Five Car Fantasy Garage: Ian McLaren

Every car fan has played this game. Close your eyes and imagine that you are walking towards a building with five closed garage doors. It can be any building, old or new, but the important thing is that it is yours and, as such, the contents of said garages are also yours. Five doors, five cars. So, with price and availability taken out of the equation, which cars would you have hidden behind each door?

In this new series, each member of the CAR team will take you on a tour of their ultimate fantasy garage. Each to their own, as they say, but the beauty of this thing we call the car game is that no two garages are likely to be the same and everyone loves a particular car for a different reason.

To date we’ve featured:

Hannes Oosthuizen
Mike Fourie
Peter Palm
Wilhelm Lutjeharms
Kelly Lodewyks
Terence Steenkamp
Kyle Kock
John Naude
Sudhir Matai
Juliet McGuire

Today it’s the turn of associate editor Ian McLaren to take you on a guided tour of his perfect five garage car collection.

To be honest, I’d be quite content with any one of the cars listed below. At least three of them were no-brainer selections, with the remaining two chosen by process of elimination. While I don’t claim to be the greatest driver, I do absolutely love being behind the wheel of a beautifully crafted car, driving within my own modest limits, on a wonderful stretch of road. With a background in photography, I also really appreciate the looks (styling, colour, trim and, where applicable, the livery) found on a great car.

McLaren F1 XP1 LM

It’s only appropriate that I start my collection with this car. I’ve had the pleasure of standing alongside this particular car and it truly is a thing of beauty. In 1995, McLaren built five F1 LM units for sale to the public in honour of the five F1 GTR cars that crossed the finish line (including overall honours) at that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The XP1 LM (Le Mans) was the sixth car built and remains parked on display at McLaren’s Woking headquarters. The cars were painted in Papaya Orange as a tribute to company founder, Bruce McLaren, and features the same BMW-sourced engine as the GTR cars,al though without the race-mandated restrictors. The car weighs 1 062 kg and offers 500 kW, with 705 N.m of torque.

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1973 Porsche 911 RSR

I love everything about this car. One of the most successful Porsche racing cars of all time, the RSR was an evolution of the mighty 2,7 RS. By increasing the bore to 92 mm, the RSR featured a 3,8-litre flat-six engine that delivered 230 kW and 290 N.m. Only 49 examples of the factory-built 911 RSR were built before the engine received an upgrade to a 3,0-litre capacity. I particularly like the classic “ducktail” rear spoiler, the Fuchs wheels and, unique to the RSR, the wider rear track for a more imposing stance. Of course, the Martini Racing livery is a must for my collection.

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1956 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta “Tour de France”

You would have seen a few examples of the Ferrari 250 in this series of fantasy garages, and for good reason. What a stunningly beautiful car. Named after the 10-day Tour de France automobile race, 84 examples of the 250 GT Berlinetta TdF were constructed under the guidance of Carrozzeria Scaglietti. It featured a 3-litre V12 engine and is considered one of the rarest examples of the classic 250.

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1957 Corvette Convertible

I’d obviously like to have a convertible in my collection and the Corvette cracks the nod just ahead of the BMW 507 and Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. I think it’d be good to have a small taste of American car culture in my garage and I love the styling of the early Corvette models (C1 and C2) – particularly the single headlamp treatment of the 1957 example. I would have an Venetian Red example with white coves, thank you. 6 339 units of the 4,6-litre V8 Corvette Convertible were produced in ’57 ahead of the introduction of an all-new body style (including dual headlamps) the following year.

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2010 Porsche 997 911 Sport Classic

My everyday wheels. Some of my best motoring memories to date have been forged from behind the wheel of a 997 Porsche 911. From the entry-level Carrera to the GT3 and mighty GT2, I consider the 997 911 to be one of the best drivers’ cars in the world and the limited-edition Sport Classic must surely be the culmination of everything that is good about this generation 911 – while also being an homage to the 1973 2,7 RS. 250 units were built (and sold) and, although hugely expensive, the rear-wheel drive model featured a 300 kW example of the famous rear-mounted boxer engine mated with a six-speed manual transmission. Design elements included a double-dome roof, 44 mm wider rear body, SportDesign front apron with spoiler lip and the rear (ducktail) spoiler, PCCB Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes, 20 mm lower PASM sports suspension, and 19-inch Fuchs-style wheels.

Tags: 1973 Porsche RSR, Corvette Convertible, dream garage, fantasy garage, Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Tour de France, Martini Racing, McLaren F1 LM, Porsche 911 Sport Classic