Rowan Atkinson crashes his McLaren F1

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

60mph

Maybe he was within the legal limit. But if I was betting, I would bet that he gave it the full beans at least momentarily before crashing.

I'm curious about which tree he hit. Top Gear shows the tracks going to the sign.

Leave the obvious conclusions to the people paid to assess them.

What would the point of that be? We'll probably get some bologna if anything.

 

[homeforsummer]

It's a monocoque, I'm sure the just replace the whole thing, and salvage as many good parts as they can.

This. It's hardly like McLaren will just cut'n'shut the thing and bodge bits together. They probably still have the original moulds for the carbon tub. It'd cost a fortune but it wouldn't surprise me if they could build an F1 from the ground up...

And before people jump to conclusions on how he was driving, it's a 600-odd horsepower car and at roughly the time he crashed it it was absolutely hammering down with rain. I was driving up the country from London and I've never driven in rain so heavy. Was a bit of a handful with 100bhp so doesn't surprise me if he lost it with six times that.

 

[Robin]

Mclaren would obviously never do a 'cut and shut' repair, it would make the car worthless at resale and extremely dangerous considering its a supercar!

As the F1 was handmade originally its quite easy to get out the moulds and make another monocoque for example. I bet that if they wanted to they could resume production of the F1 tomorrow its just that its a bit archaic by today's standards (in safety, emissions etc) and would be absurdly expensive to make.

I can just see the advert to offload the car now...

Mclaren F1 - Purple
One Careful Old Lady Driver
Low Mileage, Used Rarely
Very Well Looked After

 

[McLaren]

It's being rumored that the tub is actually still intact from the wreck, & that it's believed that McLaren can start from there with a rebuild.

 

[Aldo]

Was gutted to hear this on the news. It's bad enough that an F1 has been crashed, but Rowan Atkinson is a legend. Hope his shoulder is alright. 👍

 

[Tornado]

What would the point of that be?

I suppose you're right. Hearing what actually happened is so passe when we can instead pass judgement.

We'll probably get some bologna if anything.

I hope its Oscar Meyer, at least.

 

[Kool Mode D]

At least it's not being sheltered away in a garage. Rowan seems to love his Mclaren, so he'll probably get it repaired, the damage doesn't look unrepairable. I'm glad he's using it and appreciating it, unlike most other Mclaren F1 owners. I don't understand why someone would buy a car like the Mclaren F1 and then leave it in a garage, never being driven.

Agreed. Though I think another reason why owners of very expensive cars never drive them is so they can sell them in the future when the value has gone up and make a nice profit. Though if I was super rich and owned a McLaren F1, I would definately drive it a lot since it's my dream car.

 

[McLaren]

A McLaren representative has said that they are waiting on more details of the wreck, before repairs are done.

The vehicle will probably be returned to the McLaren factory in Woking for repairs. A spokesman at the plant said: "We are waiting to hear more details on the incident, and wish him well for his recovery in the meantime."

 

[-ultraflow-]

Agreed. Though I think another reason why owners of very expensive cars never drive them is so they can sell them in the future when the value has gone up and make a nice profit. Though if I was super rich and owned a McLaren F1, I would definately drive it a lot since it's my dream car.

+1👍

What's the point having a supercar, if you dont drive it.

 

[Robin]

A McLaren representative has said that they are waiting on more details of the wreck, before repairs are done.

That's presuming he is going to even send it in for repair, he might feel its too expensive to fix and sell whats left to buy something else.

 

[ExigeEvan]

That's presuming he is going to even send it in for repair, he might feel its too expensive to fix and sell whats left to buy something else.

Surely that's a decision for the insurance company? Or did he only have 3rd party

 

[Crumpet]

+1👍

What's the point having a supercar, if you dont drive it.

To look at it?

 

[MitchZ06]

If I had one I'd have driven the wheels off it by now, had the wheels re-fitted and driven them off again. Repeatedly.

 

[Robin]

Surely that's a decision for the insurance company? Or did he only have 3rd party

Even with the insurance the excess would be pretty insane (especially after his previous accidents) and sometimes its not worth paying, thats if they even agree to pay up. Its not like they are going to give him a equivalent car either (like most insurers do if your car is written off). I really don't know how rare supercar insurance works.

 

[MitchZ06]

But it's not a write off and it's easily repairable....there was a F1 in the US that was wrecked worse than Rowans along with being burnt so bad some of the carbon delaminated, it was repaired and is running around today good as new.

