This incredible car shown here is the 1996 FINA Bigazzi McLaren F1 GTR (48R16). With the 24 Hours of Le Mans in their sights, BMW wanted to be involved in the success of the F1 model in racing, and was able to capitalize on the last three 1996-spec F1 GTRs, chassis 16R, 17R and 18R. Italian Firm, Bigazzi SRL, known for looking over BMW’s German Super Touring programme at the time, was selected to race the GTRs. The cars received support from BMW's primary oil & lubricants partner at the time, Fina. 16R was first track-driven on April 28th of 1996 during the Essais Préqualificatifs 24 Heures du Mans (prequalifying Le Mans), by former auto racer, Johnny Cecotto. After pre-qualifying, chassis 16R went on to compete at the Silverstone 4 Hours, where the car was driven on May 5th of 1996 by French former racing driver, Jacques Laffite, and Belgian racing driver, Marc Duez for an 11th overall result. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held at Circuit de la Sarthe on June 16th of 1996, racing driver from Surrey, England, Steve Soper joined Laffite and Duez to achieve an overall result of 11th overall, and 10th in the GT1 class. After racing, 16R was sent to PL (Paul Lanzante) for special orange paint work, and to be homologated for road use. One of the car’s owners, @mrbridger1, was kind enough to provide us some photos of chassis 16R, while it was painted in ‘Papaya Orange’. The car was offered by @dkengineering in 2005, and a new owner later re-added the original racing livery. The photos provided by @abellben & @arnaud_m3_cars show 16R as it looks today during the 2022 Rétromobile, presented by @kidstonmotorcars & @simonkidston. The last photo provided by @samiaal80, shows chassis 16R at the Helsinki Motor Show in the Helsinki Fair Center in January of 1997.
How many made? 1 of 106 total F1s. 1 of approximately 28 F1 GTRs. 1 of just 9 GTR in 1996-spec.
Engine: BMW S70/2 6,064 cc (6.1 L) V12 naturally-aspirated, rear, mid-mounted
Debut: February 26th, 1995, Jerez 4 Hours (first F1 GTR racing debut)
Top Speed: approximately 240 mph (386 km/h)
0-60mph: around 3.2 seconds
Photo Credit: @abellben, @samiaal80 , @mrbridger1, @arnaud_m3_cars
Research: @rarecarsonly