeseen events, as they do not meet standard roadworthy specifications. However, these were events planned with a lot of logistical management, which undoubtedly required extensive consultations with local authorities. It was pretty obvious as they were the only cars on the road and were followed by a large film crew. Therefore, it was not technically a realistic scenario on a public road, as there were no pedestrians or traffic present. Building the F1R was quite a complicated process, as not only the brake lights and turn signals were added to an already built F1 car. Instead, they started from scratch and used the body and a few other components of the F1 car, then added everything needed to make it legal. Once all this is done, it will look like an abomination and will always be slower than my grandmother`s Camry on the roads. In addition, Lola`s former engineers also had to add a few simple features to make the car legal. Turn signals/turn signals, a normal steering wheel (but you can remove it like an F1 steering wheel), a handbrake and headlights. It also comes with a UK-registered license plate. It would take a lot of changes to an F1 car to drive it on the road.
In fact, it has already been legalized, but there is only one such car in the world. The main changes that had to be made concerned the height, engine and suspension, as well as some basic additions to make the road homologation. Following this disastrous start to the season, Mastercard withdrew its sponsorship, causing the team to go bankrupt. That meant they couldn`t even transport the cars or equipment to the next race at Interlagos in Brazil. The estimate for the Lola F1 R ranges from £55,000 to £85,000. No matter the price, there`s nothing like it that you can legally drive on the road today. True, even a small acceleration can get you in trouble with the authorities, because they quickly pass at unusual speeds. So, these are definitely not your next road cars.
But the spare parts for the car were still there, and something had to be done with them. Lola`s engineers have been challenged to build a legal, roadworthy Formula 1 car, and what you`re about to read is the result. They used many old Formula 1 spare parts to create the body of the car and many other parts of the car. However, there are a few destinations in Formula 1 where these cars drive on normal roads. The most striking and oldest example is Monaco, then some have followed suit, Singapore, Azerbaijan and more recently Saudi Arabia and the United States with the new Miami circuit. However, for there to be a race in the middle of a megacity, the authorities must exclude this area from the entire city for public use. Otherwise, people usually drive cars when the Grand Prix is not taking place. Given recent videos of someone driving an F1 car on the highway. Could I drive to work in a modern F1 car? For example, if the tires gave grip at normal speed, the engine could run comfortably at 50 km/h, the gears would be disturbed, if I am at the maximum at 110 km/h, if the engine could stay cold, etc. Just curious if cars built to go fast can drive slowly. Lola F1 Team engineers were challenged to make their F1 cars fit for normal roads after their team went bankrupt. With massive height, engine and chassis changes, they could have a car ready for the roads.
Are F1 cars legal on the road? Formula 1 cars are probably the most advanced type of cars that run on asphalt, but they can never be driven on the roads. This meant that the car they eventually built was a legal car made from old F1 car spare parts with a road car engine and gearbox. The Lola T97/30 F1 failed to qualify for its first Australian Grand Prix and was an incredible 13 seconds behind. When the team arrived in Brazil for the next race, the cars and equipment were not there. MasterCard had cut connections and Broadley couldn`t afford to ship anything to Interlagos.