 

[McLaren]

That's presuming he is going to even send it in for repair, he might feel its too expensive to fix and sell whats left to buy something else.

I'm 100% sure he will.
For one thing, his attachment to this car is huge; 30,000+ miles for a car like this is amazing. Secondly, he's not exactly short on cash. He already had the car fixed once after the first wreck & I doubt the cost was anything short of the price for a new BMW.

And even if he doesn't, McLaren will just buy it back from him. Like Ferrari does with the Enzo, McLaren wants to keep as many examples around as they can.

To look at it?

Buy a poster, then? Look at a picture? :shrug:

 

[homeforsummer]

I'm 100% sure he will.
For one thing, his attachment to this car is huge; 30,000+ miles for a car like this is amazing. Secondly, he's not exactly short on cash. He already had the car fixed once after the first wreck & I doubt the cost was anything short of the price for a new BMW.

Quite. "Written off" is entirely different in the world of supercars than it is to us mere mortals.

Again - people go to the Goodwood Revival and fairly frequently destroy $10m worth of classic racing cars. They have them re-built, from the ground up if necessary, and they're back again the next year.

The F1 isn't the sort of car that gets given up and left for scrap...

 

[-Cheezman-]

McLaren are fully capable of rebuilding an F1. In fact, they have staff on hand who are specially trained in doing just that, restorations.

That million dollar price tag doesn't just cover the cost of the materials and labor, it carries with it a life time of McLaren technical knowledge.

Oh and this the second time Mr. Bean cracked up his F1. So, I would say if he had it rebuilt once, he'll do it again.

 

[Syntax error]

Honestly it's a miracle he didn't crash it earlier considering his unconventional driving technique!

 

[Spacegoat]

^Nice one Syntax. 👍

You did forget a overturned reliant robin in the background though.

 

[lbsf1]

To put a lighter tone on this. Look at the picture the daily mail used of him in their article of the crash.

 

[Crumpet]

How old is that image?

Also..

 

[daan]

And it has just been repaired at a cost of £910,000.

We may grumble about our premiums, but sometimes something happens that might even make you feel sorry for insurers.

For example, the people covering one of Rowan Atkinson's cars have just forked out a staggering £900,000 to fix it - the biggest repair bill in British history.

Atkinson, 58, suffered a shoulder injury in 2011 when he crashed his beloved McLaren F1 for the second time, but it wasn’t the medical expenses that did the damage.

While the comic recovered quickly, his 240mph supercar spent more than a year in the hands of McLaren’s expert technicians in Woking, Surrey.

The result was a £910,000 repair bill for a car which Atkinson paid £640,000 for in 1997 - making the bill three times bigger than the most expensive repair claim previously documented, a £300,000 claim paid by Aviva to fix a crashed Pagani Zonda in 2010.

Rowan Atkinson, worth a reported £71 million, hit a slippery patch of road near Peterborough in August 2011, he lost control of the F1 and hit a tree - leaving the car’s 6.1-litre engine 20-yards away from the rest of the vehicle. It was the second time Atkinson had crashed his F1, with the actor front-ending it into a Rover Metro in 1999.

Technicians at McLaren Special Operations spent four weeks calculating how much the car would cost to repair, with the figure standing at £910,000.

The job was given the go-ahead by the insurance company because the F1’s value has soared, with one immaculate model selling for £3.5 million last year.

Now, 16-months after the accident, Atkinson is back on the road in the car and wants to continue to use it as regularly as possible and not keep it hidden away.

The star’s full experience is documented in this month’s ‘Classic and Sports Car’ where he explained getting behind the wheel after more than a year was like "putting a familiar sweater on".

He told the magazine: "I'm not a collector. I don't like the toy cupboard syndrome that causes so many good cars to evaporate.

"It depresses me that they are hidden away like investment art, or gold ingots in a Swiss vault.

"The McLaren is just so usable, it is a crime not to use it. No gritted teeth, you just get in and drive."

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/ro...ggest-ever-car-insurance-claim-091922086.html

 

[Tornado]

I thought this got bumped because he crashed it again.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Same.

 

[Cano]

hahaha me too. But it's still awesome.

Also, 3.5 million. motherofgodcop.jpg

 

[Carbonox]

He should've stuck to the Mini with the roof-mounted chair...

 

[sems4arsenal]

Poor insurance company indeed

 

[Dean]

He should've stuck to the Mini with the roof-mounted chair...

I agree. It also looks like it went way better, with the chair on top of the car !

 

[DaxCobra]

That's an average 17 year old's excess in England.